First Taste: Motorino Pizza Is Awesome

Posted by Adam Kuban, October 21, 2008 at 4:15 PM

Clockwise from top left: Motorino has a nice airy space on Graham Avenue and Devoe Street. The C.R.U.S.T.™ scan reveals the char quotient. A Margherita pie, boxed for take-out.

Motorino

319 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211 (at Devoe Street; map); 718-599-8899; motorinopizza.com
Getting There: L train to Graham Avenue; walk 1 block south from train
Pizza Style: Neapolitan; 10-inch pies, enough for one person
Oven Type: Wood-burning
The Skinny: Based on what I've had so far, the only Neapolitan-style pizza in New York better than this one right now is Una Pizza Napoletana. Excellent bready crust with great hole structure. Typical Naples-style pies along with some more inventive pizzas. Affordable, too!
Price: Most pizzas here are in the $10 to $13 range, with cheapest being Marinara ($9) and priciest being Pugliese ($15). Visa/MC/AmEx, cash

OK, sit down, homeslices, because I've got news for you.

That new Motorino place in Williamsburg?

Awesome.

I got this email from my coworker Raphael Saturday night: "It's good. Possibly very good. What I had last night was Franny's-caliber. I've got some not-so-great pics (I'll write up a quick review if you like), but you should get out there and do a review ASAP."

Well, I was heading to the Yura Yura Teikoku show in Williamsburg Sunday night, so I figured I'd leave a little early and hit up Motorino beforehand. And then, I had to go back yesterday for lunch for a second take on what I thought I had tasted and felt the night before: Right now, at this moment, Motorino is spittin' some of the best new pizza in New York from of its wood-burning oven.

And it's totally affordable. Pizzas run from $9 (Marinara) to $15 (Pugliese, with sausage), with the majority between $11 and $13. No $21 pizzas here.

That this pizza is amazing seems unlikely. The guy behind it, Belgian Mathieu Palombino, comes from stints at the fancy-pants Manhattan restaurants BLT Fish, Bouley, Cafe Charbon, and Cello. That hardly says pizza pedigree. But he knows what he's doing. His Neapolitan-style pies have brilliant hole structure; great bready, salty flavor; and a crisp-chewy factor that's close to being off the charts.

I had a Margherita on my first visit. True to the Neapolitan style, the sauce is made from San Marzano tomatoes, and it tasted as fresh as needed with just enough seasoning to give it some interest. There might be just a bit too much sauce going on, but it seemed to work out OK because there's also lots of fresh mozzarella to balance it out. In fact, when the server placed it in front of me, he suggested I wait a bit before tearing into it. If you're familiar with Di Fara, it was sort of like that—lots of molten gooiness in the center with a healthy pour of olive oil to boot. The crust managed to hold up very well under its delicious burden, maintaining the essential balance of the Motorino Margherita. (And, you know, while I've never been to Naples, I've heard that a soupy center is often the hallmark of the pizzas in that fair city, so maybe this speaks well for the authenticity of this pies there.)

Ten default pizzas are on offer (see menu below), with a couple seasonal pies thrown in the mix (right now a porcini, oregano, and Parmigiano pie and a lardo, savoy cabbage, and Parmigiano pie). Two of the standard pies are white pies (no sauce)—the Pugliese (sausage, broccolini, chiles, and burrata) and the Speck (fior di latte, speck, fresh peas, and Parmigiano). The pizza menu shows some out-of-the-ordinary pies—the Speck, the Lardo, and the Mussel pizzas—as well as the familiar Margherita and Marinara pies.

Placing Motorino along the spectrum of Neapolitan-style pizzas in the city, I'd have to say it's not quite Una Pizza Napoletana but is hot on its heels. (Motorino just doesn't have that puffy-soft airiness to the crust that UPN can have at times.) And is it Franny's-caliber, as Raphael said? Hard to say, because Franny's seems to be not exactly Neapolitan in nature somehow.

