Openings

How Your Pizza Gets Made at Zavino

http://philadelphia.grubstreet.com/20100112_zavino_190x190.jpg

Now that Stella has been awarded three bells by Craig LaBan and his friend from New York, we turn our attention to Midtown Village’s Zavino, the next pizza joint that promises to offer a better quality of pie than we’re used to around these pizza-poor parts. The restaurant, which will serve a concise menu of pizza, cured meats and cheeses and antipasti, was supposed to open over the holidays, but has been waylaid by the delay of its liquor license, which chef-partner Steve Gonzalez says should arrive “any day now.” In the meantime, we stopped by to make some pizza with Gonzalez, who’s worked at Vetri, Brasserie Perrier, as well as a stint with bread savant Jim Lahey’s acclaimed pizzeria in New York, Co. He filled us in on (most) of his pizza-making secrets and showed us how to treat the dough a little more tenderly than one might think. Click through to see the crisp, bubbly, fluffy results, plus some interior shots of the completely redone space.

Zavino, 112 South 13th St.; (215) 732-2400

Previously: What to Eat at Zavino

How Your Pizza Gets Made at Zavino