Some may call me a pizza snob, and I won’t deny it. Now, let me begin by saying that really great pizza is not difficult to come by in NYC, but really special pizza is a whole other story. Let me tell you about some really special pizza.

My cousin, Danielle, just moved to a new apartment in the East Village, and when my mom and I came to visit her and my aunt on move-in day, Danielle took us to Motorino Pizza! Motorino is a restaurant that began making its hand-crafted, Neapolitan-style pizzas in Brooklyn and has since expanded with locations all over the city and even across the globe in several Asian cities! It’s been reviewed highly by Zagat, New York Magazine, the New York Times, and many more trusted publications. Now that I’ve seen what all the hype is about, I’ll echo their praise and shout it from the rooftops because this place is amazing!

We began our meal with a Baby Kale Caesar Salad.

The fresh greens were piled high like a snow-capped mountain, except the snow in this case was wonderfully salty parmesan cheese. I’m personally not a fan of whole anchovies, but I do love the flavor they bring out in anything you put them in! The Caesar dressing was at once both rich and light. I also loved the crunchy croutons dispersed throughout this delicious salad!

We came hungry and ordered three pizzas between the four of us, which was plenty! We got a Margherita pizza, a Stracciatella pizza, and a Brussels Sprout pizza! The crust on Motorino’s pizzas are what truly make these pizzas so special. Each crust was so consistently perfect– a slight chewy bite with the slightly smoky, lightly charred air bubbles characteristic of pizza baked with love in a wood-fired oven. I’m that friend who always picks the slice with the most crust bubbles– always have been, always will be– so this crust made me oh so happy!

The classic Margherita pizza was topped with a wonderful tomato sauce, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano cheese (similar to Parmesan), basil, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. Something so simple can truly be exceptional when it’s done right, and this pizza definitely hit that mark. I loved how I could taste each of the fresh, quality ingredients individually and how they came together to create a perfect bite.

The Stracciatella was a glistening white pool of both mozzarella and fior di latte cheese. Have no fear– I did the googling so you don’t have to. The difference between the two cheeses is that fior di latte is made from cow’s milk, while traditional mozzarella is made from buffalo’s milk! This pizza was also topped with cherry tomatoes and basil! The Stracciatella had my favorite texture, with its ooey gooey cheesiness, but the flavor wasn’t my favorite– I couldn’t tell why, but it was slightly more bitter than I wanted it to be.

My favorite pizza in flavor was by far the Brussels Sprout pizza! Pecorino and Fior Di Latte cheese were the base for lots of garlic and a generous amount of delightfully seasoned brussels sprout leaves. The sprouts were stars. They were bright and earthy, salty and savory. Why have brussels sprouts as a pizza topping not always been a thing?! Good job, Motorino. Very good job.

 
In other news, I’m thrilled to have not one, but two NYC internships this summer– one as Volunteer Engagement intern for the Food Bank of NYC and one as Editorial/Journalism Intern for The Triumphant Scoop– and this means I’ll be in the city all the time and that means… I’m going to likely be eating at many more exciting NYC foodie hot spots and of course I can’t wait to tell you all about them!!!

Enjoy! 🙂 Love, The Perky Foodie