For some chefs, making their own pizza
sauce is a big deal. For Michael Ayoub (pictured), the chef and
owner of Fornino ("little oven") in Williamsburg, growing
vegetables and herbs for the pizza’s topping in his restaurant’s
own greenhouse is part of the job.
Ayoub – formerly of Cucina, the restaurant that got the culinary
ball rolling on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue – installed a wood-burning
oven in Fornino to turn out Neapolitan-style, thin-crusted, deliciously
charred pies. When he isn’t using his own organic ingredients,
he’s buying them locally from small farms and sourcing artisanal
cheese.
One pizza to try: the "Lombardi," with prosciutto,
shaved Parmesan and Ayoub’s homegrown arugula. Or go for broke
and order a pie covered with shaved black truffles ($35 for the
individual size; $50 feeds two). Pizza may be Fornino’s specialty,
but there are also baked clams, eggplant Parmesan, and a pasta-of-the-day
each evening that are just as good.
If opening his restaurant and greenhouse in November and growing
his own produce wasn’t enough, Ayoub designed and blew the glass
for the restaurant’s light fixtures. Talk about a hands-on owner!
Fornino Restaurant (187 Bedford Ave. between North Sixth and
North Seventh streets) accepts American Express, MasterCard and
Visa. Pizza: $8-$18; pasta: $9.
As part of "Dine In
Brooklyn," which runs through April 20, the restaurant
is offering a $19.55 three-course prix fixe menu for lunch and
dinner. For more information, call (718) 384-6004.
