Erin, Andrew, Laura, Deepa and I congregated in Williamsburg this morning to sample the brunch pizza at Motorino's flagship. Still in a Manhattan mind-set, I thought it wise to employ my usual trick when dealing with no-reservation brunch spots and descending upon them the moment they open to ensure seating. Erin schooled me on the Brooklyn reality that arriving anywhere at 11am in Brooklyn would ensure having the restaurant to ourselves. It seems that brunch seats are not quite as competitive in our sister borough!
They sat our incomplete party without trouble and brought us our first round of drinks. The $10 brunch special includes pizza and orange juice or bloody mary mix with vodka for an additional $3. We were bemused by the idea of someone drinking bloody mary's without the vodka, and as I am sure you can imagine, coughed-up the extra three dollars quite willingly! The bloody mary's were great! They had a kick, but were not overly spicy, prompting most of us to order another round. After putting in our orders for the pizza, our waitress rushed back over to let us know that they now add a drizzle of chili oil, she wanted to make sure we were okay with it. We laughed, pointing to the bloody mary's, and assured her that the chili oil was welcome with us!
After a few drinks and conversation, the pies arrived. They were fantastic! I feel I must frame this description by saying that I have had Motorino's before in the East Village. I was horrifically disappointed in the Brussels sprout pie and was sceptical going into this. I have been converted!
Generous chunks of crispy panchetta peppered the creamy blanket of fior di latte and the fried eggs resting atop the pie were cooked perfectly so that when you cut into a slice, the yolk oozed luxuriously. The sprinkle of potent pecorino and drizzle of chili oil added a complexity that took each bite to another level. The sweet basil (which was stacked a bit generously for me) was the perfect finish to a rather perfect breakfast pizza. As if things couldn't get any better, the portions were huge! The sheer quantity of this high quality dish should be enough to make some of the lesser (and more expensive) brunch dishes in the city blush.
As our brunch wound down, we were all filled with a deep sense of satisfaction. The leisurely, yet attentive pace of service, delicious food, and for a lucky few, leftovers, made for a very nice Sunday Brunch. As far as I'm concerned, Motorino Brunch was well worth a trip on the L train.
This was a great start to our EWI spring eating season!
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