Having A Real Italian Lunch In Italy

On a Monday morning in November of 2022, my wife and I decided to embark on a day trip to Italy. Our trip started in Geneva and began with a 3-hour train ride around the lake and across the Italian border. The train ride sounded long but was actually quite pleasant. After all, this train was immaculately clean, had a bathroom, and we brought snacks and drinks. The views were amazing as we trekked through the Swiss and Italian mountain sides and across the Swiss Alps. We arrived in Domodossola, Italy right at lunch time. We got off the train to find a small, quaint, and quite Italian town. We found a restaurant just steps from the train station so we decided to give it a try. La Piazzetta Ristorante was our home for next hour or so. We entered the doors and was greeted by a well-dressed younger man. We showed us to our seats and we ordered water and wine. We scanned the menu and each ordered a pizza. Our food arrived very quickly and smelled amazing. I was starving so I immediately dove in. I noticed that the crust was not only handmade, but made on a wood-fired pizza oven. The pizza was absolutely fresh and amazingly delicious. I know it seems obvious that Italian food is supposed to be good in Italy, but this was different. I’ve had Mexican food in Mexico, Chinese food from Chinese people, etc., yet normally I don’t notice a difference worth mentioning. This pizza however, was one that stood out from any other pizza I’ve ever ate. I consider myself a pizza fanatic as I love it and eat it quite often, from multiple locations. This pizza was probably the absolute best pizza ever. The ingredients were fresh, the crust was perfectly cooked with just enough crunch/chewiness, and the perfect temperature. The pizza was warm enough to be tasty, yet not so hot that it blistered the top of my mouth. I never drink alcohol, like ever. But this day I indulged in some Italian wine that was phenomenal and paired perfectly with my pizza. Not for nothing, the water was good too. Maybe I was just super thirsty, but the water was a perfect temperature, pure, and quenching. I’m sure you can relate when I say that some water is too cold to drink or tastes “heavy”. This water was perfect for my liking. The atmosphere in this restaurant was also great. Everyone was happy and the crowd consisted mainly of locals who knew each other.