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10/27/2004 Archived Entry: "On Pizza Patrol"

On the Lower East Side
I never did get to Una Pizza Napoletana when it was in Point Pleasant, on the New Jersey shore. I heard about it from my radio listeners, but the deal was too shaky for a two-hour drive from Brooklyn, and for my temperament. Anthony Mangieri, the pizza maker, was open only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There were, I was told, long waits for the pizza, since Anthony shaped, topped and baked every pie himself. And he closed when he ran out of dough, which could be in the middle of the afternoon on a busy weekend. Anthony must have been inspired by Totonno’s in Coney Island, where, in the days when Totonno himself was alive, you never knew if you were going to get a pizza or not until you got there. As I said, the deal was a little too tenuous to chance a two hour drive.

Now Anthony has opened Una Pizza Napoletano at 349 E. 12th St., just west of First Ave. Naturally, I high-tailed it down there as soon as I heard. That’s only 15 minutes from home. I went with my picky pizza buddies Ed Levine, who has just finished writing a book of essays about pizza that should be out next spring; Maurizio De Rosa, who was born in Naples, home of pizza; Jeffrey Steingarten, the food columnist for Vogue; Bob Harned, who has eaten pizza in Naples hundreds of times with me, and Jeff’s wife, Caron Smith, curator of the Rubin Museum of (Himalayan) Art and a good judge of anything edible and/or artful.

So … Anthony’s pizza is fabulous. It’s Neapolitan in character as you are ever going to get outside Naples. What does that mean? The dough has real bread flavor, which Anthony gets by using a dough starter, instead of commercial yeast. It isn’t crisp, except for the crust on the “frame” as Neapolitans call the puffy edge. But it is thin on the bottom. It’s sparingly topped, not laden with stuff. And it has a pure tomato flavor – not an overcooked sauce flavor, as too many New York pizzas have. (But don’t get me wrong – I love New York pizza. It’s just different.) In this case, the cheese is mozzarella di bufala, which I don’t find necessary for a Neapolitan pizza, but a good thing nevertheless. I actually never eat mozzarella di bufala in New York. It never gets here from Italy in good enough condition to suit my very finicky taste. After all, I get to eat it every day on the farm when I am in Paestum with my culinary vacation groups – Cecilia raises water buffalo for the making of mozzarella – so I have a basis for comparison that most people don’t. By the time the cheese arrives in New York, I don’t find it good for eating for its own sake, but it’s perfectly good for cooking.

Also in the Neapolitan mode, Antonio bakes his pies in a brick, wood-burning oven, and I must say that the charry, smoky flavor that the dough gets from the wood is not as subtle as some – it is deliciously evident.

There are only four pies. Marinara, which is just tomato, garlic, olive oil, oregano and (unnecessarily) whole leaves of basil, was my favorite. I particularly love the sprinkling of coarse sea salt that Antonio puts on all the pies. It’s not just seasoning, it becomes a vital ingredient. Margherita, the one with mozzarella, was also delicious, even when in need of a little more tomato. There is also a filetto di pomodoro, which it really isn’t. It’s a pie with split cherry tomatoes. I’ll pass on that one, although I liked it well enough. On the other hand, the white pizza is not my thing at all.

All the pies are $16.95 each, for a single-person pie about 10 inches in diameter. That’s high, but what price perfection? The pizzeria is open only Thursday through Sunday, from 5 p.m. until the dough runs out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and from noon until the dough runs out on Sunday. Anthony is still making all the pies himself, so if you don’t get there early, you could wait awhile. So far, he doesn’t have a liquor license, so you can bring your own wine or beer.

Neapolitan Pizza in Williamsburg
Michael Ayoub, who was the chef-partner at Cucina in Park Slope, as well as the chef-partner at the much-missed Mike and Tony’s in Park Slope, has just opened a stylish pizzeria on Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street in Williamsburg. It’s called Fornino, which means little oven, but the oven Michael had built is anything but little. It is the impressive, white tile monument at the back of the long, narrow front room. It is decorated with hand-blown glass plates made by Michael himself – he also blew the glass for the beautiful antique-looking lighting fixtures, and, by the way, the red “flame” glass sculpture at David Burke and Donatella restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Eventually, there will be a 50-seat room where the backyard is now, but there already is a greenhouse in the back where Michael is growing herbs for the pizza and some other dishes he will be making in the oven, and greens for salad.

I went to the opening night party, and although I liked every pizza I tried – and I tried many – I adored the one topped with onions and gorgonzola. Michael is using only the very best ingredients and has developed a dough with deep flavor. He is also using his oven, which has several levels at different temperatures, for baking casseroles and braising meat. Each night he will offer one or two dishes in addition to a menu of pizzas.

In Midtown Manhattan
Naples 45 is now offering its pies by the slice, including the one that gets official approval from the Neapolitan organization that is the keeper of standards for la vera pizza Napoletana.