Special thanks to Aaron Chamberlin and Amy del Real of the Public Market Cafe. The staff at the Café showered us with five courses of the most wonderful, locally-sourced items from their menu, ending with a rosemary and caramel brownie that was the talk of the evening. Aaron shared with us his philosophy of sourcing locally and supporting local farmers and answered all of our questions. We are looking forward to seeing the Public Market thrive as a central meeting place and destination.

For July, I’m thrilled to tell you about ‘Pomo Pizzeria Napoletano (and, no, we are not talking about our former governor). Napoletano pizza is a very specific style of pizza that ‘Pomo part owner and Master Chef Mateo Schiavone, has practiced making for over 30 years.

Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start with salad. Yes, salad.

I dropped by ‘Pomo on a day that they were closed (a Monday) to speak with co-owner Stefano Fabbri. He had just finished putting together a salad with shrimp and a light dressing for himself and his employee — a variation of one of his menu items. He insisted that I join them and we shared a cool, refreshing salad while we spoke. Half way through, he sent his employee off to get the vegetable lasagna, which he had put in the oven some minutes before. That was brought out with cold drinks and we each pulled a portion of it off the plate for ourselves.

I still can’t put my finger on it. There was something about the way that we ate together from one shared plate. Or, maybe something in the very air of that restaurant took me right out of Phoenix and in to a neighborhood restaurant on the Adriatic.

Stefano has a lyric Italian accent and urgent manner that certainly helped transport me across the Atlantic. I found myself using my hands a little more than usual as I spoke. He told me his story, which I will not tell you now. You will have to come to the next Get Your PHX to hear it directly from him. I can tell you that it involves love, immigration and a strong belief that Phoenix is a better place to live than Seattle.

You heard it here first.

But, there’s more. ‘Pomo is the first and only APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani) and VPN (Verace Pizza Napoletana) certified restaurant in Arizona. They have to go to great lengths to get that designation. They use ingredients that are internationally recognized as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). The best known example of this designation is that Champagne only comes from the Champagne region; all others are just sparkling wine. In his case, that applies to his cheeses, his flour, his yeast and a whole list of other ingredients.

Come to July’s Get Your PHX and experience what I felt when I dropped by for a private lunch. You will hear about Stefano’s origins in Rimini Italy, learn about Mateo’s culinary education and try the free samples of what ‘Pomo has to offer. Stefano is also offering drink specials just for our group.

Don’t forget, of course, the monthly Get Your PHX raffle. We already have one free night at the Clarendon Hotel on the list of raffle items you can win. Stay tuned on Facebook for more raffle items and updates.