PIZZA FOR PURISTS (Clockwise from top left) The Nduja pizza with spicy calabrese sausage, a mix of wild mushrooms and buffalo mozzarella;
co-owner Tomasso Colao makes a fresh pizza; the pizza oven is fired up and ready to go; Bivio’s cozy dining room.
It won’t be apparent to your naked
eye that the dough Colao rolls out
is made with powder-fine “00” flour
from Naples, into which he’s mixed
his 23-year-old natural yeast cul-
ture (Colao calls it “my baby,” and
he feeds it with flour and water every
day to sustain it). That dough — with
various toppings — gets a 90-second
ride in the oven. Its slightly sour,
completely heavenly flavor most
likely will become apparent to you,
however, the minute you bite into
the pie. It is far from thin; it’s thick,
puffy and slightly charred. Superb!
As for toppings, the five pizzas on
the menu — marinara, margherita,
bianca, porcini and filetti, from $12
to $19 — don’t differ much. One
may not feature tomatoes (imported-
from Italy, naturally); another may
not have sprinkles of fresh basil;
and still another may not don any
mozzarella (made in house, of
course). All sport olive oil from
Salerno, Italy, and sea salt.
The differences are minute, and
that could be a turnoff if you’re a
fan of more than even a modicum of
variety. But Bivio isn’t out to reinvent
pizza; it’s not after wowing diners
with out-of-the-box pies. It aims
to stay true to tradition — and it
succeeds.
If you’d like something a bit more
daring, ask about the pizza specials.
In the past, they’ve included
escarole with Italian Gaeta olives;
hot soppressata with slices of Meyer
lemon, fresh basil and buffalo
mozzarella; and truffle-mixed
mushrooms and basil topped
with cured beef tenderloin.
If it’s more than pizza you’re
after, your choices are slim, too.
For appetizers, there’s salumi with
imported smoked prosciutto, sweet
dried sausage and mixed olives
($12) and a simple arugula salad
($10). But, as with everything at
Bivio, don’t let its simplicity fool you.
Each ingredient — from the home-
made candied walnuts to the wine-
macerated cranberries to the prized
Amalfi Coast lemons and Italian
olive oil that make up its dressing
— is stellar; the flavors, divine.
As for dessert? Easy: homemade
biscotti. It’s your only choice. ■
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