Fornino - A new gourmet pizza joint in Williamsburg
photo care of tangentialism
[from tienmao:] Last night was the opening night of Fornino, the new pizza place on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg (CLICK HERE FOR MENU). Dutifully, Adam and I went to try it out and it was excellent. We had three small pies, sampling as much as we could without getting too full. Michael Ayoub, the chef/owner, has three "generations" of pizza on his menu and we sampled piesfrom two - the first and third.
Our first pie was a margherita classica, which had tomato, mozzarella, basil and two parmesan cheeses. Next, we had the patate e salciccia, a fennel sausage, potatoes, fontina and cherry tomato concoction. Finally, we had the vongole, which was clams, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic and oregano. All the pies were smalls, which were $8 for the first generation and $10 for the third (the second was also $10). Large pies run $14 and $16.
The consensus favorite was the margherita, which was super light with a perfect crust. Our second pie was rather eh, with the potatoes "not adding anything" and the sausage lacking spice. The clam pizza was very good, but overladen with oregano. In a twist from a more traditional clam pie that you might see in New England, the clams were served on the shell. If there were less oregano, I think this would have been my favorite pie.
As it's first night open, the pizza was very good and it will probably only improve from here out. Fornino's has a greenhouse out back where they want to grow some of their own ingredients. The oven at Fornino is wood burning, which is evident when you walk by it. Fornino has been dubbed a "artisinal pizza" place, which seems to be the trend these days.
For some reason, we decided to get desert after the meal (damn persuasive waitress). While I had the spumoni, Adam had the ice cream cookies, which had pumpkin, mint chocolate chip, and vanilla cookies. Turns out that after desert, we were stuffed anyway.
A great pizza place and Tasti D-Lite on the same block in Williamsburg? There goes the neighborhood.
187 Bedford Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211
718.384.6004
Sunday-Thursday 12pm-12am
Friday-Saturday 12pm-1am
FREE DELIVERY
Comments
i revisited the place recently and i would disscount sone of the previous negative comments and give place another look, they really perfected pan pizza . spoke to chef . very thin crust slightly singed . staff was excellent
Posted by: joe | May 6, 2007 07:37 PM
try to get it straight...what you get here it's the real stuff from the motherland. if you're looking for the over-cheesed, over oiled, over-doughed stuff they call pizza in new york, this ain't your joint; they don't even slice it for you. but if you're in for an education and would like for once in a life time to try what pizza should look/taste/smell like, this is your joint. and if you don't like, shut up and don't complain.
Posted by: john | April 26, 2006 07:07 PM
truly, the rudest staff i've encountered in years. i will not return. the pizza is not good enough to support the attitude.
Posted by: Mark | March 26, 2006 07:12 PM
"I even love the burnt edges" - Barbara
You folks are hilarious, I guess there is a first time for everything, including eating real pizza.
Welcome to New York.
They have actually improved the pizza since they opened, with a lighter, thinner, crust, that melts in your mouth and doesn't sit heavy in the gut (think Patsy's). The results are outstanding, the plain pie (margherita) now ranks among the top 10 in NYC. Before, it was all about the toppings, which are still great. But really, when plain pizza is this good, toppings are superflous.
Now if they only served slices....
Posted by: Chris | October 27, 2005 09:44 PM
i read alot of comments about this place.
it's so funny how people always try
to find something to complain about.
this place is great. what's not to like.
the people are so nice and the place is really cool. the pizza is simply amazing,PERIOD. a must try for true pizza lovers.
Posted by: serra | October 26, 2005 10:06 AM
no doubt. the BEST pizza in Williamsburg.
once u try it, believe me u will return.
great atmosphere too! luv it!
Posted by: campy | October 26, 2005 01:12 AM
I love pizza. I especially love the pizza here. I even love the burnt edges. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going there tonight. Again.
Posted by: Barbara | February 2, 2005 06:13 PM
An interesting read! I'll consider what you said over my christmas holidays. I want The Sims 2 for Christmas!
Posted by: Bad Thoughts: A Guide to Clear Thinking | December 9, 2004 05:44 AM
i don't think it's too pricey, really. actually, it's cheaper than most equivalent pizzerias in manhattan. it's not a slice joint, that's for sure, and you can't beat a $1.75 meal, but if you want to get all "brick oven" and use cloth napkins, you could spend a lot more than the $8 that fornino asks for their very good pizza.
Posted by: tangentialism | November 16, 2004 03:59 AM
Looks Good. Too pricey though, This is Brooklyn!
Posted by: JCDolla | November 15, 2004 09:54 PM