Lemon and Soppressata Pizza
When Bivio closed its doors in 2015 in Little Falls, the general consensus was that it was a major loss for its loyal pizza-loving fans. Owner, Tomasso Colao had actually garnered a cult following who waited in a line out the door on most nights at his tiny restaurant.
To the delight of us devotees of Tomasso’s pizza, he opened a small storefront in Montclair where he’s been selling the best breads New Jersey offers. While breads are nice and exposed Bivio to a larger audience, let’s face it, what we all wanted was that perfect, dreamy pizza.
The Space
One thing that didn’t change with the Montclair location from the former restaurant in Little Falls is the size. The space is still….quaint. On one hand, I enjoy the cozy atmosphere of the new Bivio but on the other, I foresee the giant queue that’s certain to form outside once people outside the inner sanctum discover this gem. The wood-fired pizza oven stays ablaze all evening with Tomasso crafting each pie to order on a small work bench.
The Food
To say the menu is concise would be an understatement. Starters are a salumi plate and an arugula salad. The salumi plate is worth ordering as it has high quality Pecorino, charcuterie and olives. A nice way to make the time pass as we watched Tomasso painstakingly create our pizza. It borders on torture to have an open view into the mock kitchen and pizzas going in and out of the oven.
Salumi Plate
The pizza options are limited to the best, most perfect topping options there are. We’ve enjoyed the margherita and wild mushroom pizzas but what the must-order pie is, if available on the specials menu, is the lemon and Soppressata pizza. Lemon on a pizza? Yes, yes, yes. The sweet lemons are sliced paper thin and layered on the pizza with slightly funky Soppressata. The combination is brilliant and causes me to pause, close my eyes and emit the smallest of whimper each time I have it. The thing that’s even more exceptional than the toppings is the best pizza crust I’ve ever had. It’s charred is certain places, chewy and tangy/salty – pure perfection. Tomasso creates the incredible dough from a natural yeast starter. If, god forbid, the lemon Sopressata pizza isn’t available, the sausage and peppers is a close runner up.
Bivio is a BYOB so grab that bottle of Italian wine and make your way to Montclair. Note that I reluctantly wrote this recap as I’d prefer to keep Bivio a bit under the radar for now.
Bivio Panificio – 107 Pine Street, Montclair, New Jersey 07042.
Ciao!
Veronique
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