Cafe Porta Alba: Difference between revisions

From Madison Pizza Wiki
Created page with "==Locations== * Hilldale"
 
Use American spelling (license, favorite, neighborhood and the like)
 
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
==Locations==
'''Cafe Porta Alba''' was Madison's first Neapolitan pizzeria, open from 2006 at 15 N. Butler St. and from 2009 at Hilldale, until October 19, 2019<ref name="mc-2019-10-01-porta-alba-closing">Kalk Derby, S. (2019, October 1). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/restaurants/article_fa421a10-093e-5072-82e9-7bd0bb85a160.html "Cafe Porta Alba closing after 10 years at Hilldale, owner moving to Baltimore."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
* Hilldale
 
==History==
===Butler Street, 2006 to 2009===
Vincenzo Pugliese, from Alife, an ancient town near Naples, had spent 22 years in New York restaurants and at the Italian consulate, where he put on some 250 events a year; his wife's job at Lands' End brought him to Madison<ref name="mc-2007-12-05-porta-alba-iron-chef">Conklin, M. (2007, December 5). [https://madison.com/news/article_26093386-741c-5d2d-bb68-5f20566b48b8.html "Cafe Porta Alba gets an authentic taste of fame."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. With an English partner, Dave Bryant, whose wife also worked at Lands' End, he opened Cafe Porta Alba at [[15 North Butler Street|15 N. Butler St.]] in Butler Plaza, the former Sal's Pizzeria, in the late summer of 2006: the license was applied for in May and granted in August<ref name="ct-2006-05-10-p4">(2006, May 10). Notice of public hearing on new license applications: Cafe Porta Alba, LLC, agent Vincent Pugliese, 15 N. Butler Street. ''The Capital Times''. p. 4. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/526001360/ 526001360].</ref><ref name="ct-2006-08-14-p22">(2006, August 14). Council proceedings: public hearing closed and license granted to Cafe Porta Alba, 15 N. Butler Street, capacity 40. ''The Capital Times''. p. 22. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522523182/ 522523182].</ref>, and the State Journal reviewed "the new Cafe Porta Alba" in December<ref name="mc-2006-12-10-porta-alba-review">Martell, C. (2006, December 10). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_0d83554e-df7b-53ce-b7c1-abd8918a9c41.html "Cafe Porta Alba makes pizza the old-fashioned way."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. The name is that of the first pizzeria in Naples, opened in the 1830s on Porta Alba square. The centerpiece was a 3,000-pound wood-fired oven at 1,000 degrees that cooked a pizza in 90 seconds; the sauce came from tomatoes grown below Vesuvius, the flour from the Caputo mill in Naples, and the mozzarella from Wisconsin. Thirteen pizzas cost $7.50 to $13<ref name="mc-2006-12-10-porta-alba-review" />.
 
By 2007 the restaurant belonged to the Vera Pizza Napoletana association, whose rules the Capital Times' reviewer found "too correct for its own good": "in 2007 Wisconsin, I'll take a Glass Nickel Cheesasaurus any day"<ref name="mc-2007-08-02-porta-alba-review-ct">Kalk Derby, S. (2007, August 2). [https://madison.com/entertainment/article_93097d24-9c4b-585f-95a4-b65782bf857f.html "Cafe Porta Alba may be too correct for its own good."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Michael Muckian gave it three stars of four<ref name="ct-2007-04-14-p26">Muckian, M. (2007, April 14). "Porta Alba fare authentic." ''The Capital Times''. p. 26. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522524205/ 522524205].</ref>. "When Cafe Porta Alba opened almost one year ago," Mary Bergin wrote in July 2007, "Pugliese began producing a pizza that was new to Madison"<ref name="ct-2007-07-20-p15">Bergin, M. (2007, July 20). "Neapolitan pizza the real McCoy." ''The Capital Times''. p. 15. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522437350/ 522437350].</ref>. On December 3, 2007, Mario Rizzotti, a judge on "Iron Chef America", came to a packed five-course dinner; Porta Alba was then one of 17 pizzerias in the country sanctioned to call themselves Neapolitan<ref name="mc-2007-12-05-porta-alba-iron-chef" /><ref name="ct-2007-11-30-p26">Bergin, M. (2007, November 30). "'Iron Chef' judge will visit Porta Alba here." ''The Capital Times''. p. 26. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522429053/ 522429053].</ref>. The 2008 pizza history in the State Journal credited Pugliese as "the first to offer traditional Neapolitan pizza" in Madison<ref name="mc-2008-05-28-through-thick-and-thin">Wegner, A. N. (2008, May 28). [https://madison.com/lifestyles/article_5dd95b69-95b3-518b-95aa-95dcb51fd35f.html "Through thick and thin: Madison's pizzerias have come a long way from their humble start on Spaghetti Corner."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
 
