Slice
Openings: Fornaccio, Williamsburg
When we visited Toby's Public House last week, not only did we pick up on some great pizza, we also picked up a tip to pass on to you.
Nicola Bertolotti, who was brought in to school the other pie-makers at Toby's, will be opening his own place in Williamsburg in mid August.
The new pizzeria will be called Fornaccio, which Bertolotti told us means "old oven." The name derives from the fact that Bertolotti happened up an old house with a hundred-year-old oven that he's been restoring, along with the rest of the place.
Fornaccio will make Neapolitan-style pizzas there, and the oven will be wood-fired. Bertolotti plans an extensive wine list for the pizzeria as well, importing glassware and tableware from Italy for some authentic detail.
The space is on Havemeyer between North 6th and North 7th streets, not more than a pizza-brick's throw away from Fornino, where Bertolotti once worked under chef-owner Michael Ayoub. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, but given the pies Bertolotti turned out at Fornino and those he's overseeing at Toby's, I'd put stock in Fornaccio to emerge a strong buy in the area.
You can catch Bertolotti's work at Toby's in Park Slope–Windsor Terrace for the next three weeks or so before he moves north to concentrate on finishing his spot. Look for the ribbon-cutting later this summer.
Fornaccio
Havemeyer Street, between North 6th and North 7th streets