I Monelli Trattoria Pizzeria

Photo: Martha Williams

It isn’t clear if a coin-toss or arm wrestling determined what type of pizza would be served at I Monelli—co-owner Marco Schiavoni also owns Pizza Metro and co-owner Giovanni Carzedda is a former chef of Pizza D.O.C.—but fans of Pizza Metro’s rectangular, Roman-style creations now have a new spot to hit when up on north Western Avenue.

The crunchy golden-brown crust heralded by Metro fans is identical, and it’s also the anchor of the menu. But that’s not to suggest you should dive right into a pie without hitting the antipasti—prosciutto paired with fresh mozz is silky from wide ribbons of fat, while lemon-spritzed arugula counters rich smoked scamorza cheese. After both of those starters, it’s tough to squeeze in pasta before pizza, but if you do, the one worth the stomach space is the supremely simple bolognese tossed with fresh tagliatelle noodles. And for the main event, a large is seriously a large (18") and the varieties are all tempting, so your best bet is to order two halves. Make one the vegetarian, a chunky combo of al dente eggplant and zucchini, and the other the capricciosa, a perfect balance of salty, tart and rich with diced ham, fresh mushrooms, artichoke and black olives.

You might consider boxing up the leftover slices to save room for dessert, but really, there’s no need to—tiramisu is a snooze and panna cotta has so much gelatin it’s nearly motionless. Plus, now that I Monelli is around and there are two Pizza Metros, if you want pizza tomorrow you can just pick up the phone.