Naples is known for its pizza. We went for the meatballs.
January 9, 2021
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In bold heaps and gilded piles, Christmas spills from doorways along Via San Gregorio Armeno, a cobblestone alley dedicated to a peculiar Neapolitan tradition â the assembling of elaborate, often offbeat home Nativity scenes. Dozens of artisans craft and sell miniature characters: Joseph, Mary, Jesus, the Magi, of course, but also lesser-known attendees at the birth of Christ â the pizza maker, the butcher with charcuterie, the nonna making meatballs. It is Naples, after all.
That last character amused me most as I wound my way past the shops, down toward the Gulf of Naples and into yet another, less festive, alley. I'd come to Italy to learn this city's way with meatballs. I'd been told one bite would change the way I thought about this simple red sauce dish. That seemed a stretch. But then again, if they were good enough for Jesus...