The Butler Street lease ran out and the restaurant closed in March 2009<ref name="mc-2009-04-03-porta-alba-closes">Troller, S. (2009, April 3). [https://madison.com/77square/article_d2cfce8a-8162-50d8-aced-8768b326d73d.html "Cafe Porta Alba closes; may re-open elsewhere."] ''madison.com''.</ref><ref name="mc-2009-07-17-porta-alba-hilldale">(2009, July 17). [https://madison.com/77square/article_dc7ad81b-009f-5d3e-83ac-c561c4470a2a.html "Cafe Porta Alba to re-open at Hilldale."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Old Market Bistro took the space in June 2009 and lasted two months<ref name="ct-2009-06-04-p7">Troller, S. (2009, June 4). "Kipp's owner opens new bistro." ''The Capital Times''. p. 7. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/522555744/ 522555744].</ref><ref name="mc-2009-12-27-restaurant-graveyards">Martell, C. (2009, December 27). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/article_e80091a4-c772-5de0-b0d8-a389a25e5cbd.html "Restaurant graveyards: Nature of the 'feast'."] ''madison.com''.</ref>; [[Naples 15]] opened there in 2012<ref name="mc-2012-11-15-naples-15-review">Kalk Derby, S. (2012, November 15). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/article_8b918a00-2e8c-11e2-9fc6-0019bb2963f4.html "Review: Italian kitchen Naples 15 holds promise."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.
 
===Hilldale, 2009 to 2019===
In July 2009 Pugliese announced a reopening at Hilldale, across from the Sundance cinema<ref name="mc-2009-07-17-porta-alba-hilldale" />. The new restaurant, with 58 seats, opened in November 2009 around a $12,000 brick oven built in Italy with an arched terra-cotta ceiling in the design of the oven found at Pompeii; the old oven had been cemented to the Butler Street floor. The pizza menu was unchanged, with pasta, gnocchi and panini added, and one-hour waits were common on weekends<ref name="mc-2009-11-29-porta-alba-hilldale-review">Martell, C. (2009, November 29). [https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/food-drink/reviews/article_98d45b0a-340e-5cd2-9d60-f9405f7dbd06.html "New location, but same glorious oven-fired pizza at Cafe Porta Alba."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Pugliese closed the restaurant after ten years at Hilldale, with the last day October 19, 2019, to move to Baltimore<ref name="mc-2019-10-01-porta-alba-closing" />.
 
In 2013 Pugliese partnered with his head chef, Nick Mattioli, to open [[Novanta]] on Old Sauk Road<ref name="mc-2013-07-05-novanta-opens">Kalk Derby, S. (2013, July 5). [https://madison.com/lifestyles/food_and_cooking/article_e5deb680-c350-51f2-b21b-de8f20bd4751.html "Restaurant News: New Far West Side pizzeria Novanta has shades of Porta Alba."] ''madison.com''.</ref>. Porta Alba's Alpina pizza, with arugula, was one of the Capital Times' candidates for the area's best pizza that November<ref name="ct-2013-11-20-p13">(2013, November 20). Best-pizza poll photo page: Porta Alba's Alpina, Greenbush Bar, Glass Nickel's Fetalicious, Grampa's Barberini, Paisan's Super Hot and Salvatore's Fig and Bacon. ''The Capital Times''. p. 13. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/520984544/ 520984544].</ref>.
 
