Issue: Pizza! That is an issue all in itself.
Rule: Pizza outside of Pizza Town, Pizza Village, Pizza World or Pizza Hamlet and inside a restaurant must be of better quality. If I wanted just a regular slice, I would go to one of the above. But when I want the experience of restaurant pizza I want the pizza to be better, the crust thinner, the ingredients fresher and the toppings more unique.
Application: Fornino opened in Park Slope recently in the old Tempo. (And like Tempo, Fornino plans to open up a take out shop next door.) There is always a large crowd inside whenever I pass and they always look like they are having a wonderful time. The inside is set up similarly to the old restuarant, with a large bar taking up most of the front and a huge side dining room. We went on a weekday and there were no 3 tops in the side dining room so we were seated in the front room on a high table near the bar. There was not quite enough room for all three of us to eat at the same time, there was a lot of moving appetizers and wine bottles around in order to make the puzzle pieces fit.
We started with chickpea fries, oh yes, chick pea fries. They are exactly what you would imagine and completely delicious. One of the most crave-able things on the menu. We also had roasted beets which complimented the fries wonderfully. The three of us enjoying dinner were fully satisfied with fries, beets and two pizzas. For pizza we had a simple margherita with a rather meaty tomato sauce and fresh basil. The crust on the pizza was thin but super sturdy, there was no danger of chese and sauce sliding back down on to the plate. It was crunchy, salty and tasty. Our other pizza selection was a bit more adventurous, gorgonzola with pears. It was nearly impossible to only choose two pizzas from the large menu of amazing looking options. But in choosing one simple pizza and one a bit more adventurous we were able to get a good idea of what the kitchen could do. The gorgonzola pizza was sweet but sugary, it never tipped to the sweet side, always stayed savory. The gorgonzola balanced out the pears beautifully. Yum.
Conclusion: A bottle of wine, (a decent Gavi recommended by the bartender- our waitress didn't seem to know the wine selection so well) two pizzas and two appetizers only ran us only $26 each. An amazing deal for such quality food. I literally cannot wait to return. This heat wave provides an awesome excuse to eat out and not use the stove. Fornino- here I come again!
