Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
SADLY, BRUNO IS NOW CLOSED.
I love when a restaurant comes along and totally reconstructs something that we are all too familiar with. People deconstruct macaroni and cheese, s’mores, and steak tartare all the time. But I was shocked and elated to see someone try something innovative when it comes to margherita pizza.
Bruno opened this past year in the East Village and while the menu focuses on wood-fired pizza, that is only a small part of what they do. The reviews for Bruno have been wildly mixed and generally those are the kind of places doing exciting, boundary-pushing food.
I came in one day for a quick dinner before a tour. I ordered too much, as usual, including a pizza and an interesting black squid dish that mostly worked, but didn’t hit home as much as the pizza.
The pizza was baked perfectly with a nice char around the edges and it was dotted with globs of mozzarella and bright basil. But this was not your usual margherita and I experienced a new kind of flavor when biting into it. I got funky, salty, sourness from the use of fermented tomatoes and it played nicely with the rich cheese and yeasty dough. It’s such a simple change but it gave your expected cheese pizza a whole new layer of complexity.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you surprise people in such a simple and non-aggressive way when it comes to food. It’s as good as your typical margherita pie, but with an unexpected and welcomed twist. Price: $18
| BRUNO |
| 204 East 13th Street (between Third and Second Avenue), East Village (212) 598-3080 |
| brunopizzanyc.com |
