A Look at Pastoral’s Tricked-Out Pizza Oven

Photograph by Tony Luong

At the new Fort Point restaurant Pastoral, chef Todd Winer’s Marra Forni Neapolitan 150 pizza oven runs, quite literally, like a well-oiled machine, producing as many as 77 blistery pies every 15 minutes. But the 3,600-pound behemoth—handcrafted with materials sourced from Italy—wasn’t always so efficient. “Each oven’s got its own little sweet spot, and they have to be seasoned before using them,” Winer says. “We torched pizzas in the beginning.” Now running at a smoking-hot 900 degrees, the appliance is smoothly cranking out pizzas topped with everything from pepper confit to bonito flakes, plus plump garlic knots, whole roasted fish, and, while it cools overnight, braised meats and roasted vegetables. Winer’s even throwing Harpoon Boston Irish Stout in there, creating a smoky syrup that gets incorporated into gelato and a whiskey cocktail. All told, Winer says that he shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for the wood-burning oven, which required a forklift just to get it through the door. After all, a great pizza requires some serious elbow grease—and, of course, some serious dough. —Brittany Jasnoff

Pizza Party!

2014 is shaping up to be a banner year for pie fiends in Boston.
By Panicha Imsomboon

OPEN NOW

Scissors & Pie
The Newbury Street newcomer focuses on square, Roman-style pies that are sliced with scissors and weighed to order.

Stoked Wood Fired Pizza Co.
This food truck houses a 6,000-pound, wood-fired oven that turns out Neapolitan pies with toppers like classic pepperoni and Buffalo-sauced chicken.

Pastoral
See above.

ON THE WAY

The Brewer’s Fork
This collaboration between Michael Cooney, of the Publick House, and John Paine, of Les Zygomates, will bring rare beers and wood-fired pizzas to Charlestown later this summer.

Ernesto’s
The North End pizzeria is aiming to open an outpost in Somerville’s Assembly Row by September; it’ll keep its signature gigantic slices, but also offer smaller, kid-friendly slices and gluten-free crusts.

To-Be-Named Michael Dulock Project
Beginning in early fall, a space in Malden will operate as a commissary for Michael Dulock’s Somerville butcher shop, M. F. Dulock, during the week. On weekends, however, it’ll serve old-school pies.

Blaze
The California-based chain told the Boston Business Journal that it wants to open 15 locations—serving their signature “fast-fire’d” pies—in the Boston area, starting in late fall. 

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
In March, the cult-favorite New Haven pizza joint revealed that it will eventually bring its signature white-clam pizza and other coal-fired pies to Boston.