As for other top-rated and popular Neapolitan pies in the city, Motorino blows them away. And, yes, Luzzo partisans, it even blows away—especially blows away—Luzzo's, whose popularity among Slice readers I have never understood. And given that Motorino is only three more stops east on the L train than Luzzo's, there's no reason to make the extra trip.

A Motorino Lunch

Like I said, I had to go back for lunch yesterday to see if my mouth had deceived me. I had a Pugliese pie. (Sausage pizza is my favorite.) The crust was just as good as I remembered—a feat of quality control, I should note, as owner-pizzaiolo Palombino was nowhere to be seen on Monday afternoon. I liked the Margherita more than the Pugliese—I just wasn't feelin' the large rounds of sausage and would have liked a little tomato sauce on this one. Still, not a bad lunch.

I brought back a Margherita for the Slice–Serious Eats office here, and on a quick toaster-oven revival, none other than Ed "Slice of Heaven" Levine proclaimed it was "a Top 3 New York City pizza"—falling back to "Top 10" after I balked at that statement.

Go early. Go now. Motorino is serving a pizza-starved part of Williamsburg. It is the Franny's of Graham Avenue. And by that I mean it will soon be acked-pay.

Motorino Menu

Marinara: tomato, oregano, olive oil, garlic ($9)
Margherita: fior di latte, tomato, basil ($11)
Margherita DOC: mozzarella di bufala, tomato, basil ($14)
Anchovy: fior di latte, tomato, anchovies, capers, oregano, olives ($10)
Pommodori: fior di latte, fresh tomatoes, pancetta, garlic, basil ($12)
Mussels: fior di latte, tomato, mussels, basil ($12)
Pugliese: burrata, broccolini, sausage, fresh chiles, garlic ($15)
Speck: fior di latte, speck, fresh peas, Parmigiano ($14)
Soppressata Piccante: fior di latte, tomato, spicy soppressata, garlic, chile oil ($11)
Artichoke: fior di latte, tomato, artichoke, olives, garlic, oregano, pecorino ($13)

19 Comments Favorite this! (0)

Tags: Brooklyn, Motorino, Neapolitan-Style, NYC, Reviews, Slice Reviews, Williamsburg, wood-oven

19 Comments:

The pizza at Motorino had one of the best crusts I've ever had.

Raphael at 5:39PM on 10/21/08

Motorino's pizza even reheated well when Adam brought a pie back to SE World HQs. The crust really came back to life.

Ed Levine at 6:45PM on 10/21/08

OMG!! The pizza here is delicious, the pommodori is AMAZING! The flavor literally brings your taste buds to life w/ each bite. FYI the mozzarella di bufala...fanfreakintastic.

MelodyM at 8:18PM on 10/21/08

Agree the tomato sauce is something special. Also good cheese, toppings.

Salad I had was excellent.

I could see it toasting up well but I did not love the poofy crust at game-time. (I guess that's what denotes Neapolitan? maybe my tastes are more thin and Roman.)

Not to be snooty but the svc needs some serious help -- well-intentioned and nice but painfully untrained -- there were literally five separate people checking on my table every 3-5 min. I assume this can be sorted out.

One other note -- currently BYOB and the wine store they give you a 5% discount to go hit is severely lacking. To compare w/in the neighborhood -- Uva is literally (and at last) 20x better. So import your vino from elsewhere or get a sixer at the corner deli.

How does it compare to Roberta's? I've yet to got here...

Jack_Barber at 8:52PM on 10/21/08

Those are some serious looking pies. Me and my oven are greener than that broccoli rabe. Damn. Any intel on their oven?

Ciao,

Paulie Gee

pauliegee at 8:56PM on 10/21/08

I TOLD you it was awesome!!!

I think I have to go back really soon before it gets insanely crowded.

charm city cupcake at 11:19PM on 10/21/08

Judging from pics posted on Eater blog, it is a modular Renato oven. Judging by the looks of the pizzas - which look awesome - I'd say there is no gas used and it is all wood. Renato is just a couple towns over from me in the Dallas area. Neapolitan style is the only way to go!

