Its been a while since I’ve had pizza that blew me away, but that changed recently when I made my first (and definitely not last) stop at Proof Pizza & Pasta. I’m one of those individuals that stands by the notion that even bad pizza is good, but trust me when I tell you that the best neapolitan style pizza in Miami can be found at proof. Located across the Shops at Midtown, this somewhat petite restaurant is a gem created by chefs Justin Flit and Matt DePante.
The two chefs helm from quite an impressive pedigree, coming from culinary greats such as DBGB, Gramercy Tavern, Bourbon Steak and The Dutch. They took all their experience and used it to create the pizza and pasta that is taking Miami by storm. Using the most authentic and freshest ingredients possible, Justin Flit and Matt DePante are paving the way for how restaurants should be behaving themselves. Handmade pasta, Double OO flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and homestead vegetables are a few of the ingredients used, showing how far the culinary scene in Miami has come.
Proof’s Oxtail Pizza, composed of braised oxtail, mozzarella, black garlic, thyme, and caramelized onions, is the pizza that I will judge other pizzas against from now on. A menagerie of flavors is presented in every slice, with perfectly distributed fatty and unctuous meat complimented by cheese and sweet caramelized onions being the perfect foil to the flavorful black garlic. Although this pizza seems like savory overload on paper, Proof actually manages to create a work of art that has climbed the list as one of the best dishes I’ve had all year. Each pizza is made to order and is cooked in a 900 degree wood burning oven typically filled with oak and cherry wood. The 18 hour proofed dough has a tender and pillowy inside with charring on the undercarriage and leopard-spotting along the rim. This expertly created technique can only be achieved by having great dough, a oven that reaches screaming hot temperature, and awesome technique. This is how I know Proof is the real deal.
My return to Proof is inevitable. If everything is as grandiose as the pizza, I can easily see Proof becoming a rotating staple in my culinary rotation. I can never get tired of stellar pizza, and this is the best that I’ve had in recent memory.
Proof Pizza and Pasta
3328 N Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33127
(786) 536-9562
proofpizza.com/
@proofpizza
By food editor, Santiago Cardona
