motorino: review

I've been coming to this place long before it was Motorino.

For a while it was Una Pizza Napoletana, a one-man pizza show by a guy with a lot of tattoos. The guy meant business.

Luckily, the new owner, Mathieu Palombino, is just as serious.

If you like small, tender, charred Neapolitan pizzas, these are just about the best it town, neck and neck with Roberta's and Luzzo's (which has been around a long time and is just a block away).

Motorino and Roberta's have slightly puffier and blistery dough. Luzzo has half-melted mozzarella and a "finer" crust. They're all A+ pizzas.

Motorino is a great place for lunch. For $12 you can choose from four great pizzas and get a nice salad. It's a great deal.

Grab a glass of Gragnano, a Lambrusco-like, fizzy, sweet, low-alcohol wine, and you're all set.

Their tiramisu is excellent, but you won't have room.

Only gripe: wine servings are small and not cheap ($9, $10, $11). But a man's gotta make a living.

There's another outpost of Motorino across the street from Peter Luger in Williamsburg.

Grade: A+

Motorino

349 E 12th Street

(212) 777-2644