Motorino

After the success of an all FBM girls’ dinner for the cookie swap, we decided we should try to meet once a month for dinner, chatter but mostly… food!  This month’s pick was pizza – we’re trying to keep it moderately priced, with some of us planning weddings, or being students, or just not wanting to spend a lot of money – and Motorino was chosen, though KC had been there before because she’d really liked it. 

We decided to split a bottle of ‘the perfect pizza wine’ as the menu called it.  A semi-sparkling red served in juice cups, this stained my lips but I liked how it was very middle – medium body, medium sweet/fruit balance, medium sparkliness.  I thought it did a good job as a pizza wine. 

With four girls, we also opted to split four pizzas so we could try more things.  First up was cremini and spicy sausage. 

The first thing I noticed as I picked up my slice was how soft it was.  The crust was pillowy, like a really good naan, with some excellent char in spots for crispness.  Ah, the joys of a super hot wood oven.  The creminis were lovely on top of the pizza, though the sausage wasn’t particularly spicy.  Yum.  We were off to an excellent start. 

Next was the cherrystone clam pie.  Otto last month had been my first experience ordering a clam pie, and I’d been told that it was usually served with the shells and all, so I was pleasantly surprised when this one arrived with the clams already mixed into the cheese atop the pie. 

Another very juicy pie with good char; first bite was redolent with clam flavor though I didn’t see or feel any clams.  I added a squeeze of lemon juice to the rest of my slice and marveled at how that one small addition brightened up the flavor – not that it needed it – and made the whole slice even better than it already was.  Yum!  I had to force myself not to finish the crust here. 

Ahhh, the pie I’d been dying to try since I first heard of it: brussels sprouts and pancetta.  Yet another very juicy pie, but no complaints here. 

Excuse the blur, I was very excited to finally dig into the pie I wanted so badly, and I was rewarded handsomely with a lovely, lovely salty flavor from the pancetta, smokiness from the oven, and the juicy Brussels sprouts added a lot of flavor and a bit of crunch.  Love.  I LOVED this pie, though I’d be hard pressed were I required to choose among the first three for a favorite.  They were all very good. 

The fourth and last pie, which I somehow forgot to take an upskirt (my hands were covered in the pizzas’ juices by this point), was the stracciatella, or basil/olive oil/sea salt, and ricotta.  I enjoyed the flavors of this pie, but the texture really put me off; the pizza is soft already and the ricotta was just all soft… I wanted some contrasting texture, not just all softness.  Ah well.

The total, with tip, came out to $32/person.  Not bad at all for a relaxed evening chatting with friends and eating pizza!  Note that the place is really, really tiny though… and initially, the shuffling around to get settled in the winter (with extra layers to be peeled off, put aside, etc.) can get a be tiresome. 

Yvo says: Yummy pizza for this style – puffy crust, excellent toppings, well-executed.  They also have a ridiculous lunch special – $12 for a salad and a pizza, which includes the Brussels sprouts pie.  Super cheap (the pizza is usually $16).  I’d totally do that, so good!  Definitely will be back for more pizza.
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