The closing was felt in Madison's Neapolitan pizza world: [[Novanta]]'s Nick Mattioli, whose first professional kitchen was at Porta Alba, said he had to pull over to the side of the road when he heard the news<ref name="ct-2019-11-06-pO25">Haase, N. (2019, November 6). "New Novanta pizzeria is twice as nice." ''The Capital Times''. p. O25. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/613239955/ 613239955].</ref>.
 
==Pizza==
* The 2006 menu: Margherita (fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil), Funghi, Capricciosa (mushrooms, olives, fresh mozzarella, tomato, Parmacotto ham, artichokes) and ten others, all one size of about 10 to 12 inches<ref name="mc-2006-12-10-porta-alba-review" /><ref name="mc-2007-08-02-porta-alba-review-ct" />.
* At Hilldale the Alpina, with walnut purée, fontina and mushrooms, was a signature; there was also a Nutella pizza<ref name="mc-2009-11-29-porta-alba-hilldale-review" />.
 
==Former Locations==
* [[15 North Butler Street|15 N. Butler St.]] (late summer 2006 to March 2009). [[Naples 15]] opened there in July 2012<ref name="mc-2012-11-15-naples-15-review" />.
* 558 N. Midvale Blvd., at Hilldale (November 2009 to October 19, 2019)<ref name="mc-2009-11-29-porta-alba-hilldale-review" /><ref name="mc-2019-10-01-porta-alba-closing" />.
 
==See also==
* [[Naples 15]]
* [[Novanta]]
* [[Item:Q968|Cafe Porta Alba in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]
 
==Notes==
<references />

Latest revision as of 03:28, 24 October 2026

Cafe Porta Alba was Madison's first Neapolitan pizzeria, open from 2006 at 15 N. Butler St. and from 2009 at Hilldale, until October 19, 2019[1].

History

Butler Street, 2006 to 2009

Vincenzo Pugliese, from Alife, an ancient town near Naples, had spent 22 years in New York restaurants and at the Italian consulate, where he put on some 250 events a year; his wife's job at Lands' End brought him to Madison[2]. With an English partner, Dave Bryant, whose wife also worked at Lands' End, he opened Cafe Porta Alba at 15 N. Butler St. in Butler Plaza, the former Sal's Pizzeria, in the late summer of 2006: the license was applied for in May and granted in August[3][4], and the State Journal reviewed "the new Cafe Porta Alba" in December[5]. The name is that of the first pizzeria in Naples, opened in the 1830s on Porta Alba square. The centerpiece was a 3,000-pound wood-fired oven at 1,000 degrees that cooked a pizza in 90 seconds; the sauce came from tomatoes grown below Vesuvius, the flour from the Caputo mill in Naples, and the mozzarella from Wisconsin. Thirteen pizzas cost $7.50 to $13[5].

By 2007 the restaurant belonged to the Vera Pizza Napoletana association, whose rules the Capital Times' reviewer found "too correct for its own good": "in 2007 Wisconsin, I'll take a Glass Nickel Cheesasaurus any day"[6]. Michael Muckian gave it three stars of four[7]. "When Cafe Porta Alba opened almost one year ago," Mary Bergin wrote in July 2007, "Pugliese began producing a pizza that was new to Madison"[8]. On December 3, 2007, Mario Rizzotti, a judge on "Iron Chef America", came to a packed five-course dinner; Porta Alba was then one of 17 pizzerias in the country sanctioned to call themselves Neapolitan[2][9]. The 2008 pizza history in the State Journal credited Pugliese as "the first to offer traditional Neapolitan pizza" in Madison[10].

The Butler Street lease ran out and the restaurant closed in March 2009[11][12]. Old Market Bistro took the space in June 2009 and lasted two months[13][14]; Naples 15 opened there in 2012[15].

Hilldale, 2009 to 2019

In July 2009 Pugliese announced a reopening at Hilldale, across from the Sundance cinema[12]. The new restaurant, with 58 seats, opened in November 2009 around a $12,000 brick oven built in Italy with an arched terra-cotta ceiling in the design of the oven found at Pompeii; the old oven had been cemented to the Butler Street floor. The pizza menu was unchanged, with pasta, gnocchi and panini added, and one-hour waits were common on weekends[16]. Pugliese closed the restaurant after ten years at Hilldale, with the last day October 19, 2019, to move to Baltimore[1].

