Martino's Pizzaria

Not sure what’s up with their spelling of “pizzaria,” as opposed to “pizzeria,” but they serve what they claim to be “Brooklyn style pies,” which are essentially thinner crust football pizzas. Traditional, circular, gas oven pies, not in the New Haven coal-fired style like most pizza in this area. However, the relatively thin & crispy crust is exceptional, a truly nice touch on a fairly standard football pie. With no real char underneath, despite some nice char bubbles atop, the dough is mostly soft, lacking firmness to go along with a borderline basic taste. An average shredded mozzarella blend, the cheese is LOADED with gushing grease, a sloppy & slushy mess of excess oil but barely bogging down the flavors in the cheese & sauce, thankfully. Despite a smidge of saltiness from the vat of grease, the sauce is sweet & tangy with magnificent zest & zip and plenty of pizzazz. With great balance between sweet & savory, the spices in the sauce really pick up near the exquisitely crunchy crust. Not quite close to New Haven coal-fired crisp but far better than standard football pizza; the savior is the spectacularly thinner crust distinguishing this pie from generic thick & soft pizza. Overall, this is a quality neighborhood pie, a fine Friday night family pizza. If they firm up the undercarriage & get the grease under control, this pie has a real shot at becoming travel-worthy.