The Brooklyn Papers / Jori Klein

Let them eat pie: Anthony's owner Sal Buglione serves a white pie and margherita pizza.

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Sal Buglione wanted a pizza place that would make his father, Anthony, proud. His dream was to drive his dad to the eatery, point to the "Anthony’s" sign, and say, "This is for you."

His father died three years before Buglione could make the dream a reality, but the place radiates family life: Sal and his brother Frank greet guests and his clan gathers in the dining room on Sunday evenings to enjoy his mother, Lina’s, magnificent ragu.

Open since November, Anthony’s is doing a few things right. On a recent Sunday evening after 8 pm, every table was full and a group waited patiently at the door. They come for the warmth of the Buglione family members, who welcome every customer with genuine delight. The patrons visit for the light, vibrantly sauced southern Italian dishes comprised of the freshest ingredients. (Frank makes the mozzarella.) And they line up for the brick-oven pizza.

And, oh what pies. The man shoveling out some of the best pizza in Park Slope is "pizzaiolo" Bart Agozzino who earned his pie-baking chops at the Trianon in Naples. Agozzino’s father, Alfredo, built Anthony’s gas-fired brick oven.

The combination of the pie-man and that oven make for an ethereal pizza. It’s not too big - about 10 inches - and sold whole; this isn’t a slice joint. The crust is gently sprinkled with Parmesan before it’s baked, which adds a delectable hint of salt to the dough. It emerges from the oven crisp, slightly chewy yet delicate, with smoky char-spots along its bottom.

Any old sauce and cheese would be helped enormously by such an ideal base, but Anthony’s sauce tastes vividly of ripe tomatoes. Just enough milky, creamy mozzarella is applied so it doesn’t weigh down the works. Each pie is strewn with slivers of fresh basil. It’s delectable right down to the bubbly, brittle collar of crust.

If you crave a white pie, Anthony’s is the place to indulge that yen. A bit of freshly made ricotta cheese tops the mozzarella for a simple looking, yet richly flavored, treat.

A table of regulars who come on Sunday for Lina’s ragu, each planted a kiss on her cheek when she visited their table. After tasting it, I could understand their affection. Ragu is a traditional Italian sauce made on Sundays and usually served as a late afternoon family meal. There’s a variety of different meats that cook slowly in the tomato sauce (Lina’s recipe includes meatballs, pork ribs and "braciola") until they absorb the sweetness of the tomatoes and the meat becomes fall-off-the-bone tender. The "braciola" (beef rolled around a savory filling) is rich and garlicky; the spare ribs moist; but the meatballs are too bread-y.

The sauce is poured over perfectly "al dente" ziti.

Instead of a waiter standing over your dish and grating fresh Parmesan, a waitress plunks down a shaker. It’s all part of Anthony’s "not fancy, just great food" ambience.

That casual, keep-it-simple attitude applies to the restaurant’s decor as well. Buglione (a co-owner of the Nick’s pizza chainlet in Queens) and his partners in this venture - brother Frank Buglione, Joe Bosco and Louie Pagano - did a gut renovation on the former Paradou space, including the outdoor garden area. Inside, they bricked the walls, lined the room with wooden tables, placed a small bar in the front and installed the brick oven in the rear. Frosted white chandeliers add a soft glow to the room; a huge glass wall that faces Seventh Avenue adds drama. As far as decoration goes, there isn’t much, but it hardly matters; with an ambience as cheerful as Anthony’s, accessories are irrelevant.

If you stick to the pizza and uncomplicated dishes like the ragu; light, not too cheesy eggplant Parmesan; and terrific, tender, garlicky baked clams, you’ll be happy.

However I would skip the slightly overcooked scallops, paired with a mix of slivered carrots, asparagus and onions. Compared to the rest of the meal, they were just okay.

One dish that packed a wallop of flavor was the chicken with eggplant. Pieces of breast meat were flattened slightly and layered with an eggplant scallop. Before crowning the meat, the vegetable is baked with a thin layer of Parmesan and topped with a spoonful of winey, caramelized onions that add sweetness.

Anthony’s serves two house-made desserts that, like the rest of the menu, are terrific examples of classics done right. Cannoli can be a boring, leaden dessert with a soggy shell and too sweet, ricotta cheese filling. Here, the shell is so thin, it’s nearly transparent and crackling crisp. Its filling is creamy, lightly sweetened and studded with ground pistachio nuts. Tiramisu is another perennial that has been on menus far too long. Again, at Anthony’s, it’s surprisingly good: the airy layers of cake soaked with espresso and mascarpone cheese are rich and pudding-like without being heavy.

By January, there will be a "cheap but good," list of international wines, Buglione says.

Anthony may not have seen his sons’ dream come true, but he’d be proud of the place that bears his name.

Anthony’s (426A Seventh Ave. between 14th and 15th streets in Park Slope) accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $9-$16. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily. Sunday brunch will begin on New Year’s Day and will be served from 11 am to 3 pm. For information, call (718) 369-8315.

©2005 The Brooklyn Paper