R.I. represented on list of 101 best pizzas in U.S.

PROVIDENCE COAL FIRED PIZZA made it onto the list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America 2015 by The Daily Meal, coming in at No. 47. Providence's Al Forno was No. 32 on the list. / COURTESY THE DAILY MEAL
PROVIDENCE COAL FIRED PIZZA made it onto the list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America 2015 by The Daily Meal, coming in at No. 47. Providence's Al Forno was No. 32 on the list. / COURTESY THE DAILY MEAL

PROVIDENCE – Two Rhode Island restaurants made it onto The Daily Meal’s list of the 101 Best Pizzas in America – Al Forno and Providence Coal Fired Pizza.
Al Forno, in Providence, which ranked 32nd, offers “quintessential Italian dining for those who can’t afford the flight,” according to The Daily Meal.

It said that husband-and-wife owner–chefs George Germon and Johanne Killeen received the “Insegna del Ristorante Italiano” from the Italian government, which it described as “a rare honor for Americans, attributable to their informed passion for pasta along with their invention of the grilled pizza.” The restaurant’s margarita pizza was named as its best, as it is served with fresh herbs, pomodoro, two cheeses and extra-virgin olive oil.

Providence Coal Fired Pizza, with locations in Providence and North Kingstown, was lauded for its Rocket Margherita pizza topped with arugula and pecorino. It ranked 47th on the list.
The website described the restaurant as a “relative newcomer” to the national scene, having opened the Providence location on Westminster Street in 2012, but said its 900-degree cooked, Pennsylvania-coal-fired pies “immediately captured the attention of pizza lovers living in the Creative Capital.”

First place went to Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Conn., which celebrated its 90th birthday in June. Its white clam pizza was singled out as the “best of all” in a “genre unto its own.”
The Daily Meal said this is its fourth annual attempt to find the best pizzas in America, noting it is one of its “most compulsively tracked ratings.”

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“People take pizza very seriously. So we do, too,” The Daily Meal said. “We’re going out on a thin-crust slice to say there’s never before been such a comprehensive list of pizzas voted on by such a large and qualified group of experts.”
The Daily Meal said it surveyed 800 pizza places around the country to find the perfect pies. Connecticut has nine restaurants on the list and Massachusetts, six.
What makes the perfect pizza? “A nuanced sauce, neither too sweet nor salty (assuming that it has sauce); quality, well-distributed cheese (assuming that it has cheese); quality and well-paired toppings; a flavorful, savory crust; and perhaps most important (after quality ingredients), a judicious, well-balanced, and (most importantly) pleasing ratio of sauce, cheese, toppings and crust that maintains a structural integrity no matter the style,” The Daily Meal said.

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