In 2013 Pugliese partnered with his head chef, Nick Mattioli, to open Novanta on Old Sauk Road[17]. Porta Alba's Alpina pizza, with arugula, was one of the Capital Times' candidates for the area's best pizza that November[18].

The closing was felt in Madison's Neapolitan pizza world: Novanta's Nick Mattioli, whose first professional kitchen was at Porta Alba, said he had to pull over to the side of the road when he heard the news[19].

Pizza

  • The 2006 menu: Margherita (fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil), Funghi, Capricciosa (mushrooms, olives, fresh mozzarella, tomato, Parmacotto ham, artichokes) and ten others, all one size of about 10 to 12 inches[5][6].
  • At Hilldale the Alpina, with walnut purée, fontina and mushrooms, was a signature; there was also a Nutella pizza[16].

Former Locations

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kalk Derby, S. (2019, October 1). "Cafe Porta Alba closing after 10 years at Hilldale, owner moving to Baltimore." madison.com.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Conklin, M. (2007, December 5). "Cafe Porta Alba gets an authentic taste of fame." madison.com.
  3. ↑ (2006, May 10). Notice of public hearing on new license applications: Cafe Porta Alba, LLC, agent Vincent Pugliese, 15 N. Butler Street. The Capital Times. p. 4. Newspapers.com image 526001360.
  4. ↑ (2006, August 14). Council proceedings: public hearing closed and license granted to Cafe Porta Alba, 15 N. Butler Street, capacity 40. The Capital Times. p. 22. Newspapers.com image 522523182.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Martell, C. (2006, December 10). "Cafe Porta Alba makes pizza the old-fashioned way." madison.com.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2007, August 2). "Cafe Porta Alba may be too correct for its own good." madison.com.
  7. ↑ Muckian, M. (2007, April 14). "Porta Alba fare authentic." The Capital Times. p. 26. Newspapers.com image 522524205.
  8. ↑ Bergin, M. (2007, July 20). "Neapolitan pizza the real McCoy." The Capital Times. p. 15. Newspapers.com image 522437350.
  9. ↑ Bergin, M. (2007, November 30). "'Iron Chef' judge will visit Porta Alba here." The Capital Times. p. 26. Newspapers.com image 522429053.
  10. ↑ Wegner, A. N. (2008, May 28). "Through thick and thin: Madison's pizzerias have come a long way from their humble start on Spaghetti Corner." madison.com.
  11. ↑ Troller, S. (2009, April 3). "Cafe Porta Alba closes; may re-open elsewhere." madison.com.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 (2009, July 17). "Cafe Porta Alba to re-open at Hilldale." madison.com.
  13. ↑ Troller, S. (2009, June 4). "Kipp's owner opens new bistro." The Capital Times. p. 7. Newspapers.com image 522555744.
  14. ↑ Martell, C. (2009, December 27). "Restaurant graveyards: Nature of the 'feast'." madison.com.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Kalk Derby, S. (2012, November 15). "Review: Italian kitchen Naples 15 holds promise." madison.com.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Martell, C. (2009, November 29). "New location, but same glorious oven-fired pizza at Cafe Porta Alba." madison.com.
  17. ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2013, July 5). "Restaurant News: New Far West Side pizzeria Novanta has shades of Porta Alba." madison.com.
  18. ↑ (2013, November 20). Best-pizza poll photo page: Porta Alba's Alpina, Greenbush Bar, Glass Nickel's Fetalicious, Grampa's Barberini, Paisan's Super Hot and Salvatore's Fig and Bacon. The Capital Times. p. 13. Newspapers.com image 520984544.
  19. ↑ Haase, N. (2019, November 6). "New Novanta pizzeria is twice as nice." The Capital Times. p. O25. Newspapers.com image 613239955.
Retrieved from "https://madisonpizza.wiki/index.php?title=Cafe_Porta_Alba&oldid=8459"