The quest for the perfect pizza is real. There is, in fact, a gold standard, and that standard is high, so high that it’s almost elusive. And for Davide Di Giovanni and Danny Pero, co-owners of Port Moody’s Pizzeria Spacca Napoli, the noble pursuit for the holy grail of pizza led them to Naples, Italy.

“We have been on the other side for decades,” Pero says. “I think we have eaten at every pizzeria from here down to Washington State. Every possible authentic place we could find; we have eaten there. And then of course it goes without saying, not only have we eaten and explored as far as Toronto, we have even been throughout Napoli, Davide especially. Seeing who is doing it right.”

Before Pero finishes his sentence, Di Giovanni nods and adds, “My wife is born and raised in Napoli, I go all the time.” Both smile in agreement as they settle in for the interview, but not before scanning their busy pizzeria, the food coming out of the kitchen and the lineup outside on a sunny Saturday in December. “When we go to Italy, we want to go get pizza,” says Pero. “And when we say pizza, we literally mean in Naples. We will do a special trip.”

Sitting at a table in full view of the large red wood-burning pizza oven and the swinging doors to the kitchen, Pero and Di Giovanni along with Vita Di Giovanni, the general manager and their cousin by marriage, are here to talk pizza, and their recent award from the prestigious Gambero Rosso, the global authority on Italian food, wine and travel.

“Because pizza is not pizza in the rest of Italy,” Vita says. “Napoli is like the origin. Just like you go to Bologna for lasagna, Sicily for the arancini or cannoli, every region has its thing. Well, Napoli is pizza — period.”

Entering its ninth year of operation, Spacca Napoli has become a destination for pizza lovers who appreciate authentic Neapolitan pizza. “For us, gathering around tables with the simplest of ingredients is what we do with our families,” Vita says. “To have people lining up to appreciate our food is like that.”

“People who know, know,” Pero adds.

For Davide Di Giovanni and Danny Pero, co-owners of Port Moody’s Pizzeria Spacca Napoli, the noble pursuit for the holy grail of pizza led them to Naples, Italy. “We have been on the other side for decades,” Pero says. “I think we have eaten at every pizzeria from here down to Washington state. Every possible authentic place we could find; we have eaten there. And then of course it goes without saying, not only have we eaten and explored as far as Toronto, we have even been throughout Napoli, Davide especially. Seeing who is doing it right.”

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And the number of people who know is growing, as Spacca Napoli recently ranked among the top one per cent of pizzerias worldwide (and the only one in Canada) when it received the Tre Spicchi ranking from Gambero Rosso

“To build a Neapolitan restaurant knowing that we were ding it as artigianaleor artisanal and staying true to the Neapolitan tradition,” says Pero who is beyond proud for the designation, “and for someone to validate it, is quite something.” Di Giovanni jumps in, “And people in general, not just the Gambero Rosso.”

Their quest for the perfect pizza started long before they opened the restaurant. Glancing over to Di Giovanni, Pero smiles as he says, “We have known each other since we were nine or 10 years old, but I only accepted him as a friend in Grade 9.” Laughing, Di Giovanni adds, “And I only allowed myself [to be his friend then] as I had a certain quota to fill.” Even though they have always talked about perfecting their pizza and opening a restaurant, it wasn’t until they were young adults that the dream started to take shape.

According to Di Giovanni, “We were driving to UBC together while still living in Port Moody. It’s a long commute. Italian kids don’t live on campus, you live at home.” And because of the long drive, they would have many lengthy conversations, usually about one specific topic.

“We never went a day without talking about food,” Pero says. After they both graduated, Di Giovanni as a dentist and Pero as a financial adviser, the chats continued as their pursuit for the perfect pizza, which led them to travelling frequently to Italy. “My wife is from Rome,” Pero says. “And I was going to Rome all the time. The pizza is great, it has its own thing. And I was like, Dav, I love the pizza here in Rome and we would have our debates and then one day we did end up going together to Napoli.” Di Giovanni says, “Our families met there, and he was like, ‘wow’ that’s incredible. So that was kind of like the germination of the seed getting watered.”

