If you’re hungry for Neapolitan-style pizza, but don’t have a plane ticket to Naples, Italy, get yourself to La Sorrentina. Yes, you can have your Julia Roberts’ Eat, Pray, Love moment here in Vancouver, WA. As much as I love the more common New York Style pizza served everywhere, I also love this style of thin crust, delicately-charred pizza at its base with its puffy, airy crust around the sides. The fresh ingredients that they use here ties everything together so that you can eat it with a fork and knife, just as they do in Naples.
We were also happy with the calamari, spaghetti with clams, and cannoli.
I just knew pizzaiolo Matsumoto would do justice to the fried and tempura-like calamari/shrimp/vegetables and he did—–I could have eaten platters of it. The spaghetti came with a generous amount of plump clams. I didn’t expect to be wowed by the cannoli, but the shell was so light, flaky, fresh and filling so creamy, perfectly balanced by a bite of preserved orange sliver, sprinkling of chopped pistachio, and chocolate. They were also offering basque cheesecake, OMG! I need to go back to try that. It is a cheesecake with what looks like a burnt top (darkened like a creme brulee), charred to develop more flavor, (think notes of caramel or brown butter) and the heart of the cake more melting.
Our server was very attentive and accommodating. Thank you for a wonderful meal.