The Sit-Down      10/23/2008  

Mathieu Palombino, Motorino

Photograph by Agaton Strom.

Motorino in Williamsburg has been getting well-deserved raves from food blogs ever since it opened a few weeks ago. Belgian-born chef/owner Mathieu Palombino has worked at many top restaurants in New York, from Bouley to BLT Fish. We talked to Palombino about his favorite spot (besides his own) to chow down on pizza, the importance of fresh-made mozzarella and the perfect way to reheat a pie.

You’ve worked at several fine dining institutions throughout New York. Why open a pizza place?

About two years ago I was the Chef de Cuisine at BLT Fish. We had a very good year: Three stars in the New York Times, we got a Michelin star, it was a great time. I spent seven years off and on working with Tourondel, at Cello, BLT Fish … but it was time for me to move on.

I’ve always liked the idea of the traditional pizza napoletana. It’s something I’ve always loved, it’s something I’ve always believed in. Often people were telling me “You’re opening a pizzeria?” Pizza is not just something that’s been sitting behind a counter for three hours being made by Vinny; it’s a staple of Italian gastronomy. It’s one of the most beautiful dishes Italian gastronomy has to offer.

Who, in your opinion, serves the best pizza in the city?

I love Fornino in Brooklyn, they are doing great pizza. Fornino is amazing … I challenge you to find a restaurant in New York that has a Neapolitan pizza as good as the Margherita Doc. The balance, quality of the product, the cheese, the tomato … what you have in your mouth in that moment is such a perfect product. It’s just magnificent. It costs 12 bucks, you can’t beat that.

Do you think any place is overrated?

Yes, there are overrated places that live on the reputations that they built for themselves long ago. When it comes to history, they are beautiful places. But when it comes down to judging the pizza on the plate … that’s different. But I won’t say any names. I don’t want to have any enemies.

What does it take to make good pizza?

Pizza is always good, even when it’s bad. It’s never something you will spit out of your mouth, even if it’s not done properly. What makes a pizza good is the quality of the ingredients. It’s a very simple thing. It’s just a piece of dough with just a few ingredients, so you have to choose your ingredients very carefully. It’s a simple thing, but it can become very complicated to make your pizza better than the guy next door.

I tasted many different kinds of tomatoes, I found one that I really liked; it’s a San Marzano tomato, from Italy. I’m using flour from Italy. I make the mozzarella myself every morning. Every morning we make the mozzarella for the day, we don’t keep it overnight.

Parmigiano. Find the right Parmigiano. The Parmigiano really regulates the flavor of the pizza itself; it is a very important ingredient. Parmigiano is a magic thing, it seasons everything. It’s as important as salt, as pepper. The better the Parmigiano is, the better the result. Also, good basil, very fresh. I try not to keep things overnight.

Why use a wood oven?

The heat. Hard wood creates a very dry heat. Gas is different. In coal, the coal actually gets hotter than the flame itself. With wood, it’s a very aggressive heat on the dough. It allows you to get that char that you wouldn’t be able to get as nicely with gas. You need dense, dry wood. You put your hand in front of a gas flame, it’s never the same as from the wood… it has different radiation. The oven is heating the whole room right now.

[Matthieu offers me some pizza; I tell him thanks but I have to get back to the office.] Do you offer pizza to go?

We do to go. Because it would be stupid not to sell it like that. Although it’s not the same; you have to understand that when you take it to go. But the result is still pretty good. If you live too far from here and your pizza cools down, you should heat your oven really hot, on the maximum. Take your pizza out of the box, put it on the tray, put it into the oven for, let’s say, 45 seconds. Just enough to give it a good hit. It really brings it back to life. It’s not the same, but it’s pretty good.

-Keith Wagstaff

Comments

4 Responses to “Mathieu Palombino, Motorino”

  1. seb on January 23rd, 2009 6:37 am

    j ai chercher un peu et suis tombé sur ta tronche ca fait drole vais encore chercher a plus le cuistot belge.seb.

  2. cousin nono on February 1st, 2009 4:31 am

    feleicitation pour ta nouvelle aventure la bas a bientot nono sandra et louis

  3. simone on March 12th, 2009 11:56 am

    bonjour

    je t’ai trouvé sur internet

    félicitations

    simone

  4. steve on March 21st, 2009 6:34 am

    salut mathieu ben alors tu vieillis pas toi… félicitation el é belle ta pizéria je viendrais biento gouter cette mozarella fraiche….steve

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