A Mano: Neopolitan-Style Pizza

I'd been wanting to go to this new pizza establishment around the corner from Dim Sum Dynasty for a while now, but finally got the chance! Definitely worth the wait! Decor is very warm with the red walls and soft lights. The chairs need some dampening in the legs as you can feel everything through the wood floors including others pushing their chairs around. A bit jarring while trying to enjoy a meal.

Prior to dining here, my favorite pizza places were Nellie's Place and Brooklyn's Brick Oven Pizzeria. Nellie's is thin crust pizza but otherwise it's essentially the typical pizza place (but better) so let's not talk about them. While Brooklyn's and A Mano are similar, they're not quite the same pizza so I enjoy both for what they have to offer, but forced to choose, I would choose A Mano.

A Mano touts itself as authentic Neopolitan-style pizza. I've never had that so I can't say I could be quite disappointed, but I feel I have been educated in pizza styles by dining here. Brooklyn's is more American style particularly in the toppings department. While the crust of both places is thin, Brooklyn's is on the crunchy side while A Mano has a bit of chew to it. I like crunchy, but the contrast of crunchy and chewy gave the crust more dimension. On top of that, charring of the crust was hands-down superior at A Mano with their wood burning ovens. I presume Brooklyn's is gas burning.

Two wood burning (see the flame in the left portion of the opening of the right oven?) brick ovens. The apple and cherry woods used definitely make a difference in the flavor of the crust. Brooklyn's just tastes charred. I loved the charred bits at A Mano.

As for the toppings, that's where the battle was won. The sort of toppings you get at Brooklyn's is definitely way better than the typical Italian-American pizza joint around the block. However, A Mano's is a cut above Brooklyn's. I loved the fresh ingredients at Brooklyn's which A Mano also has, but the difference is in the simplicity of A Mano. I've found in general that the finer the ingredients, the better it tastes when presently simply. What was ordered:

Mano Pizza-buffalo mozzarella, proscuitto di parma, arugula, shaved gran cru, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Funghi pizza-a medly of champignon, porcini and shiitake mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

First off, I don't recall *these* sorts of ingredients on the list at Brooklyn's. Buffalo mozzarella? No, I don't think so. Fresh mozzarella? Yes, but is it freshly hand made in the kitchen? I doubt it. The mozzarella alone had a wonderful flavor. Usually, mozzarella (even the fresh ones) taste salty. This stuff tasted like cheese, not salt. Just give me that to eat! ;) I can't say much about the Mano pizza as I did not try it, but I am told it was very good. The mushrooms were wonderfully....mushroomy with a nice chew to them. Fresh mushroomy that is. I presume they sauteed it in oil or something similar? Whatever they did, just give me a plate of that! What everyone at the table enjoyed about the pizzas was the olive oil. I'm told it tasted great with the arugula. For me, I found it added an extra depth to the pizza (you can see the droplets of oil on the plate) that I've never had anywhere else. I love a good quality olive oil and this stuff was pretty good and went so well on a pizza. My friend once made the pizza crust with a really good olive oil which was great, but I've never had it drizzled on my pizza. This is definitely something I want to do at home now! Can you tell how I was blown away by such a simple addition? Mmm!

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to order an antipasto as I wanted to compare it to Brooklyn's. I really enjoy their antipasto and that in combination with their tasty pizzas has me hankering for them periodically. Even though I picked one out, I forgot to order it as the dish slipped my mind after intently perusing and discussing the pizza list. Well, I really look forward to going back and currently, I'm hankering another bite of such deliciousness. I hope to be equally impressed by their antipasto offerings!