Forcella: Montanara Pie

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: I was told that I was able to have a topping on the side when ordering the Montanara. Only in NY.

We like to scoff at these Midwest fairs that basically fry the hell out of everything and people pretend to be shocked and say things like, “oh my gosh, how can you really eat a fried stick of butter” but they really mean, “oh my gosh, why am I not eating one?” However, ever since Forcella introduced the Montanara pie, New York is one step closer to achieving fried nirvana, or a prescription to lipator. 

I tried it at their newest location on Bowery and the basic run down of the Montanara is that the pie dough is fried in olive oil (hey, olive oil is healthier than butter!) and then gets the Margarita treatment (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil) and finished off in the oven. The pie is a tad smaller than your average Neapolitan pizza but for the price tag of just a 10 spot, how can you complain? The pie, despite taking a bath in oil, is a lot less greasy than you would expect. The fryer treatment turns the pie into a different animal resulting in a little extra chewy and accentuates the flavors of the dough. Only criticism on this pie is that the bottle lacks any char what so ever, something that a good Neapolitan pie should have. At least it had some decent char action on the top of the pie that gave it a hint of smokiness. This is a pie that should eat quickly though, the last couple of bites where the pie started to get cold the greasiness of the pie started to set in. The Montanara pie is now springing up everywhere from PizzArte in Mid-town and at Don Antonino in Hells Kitchen. The Montanara pie is worth trying at least once and it is not as “unhealthy” as you would suspect it to be and should not result in you getting a firsthand replay of that incident at the Heart Attack Grill.

Forcella

334 Bowery St
Manhattan, NY 10012
http://www.forcellaeatery.com/