{"id":252425,"date":"2017-11-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/new-york-pizza-and-a-fictional-mister\/"},"modified":"2017-11-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T08:00:00","slug":"new-york-pizza-and-a-fictional-mister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/new-york-pizza-and-a-fictional-mister\/","title":{"rendered":"New York pizza and a fictional mister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

The namesake guy behind Mr. Moto Pizza House immigrated to New York City from his native Italy, became obsessed with the city\u2019s pizza, and took the recipe to Southern California to start a business. He\u2019s an animated character with a thick, dark mustache.<\/p>\n

Mr. Moto, however, doesn\u2019t really exist. He\u2019s the invention and alter ego of Gibran Fernandez, a San Diego-born entrepreneur whose story loosely parallels his business mascot.<\/p>\n

\"New
A decorative shrine to New York pizza (Foto por Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fernandez fell in love with pizza-making while working at Pizza on Pearl in La Jolla. He eventually purchased a stake in the eatery and went on to open Mr. Moto in Pacific Beach and North Park. In May, he\u2019ll open a third location in Point Loma.<\/p>\n

Fernandez frequents New York to \u201cget ideas\u201d from pizza makers there, although he has long nailed down the vital tenets of their dough-making process, which requires the use of high-gluten flour, purified but mineral-rich water, and hand tossing the dough.<\/p>\n

\"New
San Diego-born entrepreneur Gibran Fernandez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The resulting crusts are thick and chewy along the edges and thin and bendable beneath the toppings \u2014 a familiar and celebrated contrast of textures to pizza fanatics nationwide.<\/p>\n

In keeping with the New York concept, pizzas at Mr. Moto are sold in customary large slices as well as whole. Though in modern-day style, gourmet toppings in many cases are applied, extending extend well beyond traditional pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella and red sauce.<\/p>\n

Dropping into the North Park location with an intense hankering for pizza of any kind, we lusted over the display case of sliced pies like sugar-craving kids in an old-fashioned candy store.<\/p>\n

\"New
Smoky green pizza (Foto por Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My companion immediately gravitated to the \u201csmoky greens\u201d pizza carpeted with wilted spinach and dotted with ricotta cheese. Balsamic glaze gave it a tinge of sweetness, although the overall flavor profile was too far out for this New York State native.<\/p>\n

After easily wolfing down my half of a pepperoni slice, I discovered the joys of melted panela cheese on Mr. Moto\u2019s \u201cpizza of the month.\u201d It\u2019s a mild, white Mexican curd made of cow\u2019s milk that quickly turns creamy from heat and absorbs the flavors of ingredients mingling with it \u2014 in this case sausage, pepperoni, garlic and basil.<\/p>\n

I vote to give this pizza a name and add it to the list of year-round choices, which currently amount to 15 signature styles.<\/p>\n

\"New
Pizza of the month (Foto por Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From that lineup, a slice of \u201cMama Moto\u201d proved equally appealing with its double wham of creaminess from mascarpone and burrata cheeses. Cherry tomatoes and truffle oil added a juicy, earthy flair.<\/p>\n

Stuffed garlic knots are Mr. Moto\u2019s culinary claim to fame, according to Fernandez. They\u2019re made with two different combinations of fillings: spinach, ricotta and mozzarella; or pepperoni, jalapenos and mozzarella. Each version includes bright marinara sauce for dipping, as well as ranch dressing if you must.<\/p>\n

\"New
Stuffed garlic knots (Foto por Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The knots are excellent regardless of their fillings, thanks to their crusty exteriors that form as the dough bakes after being dipped into garlic-parsley sauce. Underneath, they\u2019re as airy and light as popovers.<\/p>\n

We were also fond of the meatballs, available in threesomes as an appetizer. They aren\u2019t made in-house, but we didn\u2019t care as our forks glided through the soft and finely ground mixture of pork and beef.\"New<\/p>\n

The menu also includes a house and Caesar salad served in shiny metal bowls. We ordered each and favored the herby Greek-like vinaigrette served with the house salad over the excessively tangy dressing that accompanied the Caesar. The lettuces in both were fresh and crisp.<\/p>\n

But with the aromas of baked dough, melted cheeses and savory toppings permeating the indoor-outdoor eatery, your desire for a heaping pile of fresh produce can fly out the window when stepping through Mr. Moto\u2019s doors. His impish persona is built on pizza-making. And his fanfare is steadily growing as a result.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Frank Sabatini Jr. is the author of \u201cSecret San Diego\u201d (ECW Press), and began his local writing career more than two decades ago as a staffer for the former San Diego Tribune. Reach him at fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":252426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"New York pizza and a fictional mister","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}