Olio Pizzeria Brings Rustic, Refined Pizza to W 3rd

Chef Bradford Kent, owner of the forthcoming Olio Pizzeria, has made pizza for several years now. A staple at many farmers markets around town, the mobile wood-fired catering business has been so brisk this past year that Kent and company decided to go brick and mortar. Construction is right on schedule in the formerly vacant space on the North-Eastern corner of Crescent Heights and West 3rd Street. With the slew of new eateries springing up on this block, city planners must be inundated with requests to re-zone commercial areas for dine-in restaurant use. Fortunately, Kent was able to acquire permission from the city to install a kitchen -- including a wood-burning oven-- and to provide indoor and patio seating. See above for a rendering from Kent’s architect.

Behind the leaf-green facade there’s a kitchen with “only two cooking appliances!” says Kent, more than excited about his project. And with good reason. The two appliances here are a wood-burning oven and an electric convection oven. The convection oven is only for pastries, as everything else on the menu will be cooked in the 800F wood-burning hearth eating olive wood for fuel.

Olio will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Kent looks forward to introducing wood-fired breakfast items like bialys (served with house-cured and hand-sliced gravlax), ricotta “pan” cakes, seasonal fruit danishes and wood-toasted granola. They are taking their coffee and beverage program seriously here. Expect Intelligentsia brewed to order plus housemade Italian sodas prepared with fresh fruit purees and fruit syrups. During the day look for dozens of pizzas on offer, made from a dough recipe chef Kent developed from scratch. An experienced recipe developer and chef, Kent took several years to perfect his pizza crust. It requires a 24-hour fermentation period which rounds out the flavors adding acidity, and yielding a creamy internal crumb and a well-burnished crust.

Don't forget, on the weekend of August 14 and 15, West 3rd Street will be having a summer sidewalk sale. Pizzeria Olio’s truck will be parked in front of its new location to dole out free samples of their signature items. An opening is fairly imminent. Neighborhood, meet Olio. Pizzeria Olio, welcome to the neighborhood.
·Plywood Report: Pizzeria Olio [~ELA~]
— Daniela Galarza