Off topic, but just got back from a quick trip to San Antonio where we checked out Dough Pizzeria (www.doughpizzeria.com) - also extremely awesome neapolitan pies by a guy who knows what he is doing. Also made burrata to order. Texas is getting some good pie.

canerosso at 11:32PM on 10/21/08

"And, yes, Luzzo partisans, it even blows away—especially blows away—Luzzo's, whose popularity among Slice readers I have never understood."

What's up with the rampant hating on Luzzo's, Adam? I can understand if you don't think it's the number one pie in town, but how can a pizza lover not appreciate what they're cranking out?

(And it's not a rhetorical question. Write a post explaining your anti-Luzzo's stance sometime. I'd actually be curious to read it.)

petey at 11:46PM on 10/21/08

@canerosso Thanks for the heads up on Eater and the oven intel. Those are very nice shot of the interior. It's a shame he's ruining what looks like a very good pie by putting it in that takeout/delivery box. I know that the Serious Eats crew said it held up well, but I'm a right outta the oven kinda guy. I'll have to check it out for myself this weekend. Hopefully their PR guy didn't do too good a job and I'll be able to get in. I didn't know pizzerias hire PR firms. As far as Dough Pizzeria goes, that name congers up visions of some seriously undercooked pizza.

Ciao,

Paulie Gee

pauliegee at 8:29AM on 10/22/08

This looks seriously delicious. Thanks for all of the info-- I will be visiting soon.

@Jack_Barber, Roberta's is good pizza for sure, but I've had better in NY, and the service can be terrible. It's a bit pricey for the size of the pies but BYOB. It's a good place to go in a car.. lots of parking.

Laurel E at 10:27AM on 10/22/08

@Petey: Even as I was writing that, I somehow knew it was not right to include in this review. I probably should have let this sit for a bit and come back to it with my editor's hat on. I think I was trying to describe in-office here, what the quality of Motorino was like vs. other top-rated or popular Neapolitan-style pizzas in NYC. On my personal top Neapolitan list is UPN. But I know that many, many pizza fans in the city are nuts about Luzzo's. So I was using both of them as touchstones in describing Motorino, as everyone in the office is familiar with both.

Anyway, "how can a pizza lover not appreciate what they're cranking out? ¶ (And it's not a rhetorical question. Write a post explaining your anti-Luzzo's stance sometime. I'd actually be curious to read it.)"

It's true, I've never done a full-on post about Luzzo's, and it is probably due for one. I've just never been that excited about Luzzo's. I don't know how many emails I get about it, and comments on the site, and they're all along the lines of "Luzzo's is the best in the city -- better than UPN."

And after I get enough of those comments, I end up visiting again, just to see if I've missed something. Maybe the crust has gotten better? Maybe I've just been visiting always on off days?

But it is always the same. As I wrote in April 2005, after my first round of visits: "The times we've been there, we found the crust to be crisp and chewy, exquisitely light, but a little bland and devoid of the nice char we like on Totonno's or Patsy's or Grimaldi's pies."

The crust has always been the same there since -- remarkably light and airy, but, to me, it has almost no flavor. Maybe my palate is desensitized to a degree that I require more saltiness or yeastiness than other folks. I don't know. But for me, I just do not think Luzzo's crust has much flavor. And I don't think that what's going on on top compensates for it.

I would be up for doing another visit, though if they read these comments, they'll probably kick my ass out of there if they recognized me. But it would be fun to do a Luzzo's LES/Luzzo's Midtown side-by-side. I could then once again test my palate *and* see if there are any variations between the two locations, as Scott "Pizza Tour" Wiener says.

So, yeah, Petey, it was unfair of me to slag off Luzzo's needlessly above. I apologize for that. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I enjoy your type of comment the most.

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

Adam Kuban at 11:34AM on 10/22/08

@Jack_Barber: What Laurel E said. Roberta's for me was more about atmosphere. Great place with good pizza. The crust was a little dense and a tad too chewy. But the toppings were excellent, the crust had good flavor, and I loved the vibe of the place.

