With the opening of the new Whole Foods on the northeast corner of Hagen Ranch and Boynton Beach, the other storefronts are beginning to open. One of these stores is Mister 01. This location is one of 22 opened or planned Mister 01 pizzerias in Florida, with another two in the Atlanta metro area and five in Texas. The brainchild of Chef Renato Viola, Mister 01 delivers artisanal pizza, made mostly from ingredients that are either locally sourced or imported from Italy. Viola started his pizza apprenticeship at the age of eleven and won numerous awards in Italy and Europe. After settling in Miami Beach (using a 01 Visa category), Viola opened his first pizza restaurant and has been expanding rapidly.

The location in Boynton Beach is furnished with several tables sitting alongside the long counter. The menu includes pizzas, calzones, burrata plates and salads. The pizza can be ordered in one of two sizes, a personal 8” and a larger 13”. As a solo diner, I ordered an 8” with pepperoni and sausage (half-half not an option). In hindsight, I should have ordered the 13”, not thinking that an 8” pizza can fit on a sheet of paper. When it was delivered, I knew it was a snack versus a meal, but hey a great snack is better than a lousy meal.

The crust was super paper thin and crispy, a true cracker crust. It was topped with just a touch of sauce and cheese and topped with a good amount of ‘roni and less than desired sausage. The flavors were great. I really liked the sausage/cheese/sauce combination, but the sausage took a backseat to all these vibrant flavors. The sauce was a good complement to the meats. After eating the entire pizza, I kicked myself again for not ordering a larger version, but this will not be my last trip to Mister 01.

Overall, I give the pizza I ate at Mister 01 a good solid 8.5.

7381 Boynton Beach Blvd Suite #305

Boynton Beach, FL 33437

352-722-0812

Boynton Beach

All pizza enthusiasts in this part of Connecticut know the Three Kings of Pizza, three brothers who each own one of the most highly-regarded pizzerias stretching from Wallingford to Cheshire to Naugatuck. A couple of months ago I visited Fuoco in Cheshire and scheduling a visit to one of the other places has been on my to-do list. I finally made it to Luna in Naugatuck, and I am extremely glad I did.

Like many of its pizza-brethren in this part of CT, Luna is situated in a residential neighborhood, just off northbound exit 28 (Prospect Street) of Interstate 8. While there are numerous Luna Pizzas in CT, the others have no association with this location nor the three brothers. When you enter the non-descript building you immediately understand that Luna caters to the takeaway crowd, the teeny dining area offers only four small tables, two high-tops that each seat four and another two regular height tables for another two guests each. Most of the space is dedicated to the pre-made 250 pizza boxes and the 20-foot-long pile of split wood ready to enter the wood-fired oven. There is also one refrigerator that carries an array of 1-liter bottles of Foxon Park sodas, and a few bottles of Poland Springs hidden on the bottom, next to a couple of pre-cut slices of dessert.

While the menu includes salads, burgers, pasta, a calzone, wings and a few head-scratching options, I was there for the pizza.

I ordered a 12” pie, half sausage and half pepperoni, and wandered to an empty table to wait. The server brought the pizza, and I was immediately impressed. The edges had a minor level of char, not too much, not too little. There was minimal, if any, poofiness to the edges, just a few bubbles, indicating a crispy dough. There was a good amount of toppings (more condensed on the pepperoni side) and the balance among cheese, sauce and meats looked pretty good, and I was grateful that the sausage was chunks, my favorite. I next pulled a slice from the pie to check the underside. There were dots of char intermingled in a nicely tanned bottom. The was just a little flop at the point of the slice, maybe just a tad too much. So far I was very impressed.

Onto the taste test.

Per my tradition, I started with a slice from the sausage half. I first peeled a little dollop of sausage from the pie, always looking for the fennel backnotes that I love. Excellent sausage, the sausage had the right amount of fennel and the time in the oven maintained a good juiciness without drying out the meat. The first slice-bite was very good, and the balance and flavors were excellent. I waited for it to cool slightly for bite #2. Bite #2 was even better, and we finally approached my real litmus test…bite #3, when the pie has cooled just enough, and the flavors are fully melded. And it was pretty close to perfect. The three major components combined nicely and there was just a hint of flavor from the dough.

Now onto the pepperoni side. Again, first a taste of pepperoni by itself. There was a good crunchiness and then the spice kicked in and grew. There was a bit of a time lag before it peaked. I would call it a 4 out of 10 level of spiciness and there was a very long tail. A bite of the entire slice, which was already at the right temperature, confirmed my foreshadowing that this would also be a great slice, and it was. The balance of the sauce, cheese and pepperoni was even better than the sausage side with the added kick from the pepperoni.

After I savored a few more slices, it was time to stop and reflect. If there was one slight negative to the pie, it would be the dough, I would have liked a little more flavor. Other than that, Luna is a solid 9.2.

I have been pretty lucky finding some great New Haven-style pies in Waterbury and its surrounding suburbs, and Luna is definitely in the elite class of New Haven style in this neck of the woods.

Luna Wood Fired Pizza

384 North Main Street

Naugatuck, CT 06770

Luna Woodfired Pizza