Ryan Baddeley on the best pizza in Italy
The founder of Pizzeria Badiali on eating your way through Italy and Mexico.
Walking west from Toronto’s Ossington Strip along Argyle Street, you’re likely to spot the line outside Pizzeria Badiali before the shop itself. Locals will tell you it’s the best pizza in the city, beloved for its New York-style slices with Italian-inspired toppings.
Central to the operation is Ryan Baddeley, a former fine dining chef who spent time in some of the city’s most famous kitchens before heading to Italy to study new ways of cooking. Soon after getting back, he went all in on the idea to open a pizza shop.
Now, Baddeley and his partners are gearing up to open their second Toronto location near Bloor and Bathurst, in the development replacing Honest Ed’s. He sat down with Airplane Mode to talk about living in Italy, and where to find the best pizza in Rome.
Working holidays
Nearly fifteen years ago, I took on an apprenticeship at a restaurant called Officina della Bistecca in Panzano, a town of about 1,200 people in the Chianti region. It’s run by a butcher named Dario Cecchini, who I discovered by watching Anthony Bourdain and David Rocco, but he was also on an episode of Chef’s Table recently. I lived in an apartment above the restaurant that overlooked a winery called Fontodi — known for its Chianti Classico and Super Tuscans. That view during sunset was my favourite.
Florentine classics
My favourite restaurant in Florence is Trattoria Mario, near the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. My usual order is the bistecca alla fiorentina, a Florentine steak dish that’s only served rare. I also love lampredotto sandwiches, which are a classic that you can get at a spot called Bambi Trippa e Lampredotto in the Mercato Centrale.
Pizza Roma
For me, Rome is the best place in the world to eat pizza. In Naples, they're obviously known for one very famous, unreal style of pizza. But in Rome, there are three very famous and distinct styles: the tonda is a small, round pizza with a thin, crispy crust; the al metro is about a metre long, baked on a long wooden board, and is cut up and served by weight; and the al taglio is baked in a pan to create a crisp bottom, but light crust. I like 180Grammi Pizzeria Romana by Teano station for tonda pizza, Forno Campo di Fiori near Piazza Navona for al metro pizza and Panificio Bonci near Vatican City — which is close to where I usually stay, in Prati — for al taglio pizza.
Catania fish market
In Sicily, I very briefly worked at a restaurant called La Capinera in Letojanni, which is close to Taormina, where White Lotus was filmed. Every morning, we’d spend like an hour on the beach before work. Eat cheap paninos. It was a lot of fun. The Catania Fish Market is one of the best in the world, and it’s also famous for its arancini.
Palio di Siena
Still on my bucket list is to go to Siena for the Palio di Siena, a famous horse race that runs through the middle of the town. It’s also the oldest horse race in the world. The way it works is the town is split up into 17 districts, and every district has a rider.
PUBLIC Hotel
I’m definitely a hotel guy. When I’m New York I love PUBLIC Hotel. It's exactly where I want to be, and I love how the hotel leaves you to it with not a lot of interaction. I wake up, I go down and get a bagel from Russ & Daughters and a coffee from Ludlow.
New York City Pizza
Pizza-wise, I’ll go to Scarr’s Pizza or Una Pizza Napoletana, both in Soho. I think there’s a different mindset when it comes to eating pizza in New York compared to Italy. In Italy, I’m thinking about the quality and the texture of the dough and I get excited to mix and match more complicated flavours. But in New York, I stick to a classic cheese or pepperoni, and I’m not thinking too much about the pizza I’m eating.
Capturing moments
My mom would heavily document everything with one of those big VHS camcorders, so I can remember certain trips because of that. And funny enough, I’m the person in my group of friends who does it now: taking videos when nobody wants to, and then throwing them in group chats down the line to remind everyone how fun things were.
Yucatán cenotes
I’m going back to Mérida in a few months. It's an amazing city, and not as developed compared to other spots on the coast. There are some amazing local restaurants like Panchomaiz and Ramiro Cocina, both located in the city centre. You’re also in the Yucatán, so there are also so many cenotes, which are like natural pools. Some are more touristy than others, and they’re mapped out kind of like parks. They’re so fun.
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I'm one of the (apparently) few who much prefer Roman pizza tonda to Neapolitan, but it is exceedingly difficult to find, outside of Rome. Even in somewhat nearby Florence, the Neapolitan style dominates.