With Motorino it's almost the opposite. *Great* pizza and a good space. It's a clean, handsome, minimalist space (see these pix on Eater), but fairly generic. It's not like you haven't been in other places that look pretty much the same.

If you're strictly about the food, Motorino is the way to go. Its pizza was better, in my book. If you want a nice, long, relaxing evening with friends, Roberta's would be the better choice. It would depend on your mood.

Adam Kuban at 11:40AM on 10/22/08

@Petey: Here's Ed Levine's take on the pizza at Luzzo's. Those are pretty much my feelings exactly. Again, with that post, the same pleas to try the place again—a different pie, at a different hour. Every time, I get the bug to go again. So, yeah, I think I will go within the next few weeks (I have another itch to scratch before that) and report back.

Adam Kuban at 11:48AM on 10/22/08

I agree Adam! I've been to Roberta's for a birthday party and although it may take a while to get your pizza, they don't rush you out the door and you can hang out with your BYOB and revel.

Now we'll see if we agree on Motorino's.. can't wait to try.

Laurel E at 5:32PM on 10/22/08

Went to Motorino's last night. When i got there it was empty. Ordered the Margharita DOC (w/ bufala mozzarella). Overall, i thought it was good ... and agree, that the taste is very similar to difara. However, the crust was way too doughy/dense and undercooked. Not sure why. By the time i left, the place was jam packed.

Overall, however, I still enjoy roberta's neopalitan more, for pure simplicity, which I think is more in the line of Joe and Pat's or Patsy's (harlem).

By the time dinner was finished, this place was jam packed.

crob77 at 11:44AM on 10/23/08

@crob77: Just to be clear, because I don't even want to start the whole "How is it compared to Di Fara" thing here, I don't think it tasted like Di Fara. I think the molten gooiness of the sauce and cheese were Di Fara–like, but the overall flavor profile was different. For one, Motorino is not using the same cheese roundup, so you won't get that sharp-salty-tangy flavor Dom achieves.

Sorry to hear your crust was undercooked. That's not good! I hope I haven't now doomed Motorino to the "Slice Curse."

Adam Kuban at 12:04PM on 10/23/08

************IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH******************

Roberta's is not BYOB anymore, they changed the policy about 3 weeks ago. They're not popping corks or letting you open bottles/cans. It lost a lot of charm for me.

canonizer at 12:08PM on 10/24/08

Motorino in the East Village opened this week. I had never been to the original outpost in Brooklyn but read many good reviews so we were looking forward to the opportunity to experience Motorino pizza in the City. It was hands down the worst pizza experience we have every had. You can get a better pizza in any slice shop in the City. The restaurant is small, loud and has no atmosphere. The chairs are so close together that the slightly overweight hostesses and servers have to constantly interrupt you and ask you to move your chair so they can move about the room. The service was horrible and the pizzas were worse - it took over 45 minutes for the pizzas to arrive at the table and when we questioned why our order was taking so long we were told that the computer went down. There are only about 15 tables in the shop - not sure what the computer has to do with the long wait for the pizza. The sauce on the sopressato pizza was so salty and bitter that I could not even eat it. The crust wasn't thoroughly cooked and the whole thing was watery and soggy. The yellow squash pizza with pancetta was flavorless - tasted like a mound of melted cheese and had 3 small sage leaves. Don't believe the hype and do yourself a favor - pick up a slice and save yourself the time and the money.

NEO123 at 8:52AM on 09/19/09

Wow! For a first post on here you really slammed them ( I'ld be pissed if I was a hostess / Server here ) Is it maybe that you just don't like that style?
I've never been to either location and visually I like the look,but have heard from others that the dough was bland and that they had issues with balanced cooking. Reviews of the service in Brooklyn seem to have been less than favorable also.Maybe peoples expectations of pizzerias are equal to that of all restaurants these days? Time will tell. Did you return your food? Were you offered anything else?

seriouspizza at 12:44PM on 09/19/09

Add a comment:

Previewing your comment:

HTML Hints

Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>

Comment Guidelines

Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.

Slice - slice.seriouseats.com