Pizza
Eating at Motorino East Village (NYC)
Brussel sprouts and pancetta pizza at Motorino in East Village
I’m a pizza kind of girl. I’ll politely eat burgers (if placed in front of me) and occasionally bow to burritos (mostly if they’re free), but the cheesy, bubbly slice is my cheap eat staple of choice.
Ever since the New York Times’ Sam Sifton declared Motorino “[NYC's] best pizza,” I knew I had to give them a try. I took the subway downtown, transferred to the L, then took it to 1st Ave, luggage clattering behind me as I walked into the fabled land of pizza. The restaurant was small, maybe 30, 40 seats, the walls papered in green and white stripes. Brussels sprouts and pancetta pie ($15) came highly recommended.
Motorino’s pizzas are visually arresting creations. They come like jewel-toned paintings, framed in dough and splashed with vibrant colors of basil, buffalo mozzarella, or maybe clams in their shells. I liked the crust on my pie, which was remarkably light, with just the right amount of chew and char. However, it didn’t quite hold up to heavy toppings – it ended up a bit soggy on the underside with oil by the end. Still, it was a delicious creation, and unlikely ingredients were wholly appropriate for spring, nothing like the waxy buttons I’d imagined. Maybe I’d go for a simpler cheese pie next time. Or their lunch special – just $12 for a pie and salad or dessert. Pairing this baby with a cold beer would be awfully nice.
Oggi’s “to die for” slice of the day
Steak pizza with fried shallots? It sounded promising, and it was indeed pretty tasty.
The shallots added a lot of textural interest – plus they were kind of fun to eat, but didn’t actually add any positive flavor to the slice. They’d clearly been sitting on a pan for a bit, so they weren’t crunchy, and had been overcooked so they actually tasted bitter. As always, though, this place really kills it with their flakey, sesame-seed sprinkled crust. Divine.
I ended up not finishing the slice (I wasn’t that hungry) and gave it to this homeless woman with a broken arm who made me feel so sad that I wished I had just bought her an entire pizza pie.
Getting fat again
So I use “fat” in a tongue-in-cheek way. But I definitely spent the last few weeks watching what I ate, which meant no crazy banquet dinners, dinners of scrambled egg whites and vegetables, and the occasional helping of cheese dip, heaped high with guilt.
As a result, my stomach became a cast iron tank. My collarbone and ribcage took greater prominence. When I lay down, I marveled at how my skin stretched over my gently jutting hipbones. It felt like a lesson in skeletal anatomy.
So on my first day back on Planet Girl, I felt totally free to go on a carb-and-calorie rampage. I was going to eat EVERYTHING and ANYTHING I could possibly ever want to eat. I was going to ignore stomach pains. I was going to consume whatever was put in front of me, especially high in simple starches, sugar, and fats. I was going to try to undo whatever I had done to myself.
The night before, I’d made good work of a ginger-and-scallion lobster dish, a beef/pepper/pineapple stirfry, and a salt and pepper fried squid at Peach Farm in Chinatown. The verdict: the cooking was a bit rushed, and the quality suffered as a result. My dad commented on how slapdash the dishes seemed to be put together, although the beef stirfry was meltingly tender and delicious. Then I topped it off with a half a red bean bun as I stalked around on my 5 inch clear heels, bronzer still caked on my stomach, legs, and arms.
Who moved my vegan cheese? – Peace o’ Pie in Allston
In my free time, I like to club cows and steal milk meant for adorable, doe-eyed little calves from their udders.
No. Not true. But I do eat real cheese. I have no qualms about dead animals and animal products. But I did, however, eat at THREE vegan places last weekend, with no morals attached. I’ll talk about one now.
So how is vegan pizza at relatively newly opened Peace o’ Pie in Allston? Suprisingly awesome, that’s what it’s like. It’s right next door to vegan powerhouse Grasshopper (which I also ate at) and it’s a small, brightly lit and cheery spot that has a sign declaring, “Please do not consume non-vegan food in here,” or something like that. I mean, is it really that offensive if I bring in a latte? Ummm. Ok.
The key here, kids, is that the crust must really hold the entire operation. Vegan cheese, no matter how artfully made, will never even begin to approximate the salty, gooey, stringy pleasures of the real thing. (I’d say this slice could use some more salt to compensate for the relative tastelessness of fake cheese.) Peace o’Pie, in this respect, wins. Their crust is on the thicker side, a good amount of pleasant chew and crunch in the crust, and has a rich, organically-made flavor all its own. I’d say it could be a little thinner and have a bit of extra sauce, to add some moistness to what’s a drier pie with the fake cheese and all, but very good overall.
Their cupcake was also a surprising win, made moist with pumpkin puree and Earth Balance vegan butter spread. The crumbs were all melding into each other in the most fabulous way, with a wisely small measure of frosting since the cake batter was so rich. Who knew that vegan baking could be better than the kind that exploits cows? My friend happily inhaled two.
Also pretty funky: instead of parmesean cheese, you get a shaker with walnut crumbs and nutritional yeast. It tastes terrible on its own, but lends a bit of extra flavor that helps spice up the (relatively inoffensive but unremarkable) cheese.
The Blue October Pizza at Zing! Pizza
I love a well-made pizza pie as much as anybody else, but I often seek out pies that stretch the definition of pizza (see: my entry on Veggie Planet). If I’m going to go the traditional pizza route, I place huge stock in the crust, which should never be soggy from the sauce nor be overpowered by the cheese, and should have the right amount of crunch (especially thin crust) or a touch of buttery flakiness (Oggi’s).
I serendipitously wandered into Zing! by accident one warm spring evening. I’d decided to trek up to Porter Square, saw the sign, and ordered up a slice of their Blue October which is very similar in basic ingredients to Veggie Planet’s Brunch for Henry pizza. Since one of the pizzas was on the smaller side, the super sweet employee threw in another slice for free – so I ate essentially half a pizza for only a few bucks.
Then I doused some leftover in a shower of red chili flakes, just because I love things that bite me back.
How was it? Really, truly delicious. The butternut squash “sauce” isn’t overpowering at all, and pins down the swirling loops of caramelized onion, mozz, spinach, and bleu cheese with subtly sweet, silky undertone. The thin crust (a nice crunch, of course) nicely showcases the toppings, which have that fortunate quality of surprising you with something a little different in each bite – so good its transcendent of whatever you think of its toppings independently.
If only you were a little closer to Harvard Square.
Find it!
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Zing! Pizza
1925 Mass Ave
617 497 4300
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