The first bite of Italian pizza. The richness of the
tomatoes, the charring of the crust, the light saltiness of the cheese, and the
operatic language romancing you, despite its meaning of “here is your change”.
Nothing beats pizza in Italy. But 48 Hours comes close.
Opened in 2015 by Fabio Biscaldi and Michele Circhirillo,
the South Yarra location was popular enough to open another in Elsternwick last
year.
This first thing you will appreciate is that the kitchen is
open late. Arrive at 9pm, and see others arrive after you’ve finished dessert. The
Italian time is not just applied to guests, but to the pizza dough too. Named
48 Hours for the time taken to allow the dough to rise, this added speciality
of patience makes what they would term, the best pizza.
And it sure does taste good. This is my favourite pizza
place at the moment – better than my old love Fratellinos, better than Baby,
even better than 400 Gradi.
I cannot go without ordering La Norma. The eggplant is
crumbed and friend before being wood fired. It is accompanied with slices of
pickled onion, fresh basil, tomato sugo, salty ricotta and burrata. It took me
a while to warm to the onion, but now I love it. This pizza, apart from featuring
my favourite vegetable, wins me by the moistness of the sauce balanced with the
chewy but crispy crust, the blend of salty, sour and sweet, the creaminess with
the tang. Eat this pizza. It is delicious.
Their other speciality is gnocchi. The vegetarian versions
are made with potato; or with activated charcoal added (apparently good for the
digestion). Both are beautifully soft and best with wet sauces like the mint
pesto (more-ish) or a creamy special.
The salads are tasty and well-presented but here, pizza and
gnocchi are the reasons for existence.
I used to love the 48 Hours clan skin beer. Malty and rich,
this is soon being replaced by a similar style from the same region of Italy – I
am looking forward to tasting that.
So while everyone else is heading to Europe for Winer, come
with me to South Yarra instead. Let me know what you order, and how it was in
the comments below.
48 Hours
373 Malvern Road
South Yarra 3141
03 9824 2573
www.48h.com.au