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/

Forcella NYC: Your New Source for Neapolitan Pies

Om Nomz Hero note to Self: After eating at 2 Neapolitan pizza joints in succession under an hour, I have come to the conclusion, it is not possible for me to get tired of eating Neapolitan pies



Hidden on Lorimer Street- sadly they do not sell furniture nor books

When I first discovered the joys of a Neapolitan style pizza, one of the places that I first visited was Olio Pizza e Piú. It was somewhat hip, new and also had a crazy Italian sounding name with accents and such so I had to try it. In addition, their main guy was a man named Giulio Adriani, which is a sorcerer of pizza, I mean if you ever see a picture of the guy, he looks like Dumbledore (hey, it’s a Harry Potter weekend right?) decked out in Caputo flour gear.



More awards, plaques on the wall than my Doctor's off

To say this man knows Neapolitan pizza is an understatement, it is asking if Jay-Z knows how to rap. He is an instructor for the Vera Pizza Neapoletana association (VPN) which teaches and certifies Neapolitan pizza joints all over, straight up Obi Wan status. Unfortunately, the pies at Olio were on the level of “ehh” and wet and I never went back. Adriani has recently showed up back on the pizza radar with the quiet opening of Forcella, in March and SeriousEats recently did a profile on the place giving it a rave review, I needed pizza, pronto.

As they say on Cribs- where the magic happens

Located in Brooklyn, a few blocks down from the Lorimer stop I came here from brunch and arrived a little after 12. I apparently was the first one there and had that awkward moment of standing in the basically empty space and roaring pizza oven, wondering if it was open. For future reference, they open at noon for brunch and in my defense, no where on their website or online menu does it say what time they open. After a bit of a rocky start, I ordered a Capri salad and since I got there stupid early, I wanted to try the fried pizza mentioned on SeriousEats, however, Adriani was not in yet so I opted for the other interesting and brunch suited pie, the Carbonara. Food After the Jump!