New Canaan meets Brooklyn? The ghosts of the old Italian-American neighborhood would be surprised by Locali, a contemporary pizzeria on the corner of Forest Street and Locust Avenue.
Clam Pizza “Brooklyn Style” ($17) is what Locali’s known for, our waiter tells us. Pizza in a bowl? Yes, a wood-fired, cheesy mozzarella pizza placed into a shallow bowl, filled with little clams in their shells and a light, Alfredo-like sauce. We’ve never seen anything like this. It’s like a clam and pizza soup.
How do we eat it? We scoop out super-tender clams, dig in with knife and fork to try the sauce-soaked cheesy slices. Most enjoyably, we tear off the dry edges of the charred and bubbled crust, and dip it in the sauce, fishing out finely sliced garlic.
Locali is very much a contemporary, artisan pizzeria. The menu calls cow’s milk mozzarella “fiore de latte.” There are 14 artisan pizzas on the menu, including American X-Butcher, topped with organic egg, bacon and potato; Snake Oil with capicola, sriracha, honey and scallions; and Pretty Kale Leopard with buffalo mozzarella and kale two ways: pesto and chips.
Small plates assuage the indulgence of crust and cheese. Shaved cauliflower ($7) is absolutely delicious. Sweet and savory flavors coat the thin, crunchy cauliflower, and it’s coated with white balsamic dressing and tossed with sliced mejool dates, soft and sweet, and roasted cashews, rich, crunchy and salty.
“I don’t even like cauliflower,” my friend says as she spoons more on her plate. “I’ve never liked raw cauliflower until now,” I say, spooning more on my plate as well. That’s a successful dish.
Our waiter recommends the healthy-sounding farm fresh vegetables and fruit with nuts and grains. Another healthy grain dish is Organic Mother’s Grains, a mélange of ancient grains — faro, quinoa, and buckwheat — with nuts with hazelnuts, raisins, cherry tomatoes and mint with yogurt vinaigrette.
Irresistible are the deep fried baby artichokes ($9), golden brown, greaseless quarters dusted with pecorino. To me, the pecorino made them too salty and the yuzu mayonnaise too rich. I asked for lemon, and our friendly waiter was happy to bring it. A squirt of lemon balanced the saltiness.
Locali has a good beer list, replete with American craft beers, crisp lagers, clovey wheat beers, and critrusy IPAs. We enjoyed a rosé from Provence, a better deal by the bottle than the glass.
Locali is small inside, designed in a spare, contemporary style, featuring natural textures in shades of brown. The small dining room makes the restaurant popular for take-out. In summer, Locali is blessed with a patio shaded by umbrellas. The corner spot makes it the place to run into friends strolling by.
>>Locali, 32 Forest St., New Canaan, is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 12 to 8 p.m.. Closed Mondays. 203-920-1440 and localipizzabar.com
