108. Little Treats

I’m a big believer in little treats.

Nothing lifts my spirits like an impulse buy at the supermarket, a cute new pair of sparkly shoes, a midweek movie after work.  But little treats are harder to come by now that we’re all isolated in our homes.

Don’t get me wrong; I know my life, even now — especially now, is filled with blessings. My family, friends, coworkers and neighbors are virus-free, knock wood. I have a job I can do remotely at an institution that’s not likely to go under.  I have a yard and a house I can enjoy with Ben and my little dog Rocky. My knees and hips seem to be holding out okay, and I can run every morning before dawn, when social distancing isn’t a concern.

Even still, my heart skipped a beat when I saw in the New York Times Food section: “Now, pizzas made in Naples are being flash-frozen and shipped to American homes.” We’re in, I said.

We brought our friends Debbie and Lee to a favorite place, Pizzeria Trianon dal 1923. Note that in Italy, everyone gets their own pie.

This outfit, Talia di Napoli, appears to be the real deal. For about $60 including shipping, we ordered the starter variety pack of five 11-inch pies. More than five frozen pizzas would cost at the supermarket, but not a deal-breaker, and we had the win-win-win of premium Italian ingredients, trying something new, and throwing a little commerce to Naples, which could surely use it.

The “Sleeping Pizzas,” as they call them, arrived at our door packed in dry ice six days later, waiting to be awakened in our oven. I prepared myself for disappointment; after all, it was the idea of pizza from Napoli that I responded to, with not much expectation for the reality of it.

We started with the Margherita tonight, and it turned out to be great. Chewy thin crust, excellent sauce and cheese, and even the characteristic sprig of basil in the middle. So good that we will likely do it again when this first shipment is eaten.

Getting a box of pizza from Naples would be a treat under any circumstances. But at this particular point in time, the anticipation and the reality of it really gave us a lift.