Ahhhh, Italian pizza at last! What? In The Netherlands? You betcha! Francesco moved from Napoli to Haarlem 30 years ago. Today he dishes out the most Italian pizza we’ve had since we left Roma.

Cute little cafe on a quiet pedestrian street in Haarlem. The owner (and his cat) live upstairs.

I have to thank Rick Steves for the suggestion as Back to Basics made the cut for his guidebook. We sauntered in on a cool but dry Friday night, finding a cozy cafe reminiscent of so many in Italy. Francesco was making pizza in his wood-fired oven right there, greeting patrons, chatting with the locals. He was amazed to hear me speak Italian and I enjoyed getting the chance to try out a few sentences. It has been a long time since I had the opportunity to chat in Italian.

Francesco works the dough in a blur. He turns out amazing pies from his tiny oven.

The pizza is Neopolitan style, with a thicker border and softer crust. It was delicious!  With fresh Italian mozzarella and the finest Italian meats, it tasted, well, like Italy! Even the wine list was all Italian and we were able to pair our pizza with a favorite negroamaro. To add insult to injury, Francesco also offers housemade gelato, so naturally, we had to indulge. Like a couple of five-year-olds, we stuffed ourselves with pizza and ice cream. Imagine this was all in The Netherlands! We cannot wait for Italy!!!

A few table outdoors and a perfectly lovely cafe, great service in three languages, cute little wood-fired oven = 9 points on the OWP scale. The only thing better might have been if they had arancini.

My choice: Salami and mozzarella. Simple and authentic!

Ric’s pie, another Italian favorite, salsiccia (sausage) and broccoletti.

Francesco’s daughter waits tables. Other than a German couple who left as we arrived, the crowd was local.

We are still eating pizza in the U.S. but not quite weekly as there just are not enough choices near us. And the pizzas are all huge and heavy.  Coming soon, though, another Lincoln City pizzeria to write up: The Rusty Truck. We will also have more from the road during our Grand Tour, which I am writing about over at Good Day Rome.