Pizza No. 19, with salami, ham, mushrooms and artichokes at Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo in Frankfurt. Food is ordered according to menu number. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Memories are what recently sent me to Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo in Frankfurt. Not my memories, but those of Frankfurt American High School alumni, of whom I am one.
On FAHS social media posts, Da Angelo came up often over the years: people saying it was the best pizza they ever had, or it was the first time they had hot peppers on a pizza or had a Hawaiian pizza.
But it was one of the last posts that I found intriguing. It included a link to a Frankfurt newspaper story saying that Da Angelo, which opened in 1957, was perhaps the oldest pizzeria in the city and that in the future it might be flattened to make way for subway construction.
It seemed like a good enough reason to try pizza and pasta at Da Angelo’s. The eatery is in a one-story building in the Frankfurter Berg section of the city, near where the U.S. Army’s Drake and Edwards kasernes once were.
There's a lot of action at Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo in Frankfurt, near where the U.S. Army’s Drake and Edwards kasernes once were. At the family-run pizzeria, customers order at the counter, pick up their food and, if staying at the restaurant to eat, return their plates afterward. At right is the Valoriani stone pizza oven. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
It’s more a takeout place than it is a restaurant, but there are six tables squeezed inside and outdoor seating in the front.
At this family-run pizzeria, you order at the counter, pick up your food when it is ready and then return your plates when you are done. My wife and I sat next to a young Italian family across from the counter.
We ordered a white wine and a soft drink, then studied the expansive but simple menu. Lots of pizzas, even more pastas and a couple of salads to choose from. Ordering is done by number.
Menu items No. 19 and No. 63, a pizza and a pasta dish, respectively, at Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo, a beloved and historic Frankfurt pizzeria. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
I chose pizza No. 19, with salami, ham, mushrooms and artichokes. My wife went with pasta mista, No. 63, featuring three types of pasta with three different sauces. It didn’t take long before we got word that our food was waiting for us at the counter.
The pizza was delicious. The homemade crust was thick and crispy at the edge, thin and not quite crispy at the center. There was also plenty of toppings. I enjoyed every bite.
No. 63 on the Da Angelo menu is pasta mista, three types of pasta with three different sauces. The plate consists of rigatoni in tomato sauce, pesto spaghetti and tortellini alla panna, a cream sauce with ham. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The pasta selections were penne with tomato sauce, spaghetti with pesto and tortellini with ham in a cream sauce. My wife thought the tomato sauce seemed rather plain at first, but the tomato taste, slightly seasoned, grew on her.
The pesto was rich with a clear taste of basil and parmesan; the tortellini sauce was creamy and well-seasoned. She too enjoyed it but found it quite filling. We took most of the spaghetti home with us, and it was still delicious the following day.
As we ate, we watched people come and go, carrying out stacks of pizza boxes and containers of pasta. The plates that our fellow dine-in customers were picking up looked quite scrumptious, too.
A post-meal espresso on a recent visit to Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo in Frankfurt. The only dessert item on the menu is tiramisu, which was unavailable that day. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Unfortunately, the only dessert item on the menu, tiramisu, was out, so we settled for espresso.
Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo is an experience worth repeating. And my fellow FAHS alumni and I should still have plenty of chances to do so. The bulldozers are not expected to arrive before the end of the decade.
Da Angelo may be the oldest pizzeria in Frankfurt. Opened in 1957, it has been a popular neighborhood hangout ever since. Near to where the U.S. Army’s Drake and Edwards kasernes once were, it was also a favorite of Frankfurt American High School students who lived nearby. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Pizza and Pasta Da Angelo
Address: Homburger Landstrasse 413, Frankfurt
Hours: 5-11 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday; 12-2:30 p.m. and 5-11 p.m. Wednesday to Friday; noon-11 p.m. Sunday
Prices: Salads start at 6 euros; pizzas range from 5.90 to 13.50 euros, pasta from 8.10 to 13.50 euros; wine costs 5 euros per 0.25 liters, beers 3.50 euros and soft drinks 3 euros. Only cash accepted.
Information: Phone: +49 69-545440 Online: facebook.com/PizzaPastaDangelo?locale=de_DE
