Overall this is a great Neapolitan pizza restaurant. The atmosphere is bordering on fine dining, with excellent waitstaff and hosts, and excellent service. They have appetizers, pasta, main courses and about 12 different pizzas. Full bar and a some interesting cocktails. They even have a whole roast pig for large parties. Do not bother with the crispy pigs ears app - they tasted like hush puppies from Red Lobster: breading masking a limp, bland, sliver of pig ear. The salad underneath was far better. The charcuterie plate had house made salumi. The standout on that was the chicken liver mouse.
The Valoriani oven is pretty big. I saw them cooking 3 pizzas at once. It had a roaring fire all the way to the left. The bake times were 2 minutes on the nose for most of the pizzas I saw. The temp must have been in the high 700's I would guess. Maybe 800.
The dough looked to be highly hydrated, easily 65% or higher. They cut them out of the box, and gently caressed them open on the counter by rotating a few times. Then they gently draped them over their knuckles and let gravity open the skins. I could not believe how gentle they were with the dough.
We had the Verde, the Calabrese, Margarita and Salumi. The toppings were ham fisted and sloppy, and the overall appearance was not that pretty. But man did it taste good. The crumb was light, airy, soft and had that veneer of slight crispness on the outside. It was fully gelatinized with irregular holes. I could not get a good shot of it because it was so dark in there. Salt level was high 2%, probably 3%. The crumb was fragrant and rich. Much like a dough that has been fermented at room temp for many hours with cake yeast. The char was overpowering in spots.
Tomatoes and cheese were great. The cheese is made there, and it is not as creamy as I would have liked. It also browned a bit too much. The middle of the pie was just on the verge of being soupy.
Overall I was very impressed with the dough flavor and texture. The topping combinations were fine, if a bit tired, and they were overpowering. I wanted more balance. But this place is highly recommended. It is in Davis Square just outside Harvard Square/Porter Square.
http://pizzeriaposto.com/John
