What to Expect From Olio Pizzeria Opening Mid-October

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Elizabeth Daniels 9/10
Third Street is blowing up. So many new places still in the works, simplethings, the Animal boys' restaurant, the Doughboys bakery, and also just across from Robata Jinya has sprouted Olio Pizzeria. We've been following this small pizza shop since early August, and finally the dust has cleared, the walls are painted, the the olive wood-burning pizza oven has been installed. Owner and chef Bradford Kent is more than excited to bring high quality pizzas with seasonal toppings to the city, he says, "You know how Intelligentsia is about coffee? That's how I am about pizza." And on the subject of coffee, yes, Brad will brew Intelligentsia beans.

Set to debut around October 15 pending final inspections and such, Olio will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily opening at 7AM and closing around 10PM. So you're going to eat pizza for breakfast? Not quite. Breakfast offerings will range from house-made buttermilk scones to pancakes, but EVERYTHING will be cooked in his 800°F wood-fired oven, the restaurant's focal point and centerpiece. Wood-fired pancakes, wood-fired everything because Olio's "kitchen" or more like back storage room only holds a sink, a fridge specifically climate controlled for dough, no cooktop, nothing like that.

Overall the space is quite small with 26 total seats, just four tables inside and four tables outside plus counter seating around the oven and pizza area. Check out those limestone countertops. Brad admits, "I like them because they feel like dough."

Lunch and dinner will fall to those pizzas topped with seasonal ingredients, but for Brad it's all about the dough. Coming from a food science background he approached creating his ideal pizza dough "like a science project." In the end no one dough would suffice, so he created three versions and mixed them all together for the perfect final product. He also created his dough to freeze well because he plans to introduce a line of frozen pizzas to the market and is currently in talks with Whole Foods about starting to sell there. As it now stands his pizzas could become available in about 10 or so local Whole Foods and potentially more in the future.

Unfortunately, when it opens Olio will not have a beer and wine license, though it's something Brad hopes to add down the line. Also in the future he plans to serve house-made sodas flavored with fresh fruit juices.

Finally, dessert. Of course house-made, think seasonal flavored gelato and sorbet, and definitely affogato done right with "good" coffee.

While parking in this area can be tough to come by, there's a garage just behind the restaurant and Brad will also offer online ordering to just grab and go.
·All Olio Pizzeria Coverage [~ELA~]