Vita quickly jumps in. “To let you understand how geeky they are about pizza, they each had their own wood-burning oven at their houses and were always experimenting with dough fermentation. Even sending my husband photos of what the air bubbles looked like and the cooked crust. They were working behind the scenes on this, in their own backyards.

When asked who made the best pizza, Pero is the first to say, “It depends, it depends. I didn’t make Neapolitan pizza then.” Vita laughs as Di Giovanni points to himself, saying, “I am not trying to sound arrogant, but our pizza was good. We really became good at it. My family, from my wife’s side, would come from Napoli and say your pizza is incredible.

And I would think they were just being kind but they would say, no, Davide, it is excellent. This kept on going and going, and years went by. And then, how do I describe it…” “Opportunity,” pipes in Vita. “Our family said let’s open a restaurant together,” says Di Giovanni, finishing the sentence.

They eventually opened up the restaurant as a family venture with five partners, but now Di Giovanni and Pero are sole owners and have stayed true to their vision of offering authentic Neapolitan pizza.

“We always said that if we are going to do something, we are going to do it right, do it properly without compromising on anything,” Di Giovanni says. “From the ingredients we use to the people we have here, to whatever we do. Yes, the pizza is soft and floppy, and we are not ashamed of it. That’s the way it is in Napoli. And yes, it does have a char. We are not going to undercook your pizza and we are not going to make it crispy. That’s just not how it’s done. And we knew we would get flack on that.”

“And we still do,” Pero says, while Di Giovanni adds, “We are OK with that. It’s OK to not want Neapolitan, but Neapolitan pizza has proved to the world that it’s the gold standard.”

“It’s light, it’s airy, it has a bit of an eggshell crust and is slightly soft in the middle,” Di Giovanni says. “It’s a very light pizza, very clean simple toppings, very few toppings. If you put more than four or five toppings on a pizza, it’s finished.”

Nodding, Pero adds, “The thing with our dough is time, it’s all about time. That time can be temperamental. And it changes. Do you have the patience and do you have the know-how and the skill to be able to see when it is ready?”

Pero and Di Giovanni, both patient and perfectionistic when it comes to their pizzas, are also committed to using the best authentic Italian ingredients, but realize there are limitations as they can’t import some things, such as the fior di latte mozzarella.

“If you are outside of Naples, you come here,” Di Giovanni says. They even hire Italian pizza cooks, known as pizzaiolos. “All of our chefs are from Italy,” says Pero, including head chef Stefano Speranza. “If there is a secret sauce, it is because we have Italians making Italian food.”

“That’s what winning the Gambero Rosso shows,” Vita says. “That outside of Napoli, this is the next best thing in Canada.”

“It honestly gives me goosebumps every time I think of it,” Di Giovanni says. “It’s funny because we have this unique kind of history as immigrant children, especially as Italian immigrant children. We do things and think things a certain way, and not that we’re not proud to be Canadians, as we are definitely Canadian 100 per cent. But we have this little twist to us that’s common throughout North America to Italians, we have our own language. Italish. It’s unique to us. We can’t use it in Italy but we could go to Montreal, Toronto, LA or even New York and they will get it.”

“Winning the award is really surreal because this was just something that we did at home all the time,” Di Giovanni adds. “And to see that people are coming here and wanting to be here, and standing in line to enjoy what you have always enjoyed yourself is something special for me.”

As the interview ends, a marinara pizza arrives, Pero’s favourite, crust slightly charred with bright red sauce oozing on top. Like proud fathers, Di Giovanni and Pero look back to the kitchen where the staff are watching, eager to know if the pizza meets their standards. Vita brings out the scissors, yes scissors, to cut the pizza into four perfect slices. Scissors are not used in Naples, but are an important part of Spacca Napoli’s tradition.

Pero grabs a slice, folding it in his hands, because this is how you eat Neapolitan pizza. He takes a bite, as does Di Giovanni. They look at each other, smile, then in unison ask, “Who made this pizza? It’s good. Really good.” Looking back to the staff waiting and watching, they give the thumbs up. Relieved and pleased, the staff return to work. When you know, you know.

Pizzeria Spacca Napoli
2801 St. Johns St., Port Moody
pizzeriaspaccanapoli.com | @pizzeriaspacca