This is a story about fried pizza. And no, it’s not from the Texas State Fair. It’s from the heart of pizza snobbery: Manhattan.
Today (assuming everything goes well for a restaurant opening -- always a dicey bet), Guilio Adriani opens on the Lower East Side what he says is the world’s first pizzeria where all the pies are fried.
La Montanara by Forcella will be open evenings and late night at 168 Ludlow Street. And it sounds like Adriani knows his prospective customers well.
“Lots of clubs, lots of drunk people on the Lower East Side. We should do good. I hope so,” Adriani, who is from Naples, Italy, said.
The dough is fried, then toppings are added, then the pizza is baked. The resulting crust “is very light.”
Adriani owns two other pizza restaurants. He added a few of the fried pies to the menu of one last July.
“It was the best seller, so we decided to go with only fried pies” at La Montanara by Forcella he said.
The idea isn’t completely new. It’s done in some restaurants in Naples he said. But Adriani says his execution is different – specifically because he uses sunflower oil which he says makes for the lightest possible crust.
“Sometimes when you are a chef you try something and it turns out good,” he said of the experiment.
Reached by phone the day before opening, Adriani seemed calm. Perhaps because it’s his third place.
“When you have one (restaurant) you cook mostly. When you have three you control mostly. Depends on what you like,” he said. “Right now I like control since if you do something and it works you are a success.”
Eater New York has a copy of the menu, which also features a couple of dessert pies with Nutella and some sandwiches – fried, naturally.
What do you think? Will you give it a try? Share your thoughts on Facebook.
