That's a Mighty Fancy Neapolitan Certificate at Bertucci's

Jay Jerrier, the owner of Cane Rosso, an acclaimed mini-chain of (certified) Neapolitan pizzerias in the Dallas area, happened to be up in this neck of the woods last week and stopped by the Canton location of Bertucci's for some pizza. What he found there was an "incredibly sweet" staff...and a bit of scandal. He left a message on the chain's Facebook page pointing out that it's not cool to post a certificate from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the organization that strictly governs "authentic" Neapolitan pizza around the world, unless you've actually earned it. The number listed on the certificate appears to be either 468 or 168, neither of which corresponds to any existing listings on the AVPN's site, and Bertucci's is not listed as a United States member.

"There are a handful of restaurants that work really hard to obtain and maintain that certification," writes Jerrier on Facebook. "It's not easy. It's really slimy and disappointing to see restaurants just throw up a forged certificate on the wall. Your pizza is fine, but it is NOWHERE close to being authentic Neapolitan. Your gigantic, gas flame, Woodstone oven is a dead giveaway."

Massimo Di Porzio, executive vice president of the AVPN chimes in with a follow-up comment: "Our logo and rules are registrated in USA and Bertucci is not allowed by our board to use it. So please remove it, before we ask a lawyer to force you to remove. Regards." Neapolitan pizza is serious business.

UPDATE: Bertucci's has responded to Jerrier on Facebook: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into the situation and will remove them from any location that might be displaying one."