Florence, the Piccolo Cesare pizzeria and the quality off the radar of the guides
Until now almost ignored by guides and critics, the Piccolo Cesare pizzeria in Florence is no less than many well-known names in the city’s white art. Here because
There are places that prepare excellent pizzas, but for some strange reason they can’t be talked about outside the “circles” of the neighborhood and neighborhood customers. Pizzerias that the wider public and the critics (not to mention the guides) have difficulty intercepting – with appropriate exceptionsfruit of the one talent scouts local – in the widespread tendency to feed an already consolidated network of masters and professionals of the white art. Nothing bad, for heaven’s sake, but it is undeniable that in a city like Florence and a region like Tuscany – both celebrated as home to some of the best Neapolitan-style pizzerias outside Campania – the space for new talent is sometimes not very large .
Not too long ago we tried to focus on the promising young pizza makers of Florence: Now let’s tell Little Caesara small pizzeria in via Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose selection does not look bad in the face of much more noble names. Alongside the great white art classics, with Margherita at 6.50 and Marinara at 5.50, there are creative inventions such as the reinterpretations of theTomato and bacon (San Marzano tomato, PDO pecorino cheese, fiordilatte from Campania, pepper, Tropea onion and Tuscan bacon, for 11 euros) or the Bacon and egg (grated dehydrated egg, bacon, PDO pecorino, fiordilatte, burrata and black pepper, for 12 euros).
Also interesting are the pizzas with fried meatballs, or the “Aubergine Parmigiana” (10) and the one with “Lonzino al tartufo” (13) where the crumbled taralli with almonds and pepper stand out, which we also find in the “Tarallo” pizza with Tyrolean speck (11.50).
For its part, the “Caramellata” combines caramelized Tropea onions, provola, sausage and aubergines (11.50), while based on the season, Piccolo Cesare bakes pizzas with black cabbage, spicy salami and burrata (12.50).
Opened in 2017 and run by the brothers ever since Antonio and Daniele Perrone (relatives of the late Lello Surace, former vice president of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana), the Piccolo Cesare pizzeria maintains a good compromise between the quality of the raw materials, the range of products on offer (the montanarine and the selection of beers are also interesting), the average prices and the possibility of finding a place without necessarily having to book well in advance. Recommended for those who want to stay within the Neapolitan tradition but are in the mood to experience something new.