[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Specializing in authentic Neapolitan pizza, Café Porta Alba provides a plethora of choices on its gourmet menu. Using San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and mozzarella cheese gives this pizza a full flavor that makes its imitators pale in comparison.

Funghi, recommended by the waitress, is a Neapolitan pizza with mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil and mushrooms. The majority of Porta Alba's pizzas include these ingredients, however, there are some with very unusual and unfamiliar items, such as buffalo milk mozzarella, walnut puree, pecorino and fontina.

The dimmed lighting, Italian music playing in the background and the fire light radiating throughout the room creates a romantic ambiance, which made it very uncomfortable to dine alone, and the quiet restaurant is a relaxing retreat. The open floor allows customers to watch as their pizza is prepared, cooked in the wood oven and topped off with fresh basil.

Café Porta Alba is obviously not your typical pizza joint. The pizza is not smothered in cheese, sausage, pepperoni and grease. The ingredients may be a little scary at first for those who are selective about their likes and dislikes, but the first taste of pizza as it was meant to be made will have you crooning Italian love songs.