The art and science of wood-fired pizza

Food writers pride themselves on what is often referred to as “taste memory.” It’s been years, but with a little concentration I can still recall the deep, garlicky taste of the white pizza at Pines of Rome in Bethesda, Md. Or the nutty hint of lemon and sesame in the babaghanouj at Lebanese Taverna in Arlington, Va. I can even recall the tomato/vinegar bite of the Memphis sauce at Sonny’s BBQ around the corner from my radio station near Orlando, Fla.

On what I will loosely define as a fact-finding mission, I first  visited Mr. P’s Pizza and Pasta in Lewes several years ago. The smoldering oak aroma of the toasted crust seemed familiar, and when I took a bite, the mid-‘90s came flooding back: It’s a slow night at my restaurant in Bethesda, Md. I love my own food, but sometimes enough is enough. So I slink out the back door to snag a slice at Il Forno Pizzeria, just a block away from my eatery. Déjà vu all over again….

Never one to have an unexpressed thought, I shared my trip on the tastebud time machine with Mr. P’s friendly owner, Rick Thomas. Well, wouldn’t you know it: He had been the manager of that very same Il Forno. In all probability, it was he who wielded the pizza cutter for that barbecue sauce-stained guy (me). Small world, huh?

Long before he mastered the complexities of the pizza cutter, Rick attended Frostburg State College. He majored in Wildlife Management (this alone qualified him to run a restaurant at the beach). In his own words, Rick was “enjoying college a little too much,” so he took a break. His fraternity buddy’s dad, John Perrin, gave him a job at Il Forno Pizzeria in Gaithersburg, Md. Rick washed dishes, ran the register and bused tables.

He finished college, but the bug had bitten. “I loved the restaurant, and I preferred talking to people rather than animals.” Rick became manager of the Bethesda Il Forno, and eventually purchased the Gaithersburg location. Restaurant ownership is punishment enough for anybody, and in 1998 he sold his share to the fraternity brother whose dad had given him his first job.

Rick bounced around for a while, even managing an Outback Steakhouse in Maui. In the meantime, John Perrin moved to Lewes, and in 2000 he opened Mr. P’s. Health problems arose, and Perrin asked Rick to take over, and perhaps eventually buy the place. Fast-forward a bit, and Rick is now the sole owner of the restaurant. Though the original Mr. P. has since passed away, Rick still maintains the same work ethic that carried the business for so many years.

Thomas makes no bones about the fact that the fire is all-important. The massive Ambrogi wood-burning oven is handcrafted in Milan, Italy. It works its magic by concentrating up to 900 degrees from the oak logs directly onto the lava-stone cooking surface. The top of the chamber curves downward so the hot rock radiates directly onto the pies. The exhaust is at the front of the oven door so cold air doesn’t interfere with the cooking process. In fact, experienced oven operators will often lift a finished pizza up to the top of the oven for a few seconds. This process, call “doming,” puts a delicate, crackly char onto the crust.

Baking wood-fired pizza is both an art and a science. The oven operators at Mr. P’s know exactly how to coax perfect pies out of the beast every time. They must make allowances for the behavior of the yeast, dough and cheese as humidity and outside temperatures vary. As the weather changes, so does the mood of the oven. Years of experience keep the Ambrogi glowing at full efficiency.

Mr. P’s Pizza and Pasta is open year-round, so treat yourself to a crunchy slice and Rick’s large selection of craft brews. Your taste memory will thank you for it.

Bob Yesbek is a serial foodie and can be reached at byesbek@CapeGazette.com.