NYCReview
Montesacro Pinseria
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There are few things as satanic as New York City in March. While some of the Northern Hemisphere gets to enjoy ankle socks and baby ducks following their moms through fields of daffodils, we get endless slush. Every year, the strong persevere (everyone else moves to LA) - and that’s partly because of happy restaurants like Montesacro in Williamsburg. It’s the only spot in North Brooklyn where you can have an “outdoor” pizza party with seven of your friends in the dead of winter.
Montesacro’s greenhouse dining room has enough natural light to inspire an emergency photosynthesis meet-up and enough ficuses to seduce a Nat Geo location scout. Any month of the year, you can look up and play I Spy with Laguardia-bound planes and light-polluted stars through the glass roof. Come when it’s flurrying, and you’ll get to enjoy Roman-style pizza in what feels like a snowglobe. Even in the summer and on weekends, there are usually tables available for a last-minute dinner before a night out in Williamsburg.
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Montesacro’s backyard is optimal, but the Italian food isn’t quite as standout. Their specialty (and the best thing here) is the bubbly, oval-shaped pinsa. These charred flatbreads all cost around $20, and we suggest ordering a few to share with a group. The crust is more reminiscent of focaccia than what you’d get at a slice shop, and the dough forms characteristically uneven peaks and valleys - like a graph tracking fanny pack sales over time. The pinsa are baked so expertly that the crust makes up for the somewhat forgettable toppings.
If you stray from the pinsa, you’ll have a below-average experience. And that would be a shame since you do your taxes on time, and seem pretty kind. We’ve eaten inconsistent and rubbery pastas, tepid cauliflower, and a perfectly fine bavette steak that came with a side of undercooked potatoes. So, with the same conviction as a bright-eyed public defender in her first criminal court case, stick with the pinsa.
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Keep Montesacro in mind when it’s cold, you have icy morning shower hair, and a cab splashes you with puddle water the color of espresso. There won’t be baby ducks or daffodils, but you’ll be able to push off moving to LA for at least another year.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Cavolo Nero
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Maranella Pinsa
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Margherita Pinsa
photo credit: Andrew Bui
Garbatella Pinsa
photo credit: Andrew Bui