Local Pizzerias You Knead To Check Out, by Erin DeGregorio

Pizza Moto is a brick-and-mortar located right on the border of Red Hook and Carroll Gardens at 338 Hamilton Avenue. While it is known for its Neapolitan-style pies, the pizzeria has a rotating menu with toppings from farmers markets and their New York State pasture-raised meats partners. Co-owner and executive chef Dave Sclarow says their pizza dough is made over the process of three days of slow fermentation that gives it “great character and lively bubbles.”

Two years ago Sclarow purchased the storefront and discovered a hidden 100-year-old oven. He says it took him two years to restore the masonry and original cast iron details, as well as retrofit it to burn wood instead of coal. He, general manager Anna Viertel and sous chef Joe Bliffen built the establishment from scratch.

“From the oven to the guest check holders, the tables, bar stools…everything. Everything you encounter is thought about by us and made by someone involved with the restaurant,” Sclarow explains. “We want that fact to connect with our diners which will hopefully inspire them to do projects, think about their own spaces, cook something at home that we made for them at the restaurant.”

Their most popular item is the clam pizza (cherrystone clams, fresh cow’s mozzarella, potatoes, cream, garlic, parsley lemon and chili) that is made and sold on the weekends. But Sclarow’s favorite is anything made by their Pizzeola Jenn Colon, which is made after-service and features everything in the house on them.

“I call them her ‘power pizzas,’” Sclarow says. “[They’re] perfect at 11:30 pm with a cold beer.”

It is open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays, beginning at 5:30 pm. Guests can dine in, take out or make reservations on Resy. 718-834-6686

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Founded in September 2017, Brooklyn Pizza Market (267 Smith Street) offers pizza by the slice and pie, in medium and large sizes. Some of their pizza names are nods to science fiction and to local sports teams, like the “Beef Me Up Scotty” (fresh mozzarella, sweet sausage, mild soppressata, pancetta, Grana Padano, tomato, basil) and the “Gang Green” (fresh mozzarella, garlic, spinach, Pecorino Romano, red pepper, mushrooms, pesto). Owner Ruben Alban says they normally make 3 to 4 pies at a time for hungry customers. His personal favorite is the “Don’t Go Bacon My Heart,” which has fresh mozzarella, applewood smoked bacon, Grana Padano, bacon jam, tomato, red onion, basil and black olives.

Guests can also design their own pies with their desired toppings. 347-422-0436

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Giardini Pizza, located at 363 Smith Street (between 2nd and Carroll Streets), was opened in Carroll Gardens 27 years ago by co-owner Anthony Badalamenti and his brother-in-law. Prior to opening their own establishment, the two had previously worked in pizzerias, with Badalamenti working his way up from dishwasher to pizza maker. According to Badalamenti, Giardini Pizza uses the best cheese, best flour and tomatoes imported from Italy, where he is from.

“People say, ‘What’s the secret in your sauce?’ I say there’s no secret – it’s a plain tomato,” Badalamenti says.

Each pizza pie they make, though, has a different tasting sauce; “it’s the same sauce, but with different ingredients,” he explains. The most popular pie is the Milano (sausage, roasted peppers, onions, spinach and mozzarella cheese), but Badalamenti’s favorite is the Grandma’s Pizza (fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, tomatoes and homemade sauce).

It is open Mondays through Thursdays (11 am-10 pm), Fridays and Saturdays (11 am-11 pm) and Sundays (12 noon-8 pm). Free delivery is available with a minimum order of $10. 718-596-5320

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Table 87 Gowanus, located at 473 3rd Avenue, is one of the three locations located throughout Brooklyn. It serves coal oven pizza cooked at 900 degrees, and its pies include – but are not limited to – margherita; wild mushroom and truffle oil; and prosciutto and baby arugula. Their pizza is thin-crust, features house-made mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes, and comes in sizes of 12 inches and 20 inches. Table 87 Gowanus also has wine and beer on tap.

Fun facts: The first shop opened on Atlantic Avenue in 2012, and then expanded into Gowanus four years ago. Owner Thomas Cucco later presented Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza on ABC’s Shark Tank during the show’s sixth episode of the seventh season, which aired on October 16, 2015. Cucco pitched his line of frozen coal oven pizza (by the slice and pie that’s made to be heated and served) to the “shark” investors, and left with a deal.

It is open Sundays through Thursdays (11 am-10 pm) and Fridays and Saturdays (11 am-midnight). 718-965-8400

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Mark’s Red Hook Pizza, located at 326 Van Brunt Street (between King and Pioneer Streets), is a small pizzeria that offers whole pies and individual slices, made fresh daily and by the order. Owner Anthony Kokale says they make their own sauces with a homemade recipe that has stayed in the family for the last 35 years. The most popular pizzas are the classic cheese pies and the margarita pies (fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, garlic and sauce, topped with basil grilled cheese). But one of Kokale’s personal favorites is the buffalo chicken pie.

It is open Mondays through Saturdays (10 am-11 pm) and Sundays (11 am-10 pm). Pick-up orders and indoor dining are available, as well as free deliveries with a minimum order of $15. 718-624-0690

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Sal’s Pizzeria, which has been in Cobble Hill since 1957, is known for its hand tossed, brick oven pizza that comes in 10-inch, 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Employee John says their most popular pie is the Veggie Special, but his personal favorite is the mushroom pie (oyster and cremini mushrooms, ricotta and pesto).

Outdoor barstool seating is offered during nice weather. Free delivery is also available with a minimum order of $10. Located at 305 Court Street (on the corner of Degraw Street), it is open Sundays through Mondays, 11 am-11 pm. 718-852-6890

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Still located on the same block it originated back in 1952, The House of Pizza & Calzone (132 Union Street, between Columbia and Hicks Streets) is home to the original, deep-fried calzone that is stuffed with ricotta cheese, mozzarella and ham. It also sells thin and thick crust pizza, and serves beer and wine. Some of their specialty pizzas include the “Red Hook Special” (Italian sausage and broccoli rabe made with or without pizza sauce), the “Ala Vodka” (a pink cream sauce flavored with vodka and covered with fresh mozzarella) and the “Upside-Down” (pan-baked thick crust layered first with fresh mozzarella on the bottom, topped with tomato sauce and finished with grated Romano cheese and olive oil).

It is open Mondays through Thursdays (11 am-10 pm), Fridays and Saturdays (11 am-11 pm) and Sundays (12 noon-8 pm). Free delivery is available with a minimum order of $15. Credit cards are accepted with online orders only at houseofpizzacalzone.com. 718-624-9107

All exterior photos taken by DeGregorio