Beginning approximately 5 years ago wood-fired pizza began springing up in the county, spreading its fire-licked goodness so that no matter your zip, a crunchy-crusted pie is not far away. Following are among the best wood-fired pies around Westchester. If your favorite is missing let us know in the comment section below.
Burrata
Any pie is going to please (the pastas are primo as well) at this smartly decorated restaurant with an orange-gold Stefano Ferrara Forni oven built by a century-old Neapolitan company. The ingredients are top-level, including pizza dough made with stone-ground New York State flour; imported tomatoes from a small farm cooperative in San Marzano, Italy; and Sicilian sea salt. If forced to choose one (oh the struggle!), it would be the soppressata with tomato, garlic, mozzarella, basil, and the star— fiery soppressata.
RiverMarket Bar and Kitchen
The Pavesi oven fired by a combination of hardwoods at classy-casual RiverMarket is gas-assisted but who are we to quibble when the results are excellent: crispy yet puffed edges that retains some chew. House-made meatballs (pictured) are among the many artisan toppings but don’t forget the Mountain Smokehouse sausage, local pepperoni, Feather Ridge Farmhouse egg, Sicilian anchovies, and Montauk little neck clams. Oh, heck just throw ’em all on there for a truly specially topped pie.
The Parlor
Regardless if you think cutting your pizza with scissors is fun-cool or pretentious, one bite of any pie from Dave DiBari’s 800ËšF oven will make you forget about any snipping and cutting efforts. Pockets of smoky char combine with a soft doughiness to make a stellar crust with inspired selections such as lemon and smoked scamorza (my favorite), the “everything bagel”, eggplant parm, and sausage with tomato sauce, chili, and aged goat cheese.
Photo by Andre Baranowski
Pizzeria La Rosa
A focused short menu (four base pies, four apps, a couple salads, and two plated entrées) means owners Matt DiGesu (formerly at Brooklyn’s Best Pizza) and Frank Pinello (CIA grad, Best Pizza owner, and host of Viceland’s The Pizza Show) put a lot of thought about what they were going to serve and made sure each dish was on point. The 1924 Petersen oven doesn’t hurt the either. The white pizza with ricotta, pecorino, caramelized onions, and sesame seeds, is the hands-down winner here, for its balancing of creamy, salty, sweet, and earthy (the warm crunch of the sesame seeds).
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