Pizza Tonight! Finally!

The last time you heard us mention Pizza Tonight! was way back in 2011 (fucking forever ago) and Andy scored a take-home P.T. package.  The ingredients might have all been in place, but you really can’t get the taste for what these guys do so well when you’ve got it baking in your 450degree electric oven.

I finally get the chance to taste the wood fired brick oven pizza as Pizza Tonight! caters a shoot that I’m doing PA work on.  Verdict: Mind Blown.

To get this hulk of a structure to reach 900deg on a set several miles away, the PT crew had to light it the night before so the bricks can retain their heat well until lunch time.  You’re probably imagining a speeding, flaming brick oven, flying down I-95 while poor traffic is dodging its cinders.  I’m imagining that too.  It rules.  Someone draw up a T-shirt?  No, they don’t keep it lit while they drive dummy.

PT cooked up several pies for lunch.  There was a vegan potato which I cannot give a fair assessment of, partly because of my disdain for white pizza and you know, I’m not vegan.  But I’m sure you skinny assholes would love it.  The other white pie was a mushroom and onions (I hope i got this right) pizza.  Great stuff.

My favorite of the bunch was the fig & pig which consisted of a sweet, fig preserves on the crust topped with local prosciutto.  Classic blend of savory and sweet flavors both vying for dominance with no end to the battle in sight.  Fight on, flavors.  My mouth thanks you.

And of course you have to have a version of the classic pepperoni pizza.

Local ham, fresh mozz, a beautifully tangy tomato sauce and some of the best crust I’ve tasted in Virginia.  The thing that stands out most with Pizza Tonight! is their dough, and Victoria DeRoche tends to this stuff constantly.  Of the pizza joints that I’d consider the best, it usually boils down to consistency.  So many places are thwarted with a rotating cast of pizzaiolos and it must be extremely difficult to get several minds to focus on taking care of one living thing.  Of all the wood fired pizza that I’ve had in the south, Pizza Tonight! takes the trophy home and to me it all comes down to the crust.  It’s perfect.  You could park this cart outside of Di Fara’s in Brooklyn or Motorino or Lombardi or even my coveted Roberta’s in Bushwick.  I’d dare anyone to pick a winner.  Pizza Tonight! kills it with creativity and execution.

I found myself wondering, “Man they should totally have a restaurant,” and then I stopped myself.  Yeah, a rolling brick oven is cute and weird and can turn heads but, this shit works right now, would it work in a building?  That’s a huge task.  None of them are really working in this town…yet.

Either way, Pizza Tonight! has a kickstarter campaign going and I urge you to check it out and at the very least, get your asses to their pop-up spots.  They set up:

Byrd House Market. Tuesdays 3pm-7pm.

South of the James Market. Saturdays 8am-Noon

First Market Fridays.  Next to Quirk on Broad St. 7-10pm

I’ll have more/better pictures up soon.  Gotta bug my boss to send them to me…  .. . brrrlll