Apr 29 2009
Anselmo’s in Red Hook
First, apologies for not updating le blog more often … Now, on to more important things, like that new coal-fired pizza place Anselmo’s on Red Hook’s Van Brunt Street that’s been getting a lot of attention (Gothamist, Slice, NYMag, etc).
Here’s the good news: It’s not crowded, it’s cheap, the waitstaff and pizza man himself, Anselmo Garcia, are super nice, and the ingredients are quality. Here’s the slightly less good news: This is no Lucali, no Di Fara. It’s good pizza, but it’s not great pizza. Oh, and it’s in Red Hook, so there’s that pesky issue of busing it or walking it. (I prefer walking and suggest a meander through Red Hook Park and past the new Ikea.)
The concept at Anselmo’s is a bit different than most of the coal places around town where your options are few. Here you get to choose your cheese–regular mozzarella is standard, and you pay extra for specialty cheeses like fresh mozzarella or ricotta–and your toppings. They go on either a $6, 10-inch pie, or a $14, 14-inch pie. Toppings are $1 on the small or $1.75 on the large. My money says ordering the small pie is cheaper and more personally satisfying as you get the whole thing to yourself.
Mr. Garcia and his 700+ degree oven turn out a lightly-charred-around-the-edges pie on a thin, but not particularly crispy crust. His sauce is pleasantly sweet and ordering the fresh mozzarella or the buffalo mozzarella add that slight necessary tartness. I wanted the crust to be more flavorful and crisper on the bottom. As well, I missed the olive oil drizzle that pulls pies together at similar coal shops. Still, my junior reviewer declared his slice of fresh mozzarella and wild mushroom pie a success, and I had no problem polishing off my bit, either.
