"The Motorino sign is up!"

I was standing out front of Motorino, the new pizza place opening tomorrow on 12th Street just west of First Avenue...pretending not to be taking photos...



...and a woman walked by and exclaimed to her friend, "The Motorino sign is up!"



I'm not much of a pizza gourmet -- the two slices for $2 variety works fine for me. But some people seem really excited that Mathieu Palombino, who owns the Williamsburg Motorino, is opening a Manhattan outpost. Another reason to go stand in line! According to the Times:

His seven styles of pizzas will include some with seasonal toppings — brussels-sprout leaves in October, shaved porcini later in the fall and black truffle and taleggio cheese in the winter. There will be antipasti, like slabs of mortadella browned in the oven and vegetables roasted with pecorino. And there will be soft-serve ice cream.

It’s a playful variety of toppings and dishes that will be familiar to Motorino regulars. The simplicity of pizzeria fare has been a departure, though, for Mr. Palombino.

Trained in the most haute of French traditions, Mr. Palombino worked in Europe before moving to New York. He was chef de cuisine at BLT Fish when it was given three stars in The New York Times by Frank Bruni in 2005. (Motorino’s small wine list will be chosen by Fred Dexheimer, who worked with Mr. Palombino at BLT Fish.)