How can a kitchen signal to customers that its clams are fresh? Leaving the meats in their shells, the time-honored and respectable practice of raw bars, is an annoyance when the whole mollusks are deposited atop pizza. For its vongole pie, Brunetti's approach is the intuitive one: Use just-shucked, chopped-to-order Long Island clams whose superb clean flavor leaves no room for doubt, then dress them sparingly with garlic, herb butter, and parsley. See also Zuppardi's, Frank Pepe's, and Lee's — as well as Marion's, where pie means pie.
Brunetti Pizza
626 Hudson St. (Jane-Horatio Sts.), Manhattan
212-255-5699
Also at 103 Main St., Westhampton, New York
631-288-3003
www.BrunettiPizza.com
