New York City’s pizza scene could never be called boring or stuck in its ways, though I suppose you could argue that too many Detroit-style pizzerias have proliferated in recent years. The arrival of Moody Tongue Pizza, which just opened in the East Village, provides a major jolt, however, and no small amount of intrigue.
The offshoot of a two Michelin-starred brewery and restaurant from Chicago isn’t just debuting a pizzeria for its second East Coast venture (after Moody Tongue Sushi), but what it’s billing as “New York City’s first Tokyo-Neapolitan Pizzeria.” What does Tokyo have to do with this? How does beer fit in? And is this yet another Japanese-Italian culinary mash-up, along the lines of New Jersey’s ever-popular pastaRAMEN? All good questions!
Executive pizza chef Vincenzo Santoro helms the ovens at Moody Tongue Pizza, bringing solid Neapolitan credentials. He's the former head pizza chef at Song’E Napule in Manhattan, and is the reigning World Pizza Champion from the International Pizza Expo. He’ll work with Moody Tongue Brewmaster and co-founder Jared Rouben and Moody Tongue Sushi’s Executive Chef Hiromi Iwakiri. Together, they’ll offer pizzas with beer pairings and a mix of Italian and Japanese appetizers.
What is Tokyo-Neapolitan Pizza?
Similar to how the Japanese adapted American denim and streetwear in the aughts and invented a new style that became globally influential, its culinary scene has put a new spin on pizza from Naples, its birthplace. Pizza chefs in Tokyo use pizza as a template to explore flour variations, fermentation techniques, tomato sauces, cheeses, and toppings.
So Tokyo-Neapolitan isn’t necessarily a new style of pizza but a reimagining of the Naples style: a thin crust with simple yet delicious tomato sauce and high-quality mozzarella.
What to Expect at Moody Tongue Pizza
While there are a mix of Japanese and Italian elements at play here, the menu suggests that pizza is the focal point, while salads and several appetizers—meatballs, fried mozzarella—also lean Italian, as does dessert, which includes cheesecake and tiramisu. The crudo section features yuzu, ginger, and other ingredients combined with raw seafood in a perhaps more sushi-inspired take, and other appetizers include yuzu-marinated chicken wings and tempura-fried cod with chips.
The Moody Tongue Brewery beer pairings may provide the most defined bridge between Italian and Japanese flavors. A press release about the pizzeria opening describes a “culinary brewing” approach and explains that Moody Tongue Pizza’s beer menu will include “Orange Blossom Belgian Blonde, Yuzu Lager, and Juiced Lychee IPA as well as East Village exclusives such as a Sudachi Lager, featuring the Japanese citrus fruit with notes of lime and black pepper, as well as an Allstar Peach Wild Ale, showcasing Allstar peaches grown at Klug Farms in St. Joseph, Michigan.”
123 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009, moodytongue.com, @moodytonguepizza, reservations at OpenTable.
