Which SoFlo pizza chain was named one of the 50 best in the world?

This is “Small Bites,” a South Florida Sun Sentinel feature with tiny tidbits on the food and beverage scene — because we know that sometimes you just don’t have room for a long article. You want a little news brief instead, an amuse bouche of information, if you will. Enjoy!

WHAT: Did you know there’s a World Pizza Summit?

Yup, it’s part of the European Pizza Show, which took place in London in November, presented by 50 Top Pizza, an online guide that annually ranks the best pizzerias worldwide.

And get this, our very own Pummarola Pizzeria Napoletana got major hype.

Not only did the South Florida boutique brand of eateries — helmed by four brothers from the Mele family — make the list of “50 Top World Artisan Pizza Chains,” coming in at No. 45, but they were the only ones from the Sunshine State to be ranked.

“When it was announced that Pummarola was one of the top 50 pizza chains in the world, I literally started to think how everything started and all the hard work my employees, my family and I put in,” said co-owner Larry Mele. “It is incredible that in 12 years we are now competing against 100-year-old pizzerias, mostly located in Italy. We will focus now on climbing the ladder to do even better next year, remembering that our staff makes the magic happen.”

WHAT THE WORLD PIZZA SUMMIT SAID: “The secret of their success lies in the careful selection of ingredients, which come directly from Italy: San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, broccoli rabe! The dough, prepared following ancient Neapolitan traditions, is light and soft thanks to a long leavening that lasts at least 72 hours. The result is a classic Neapolitan pizza, thin and elastic, cooked in a wood-fired oven as tradition dictates.”

HOW WINNERS ARE RANKED: Inspectors throughout the world are invited to consider each pizzeria and to make an assessment based on its capacity to guarantee the well-being of the customer based on his or her informed selection from the menu, according to Larry Mele. They submit nominations then are given an extensive survey and divided into national panels before anonymously visiting the pizzerias. The criteria includes the quality of the pizza (leavening and primary ingredients), service, location, wait times and beverage lists.

MORE ABOUT PUMMAROLA: The family has Pummarola locations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Midtown Miami, Kendall (The Falls) and Coral Gables. There are also two in Spain, in Ibiza and in Barcelona. In the Neapolitan dialect of southern Italy, “pummarola” means tomato (the nickname given to their grandmother’s red sports car, which she was known for driving around Naples in the late ’60s and early ’70s.)

EXTRA TIDBIT: In September, Larry Mele and his Neapolitan band of brothers Lorenzo, Davis and Adelchi branched out and opened Emily’s Garden in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee Village, right around the corner from Pummarola.

INFORMATION: Visit pummarola.us.