Forcella’s Montanara Pizza

Deep fried pizza. The words made me think of regrettable trips to street fairs, of zeppole hangovers and cheesestick mistakes. But when New York Magazine crowned the montanara sarita at Don Antonio the best pizza in New York, I started to think maybe I was missing out on some exciting new pizza frontier. How could I say that this was my favorite food while ignoring some raved-about part of pizzadom? I resolved to eat the fried pie, but quietly planned to start another juice cleanse once the experiment was complete.

No need for that though—my pie was excellent, and I don’t feel like I need to bike off a 12-inch fritter. I picked up a $10 montanara pizza at Williamsburg’s Forcella, since it’s in my neighborhood and they pioneered the thing (in New York, that is—the style comes from Naples). The crust is first deep-fried in vegetable oil, then simply topped with zingy San Marzano tomatoes, house-made mozzarella, and basil, and finally baked in a wood-burning oven. The resulting crust has a delicately thin, crisp, and bubbly outer layer, but is wonderfully airy in the middle, with an extra dash of savoriness from frying, and very little char. If you tend to leave nibbled crusts in your wake as you eat pizza, you probably won’t with this pie, since the crust is just as toothsome as the rest. But it does need to be eaten immediately, as the center gets quite soggy.

For traditionalists, Forcella serves a range of non-fried Neapolitan pies and solid salads, particularly the procida with greens, cucumber, corn, and cherry tomatoes, lightly dressed in vinaigrette ($7); or the sorrento with arugula, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, blackberries, and shaved ricotta salada ($9). But the montanara pizza is clearly where it’s at. Save the rest for once you’ve checked that one off your list.

Forcella
485 Lorimer St. between Powers St. and Grand St., Williamsburg
Also at 334 Bowery between Bond. St. and Great Jones St., Manhattan