Brussels Sprout Pizza? Only at Motorino’s

Hola!  Today I had dinner with Chris.  This was unusual since we usually eat brunch together on the weekends.  I decided to try Motorino’s East Village location (the original is in Brooklyn).  It’s arguably the “Best Pizza on the East Coast” according to Rachael Ray.

Motorino’s East Village location is tiny!  I believe Chris counted approximately 38 seats, which might not be too measly compared to other restaurants in the area.  The crowd is young, hip, and full of energy.  The lights are very dim.  The space is cozy and warm.  The marble tables and wooden seats and benches are down-to-earth, yet mindful of New Yorkers’ tastes.  The servers are relaxed and dressed in black t-shirts.  Essentially, it’s an inviting restaurant.

Originally, I had only wanted to order 2 pizzas.  Chris tricked me into ordering 3 pizzas by adding a 4th one to the mix to get me to “compromise.”  Tricky tricky.  I’m sure half a pizza would have been enough to fill me up.  Ugh Chris…

Firstly, let me just say that Motorino needs to get some new knives or change their pizza recipe (probably the former).  I was having the hardest time cutting my slice into bite-size pieces with their dull knife.  I also didn’t want to be holding my slice up in the air aiming the melting cheese in my mouth like a freak.  Oh the obstacles of life!

OKAY!  Now that that’s out in the open… Our first pizza was the Brussels Sprout pizza with pancetta, mozzarella, garlic, and pecorino.  Chris was not loving the idea of brussels sprouts near any kind of pizza, but by the time it got to our table and into his mouth, he was sold (if only until the other 2 pizzas arrived).  Thank goodness for pancetta, because that stuff makes everything taste great.  It wasn’t too fatty either!  The brussels spouts were chopped up and thinly spread across the pizza giving every bite a little crunch (mmm).  The cheese wasn’t overwhelmingly thick or greasy, but it added to the gooeyness that was our undercooked crust.  For some reason, the bottom of our pizza was mushy.  I don’t think that’s how any pizza should be, but perhaps the pizza man was trying too hard to impress us with his thin pizzas.  I just don’t know.  Regardless, taste-wise, Motorino rocked this pizza.

Our second pizza was the highly touted Sopressata Piccante.  That was the first pizza every employee recommended.  This was Motorino’s version of a truly delicious and finger-licking amazing pepperoni pizza.  As my favorite pizza, it warmed its way into my stomach by having an unbelievably perfect crust, fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarrella, and spicy sopressata (pepperoni).  Unlike the Brussels Sprout pizza, this one was baked to perfection.  The red sauce tasted so fresh and light.  So tomatoey.  The sopressata was the star of the show, because it packed a punch of strong savory flavors in a few slices.

Our last pizza was the White Pizza from the specials menu.  This was Chris’ favorite, but he has no idea what he’s thinking.  The crust was just as good as the Sopressata’s.  The few sprigs of basil and the delicate slices of prosciutto were yummy.   But between the crust and the prosciutto, there wasn’t much going on.  The cheese was sparse if present at all.  I just became very bored with this pizza, especially on the heels of a crunchtastic Brussel Sprout pizza and a spicy Sopressata pizza.

Based on this meal, I can’t accurately claim Motorino as having the best pizza on this island (as if my words are worth gold), but I can vouch for it’s very very good pizza.