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 fo