Inferno pizza1/6/2024 ![]() ![]() ›› Inferno Pizza 12207 Darnestown Rd., Gaithersburg, 30. I’ve been to pizza heaven, and its name is Inferno. “I’ve been known to eat two of them myself,” Conte told me. With its beautifully crunchy dough and satisfyingly fresh toppings, it begged for another bite, and maybe another order. The kid in me couldn’t help but poke at it as I eyed a piece of the pie that offered a healthy mix of San Marzano tomatoes, Fior Di Latte mozzarella, olive oil, and basil. In between was the main event: My margherita pizza bore a huge, trademark Neapolitan air-bubble blister. (We’re still talking about the house-made ricotta cheesecake and affogato.) The Eggplant pizza, Smoked Prosciutto, and the Potato Pizzas are classics. Its worth every penny, as Chef Tony Conti is a true artist and craftsman when it comes to Pizza. We started with a healthy sampling of flavorful and seasonal, locally sourced appetizers-roasted cauliflower, a beet salad, and burrata-while drinking Brookville IPAs and white wine, and we ended with an equally fantastic dessert. Inferno is the only real Neapolitan pizza in Gaithersburg. On Saturdays, this area is used for special tasting parties, and it overlooks the small open-concept kitchen, where Conte takes 45 seconds to build each 11-inch artisanal pizza, and where his assistant fires the pies in a wood-burning tiled oven at about 900 degrees for as long as the nearby large plastic containers still have risen dough in them. On a recent Friday night, our party of two sat at the six-person counter. Marinara, smoked prosciutto and black truffle are among six choices on the menu, and locals know to add organic egg topping to any pizza they order. The thin, light, crispy-bottomed pie is a true elevation of the pizza form. This year, Conte earned a distinction that all chefs covet-he was nominated for his profession’s highest individual honor-for making mostly $10 to $13 pizzas, no less. We don’t normally review restaurants in Gaithersburg, but all we can say is, make the hour drive southwest and you’ll get it. (He got his start in the restaurant business in high school, making New York-style pizzas in Hamden, Connecticut.) It’s part homage to his heritage (his father and grandparents hail from Pontelatone, north of Naples, in Italy), part practicality (he lives with his wife and two children two miles away), and primarily a passion project. In 2015, seeking a departure from the fine-dining world, Conte decided to take on this new challenge. There’s a reason Inferno’s hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 5 p.m.-“until the dough runs out.” “Neither of those make any sense to me,” says Conte, a self-described perfectionist, even if that means turning customers away if capacity is reached. He then spends an hour after close making the dough, the restaurant’s one-of-a-kind flour included, for the next evening. This is Tony Conte’s place, where the 46-year-old former head chef of the multi-starred Oval Room, located near the White House, hand-makes no fewer than 140 certifiably authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas five nights a week, serving them to a steady stream of customers in a laid-back 40-seat space. But what’s happening inside Inferno Pizzeria’s suburban storefront is far from ordinary. The Stupid Good Pig Wrap includes house-smoked pulled pork, black forest ham, pickles and provolone on grilled pizza flatbread with an amped-up wasabi mustard.īut if you don’t necessarily want to go down in flames, the menu also offers customized pizzas to suit your mildest mood, as well as salads, sandwiches and Strombolis ― sans Scorpion pepper and its four-alarm heat.If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating food cooked by a James Beard Award-nominated chef, chances are you wouldn’t expect your first experience to come from a neighborhood pizza joint in a Gaithersburg strip mall. Inferno’s also has a different take on the Cuban sandwich. If you think you’re up to the challenge, try Inferno’s Trinidad Scorpion pepper-infused sauces, or get it on top of your pizza with their house-made Scorpion pepper sausage. Their spiciest ingredient stokes the inferno, and they make the dough fresh daily. ![]() New York-style pies are 14 inches, while the gluten-free, flatbread-style comes in a 12-inch size. ![]() Inferno’s is known for its hot artisan pizzas, signature beer-ritas, fresh salads and unique appetizers like their chorizo-stuffed peppers ― not your typical jalapeño poppers. Last summer saw another open in Princeton. This year has seen a rapid expansion for the brand, with the second location popping up in Boerne last February. ![]() Left Bank’s corner spot that was home to MidiCi Pizza will soon become the first Fort Worth location of Inferno’s Pizza – Wood Fired Oven and Spirits.įounder Cary Hamer opened the first Inferno's in the tiny Hill Country hamlet of Gruene in 2013. Inferno’s is expected to open within the next few weeks at 629 Stayton St. ![]()
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