At ZA pizzeria in Portland, fusion is enjoyable however fundamentals are higher

When ZA chef and co-owner Brandon Tenney talks about his meals, he’s typically unassuming. Ask him about ZA’s margherita pizza, although, and his pleasure bubbles up like mozzarella in a scorching oven.

“It really showcases the dough, the sauce, the really good cheese,” Tenney says. “It’s such a simple pizza, but everything has to be perfect to make a good margherita pizza. I think the quality of our ingredients really come through with this pizza.”

Believe him on this. ZA gives loads of non-traditional pizza toppings — Mexican-style avenue corn, dill pickle and potato chips, cheeseburger — however the margherita (14-inch, $23; 18-inch, $28) exhibits ZA, and its crust, at its finest.

Bright, zingy pizza sauce, creamy mozzarella and vibrant recent basil from Olivia’s Garden in New Gloucester high the skinny, crisp, evenly blistered crust. Like plenty of pizzas lately, ZA’s model is a form of New York-Neapolitan hybrid. Tenney’s margherita crust approaches the platonic preferrred in its steadiness: sturdy but delicate, chewy but tender, gentle but substantial.

The margherita was the most effective expression of ZA’s crust within the numerous dishes my group tried on the Preble Street restaurant on a quiet Thursday evening in October. Pork belly-apple pizza (14-inch, $24; 18-inch, $29) is a enjoyable fusion pie, its Asian candy chili sauce base loaded up with seductively aromatic morsels of applewood-smoked pork stomach, sweet-tart Maine Gala apple, shaved Brussels sprouts, scallion, cilantro and some distracting slices of pickled ginger. But the crust in some way appeared slightly denser right here.

Same with the potato pizza (14-inch, $22; 18-inch, $27), harking back to a loaded baked potato — roasted halved fingerlings, shaved jalapenos, thick-cut bacon and a mozzarella-provolone mix scattered on a base of aioli-thick ranch dressing. It had much less potato than we anticipated, although that’s a hole criticism: Everyone is aware of the most effective a part of a loaded baked potato is the load. But the crust was slightly pale, and whereas nearly naan-like on the crisp, pillowy edges, it felt heavier general, slowed down by the wealthy ranch.

When bearing lighter freight, as with the foldable slice of cup-and-char pepperoni ($6), the crust sagain, placing ZA solidly among the many ranks of the higher pizzas in Portland, and even statewide.

ZA has some large footwear to fill of their high-ceilinged area within the former Portland Public Market. Slab Sicilian Street Food, a pizzeria beloved for its thick, hefty but ethereal Southern Italian slices, held courtroom there for 10 years earlier than closing final fall.

Tenney and his co-owner and spouse, Jessica, additionally additionally personal Truckin’ Pizza, a meals truck and catering enterprise they launched in 2022. They’re hospitality trade veterans, with 50 years of expertise between them, although ZA is their first restaurant.

The couple was on the lookout for a manufacturing facility to accommodate their rising enterprise, when Slab’s homeowners approached them final winter about opening a restaurant within the Preble Street area. “Sometimes you just have to jump when opportunity knocks,” Jessica mentioned.

The industrial-chic venue didn’t want a lot in the way in which of renovation. The Tenneys coated the partitions with a moodier palette of black, purple and orange, and added a couple of fashionable touches like a reside moss wall-hanging with the ZA brand, and a neon “Feed Me Pizza and Tell Me I’m Pretty” signal that’s like catnip to selfie snappers.

Truckin’s pies are wood-fired, so Tenney tweaked his dough recipe — which makes use of 4 varieties of flour, together with spelt from Maine Grains for refined nuttiness — to make it work each within the Truckin’ ovens and the gas-powered Bakers Pride decks he inherited at ZA.

ZA’s kitchen doesn’t have a multi-burner vary or fryer, simply a few induction burners for sauces and prep work; the ovens are the chief supply of warmth. Tenney makes use of them to first sear and brown his glorious pork-and-beef meatballs ($16), earlier than returning them to braise in purple sauce fortified with mirepoix and a tomato discount. Bound with a panade that makes use of Kate’s buttermilk from Arundel, the 2 baseball-size meatballs are absolutely seasoned all through, moist and fork tender.

ZA makes use of its pizza crust for sandwiches, too, just like the panuozzo-style prosciutto, burrata and pesto ($17), with an ample portion of salty Parma ham, cheese, peppery watercress, candy roasted purple pepper and a strong pesto that just about steals the scene. The crust — char-leoparded and crisp outdoors, although a contact gummy inside — steals it again, partly as a result of there’s a lot extra of it.

A facet C-ZA salad (additionally provided as a starter, $14) comes with Meyer lemon dressing that lacked Caesar-style anchovy-and-cheese satisfaction, and even lemon taste. The crunchy croutons are produced from — you guessed it — pizza crust.

Jessica Tenney oversees ZA’s entrance of home, and likewise put collectively its bar program, which incorporates almost 20 largely native beers on faucet ($5-$11), and 4 wines by the glass ($9). Her well-calibrated Basic Witch ($14) cocktail — an espresso martini with pumpkin spice and vodka from Wild Bevy Distilling in Wells — goes down dangerously simple. The Woodsman ($14), a riff on an Old-Fashioned, was poured over a tall mound of small ice cubes that watered it down very quickly. We ordered one other, however served “up,” martini-style, which revealed heat citrus notes and the candy chunk of Tenney’s Maine maple-ginger syrup.

Those cocktails would even be glorious after dinner, possibly pairing effectively with ZA’s sweets. We requested our companionable and speedy bartender-server, Maya, if any of the objects she’d listed for dessert — cannoli, chocolate-peanut butter pie, strawberry ice cream — have been made in-house.

She shook her head no, somberly, to convey she was sorry to disappoint. Then with quiet confidence and slightly smile, she added, “We’re good at pizza.” Believe her on this.

RATING: *** 1/2
WHERE: 25 Preble St., Portland. piz-za.net.
SERVING: 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers, salads and sandwiches $9-$17, pizza slices $5.50-$6.50, entire pies (14-inch and 18-inch) $19-$30
NOISE LEVEL: Medium-low on a sluggish weeknight. Echoey acoustics might make it difficult for some at busier instances.
VEGETARIAN: Some dishes, they usually provide vegan pizza cheese
GLUTEN-FREE: Some dishes, and the kitchen could make any pizza with gluten-free crust on request
RESERVATIONS: No
BAR: Wine, beer and cocktails
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
BOTTOM LINE: Several months in the past, ZA pizzeria took over the loft-like area at 25 Preble St. the place Slab slung its famend Sicilian pies for 10 years. It’s the primary restaurant for Brandon and Jessica Tenney, who additionally personal Truckin’ Pizza, a meals truck and catering firm. Chef Brandon’s pies are a mix of New York and Neapolitan model, with foldable single slices and a delicious, remarkably balanced crust. The menu contains loads of inventive fusions. They’re good, however the crust appeared lighter and crisper with easy requirements just like the margherita or cup-and-char pepperoni. Pizza crust envelops the full-flavored filling within the prosciutto, burrata and pesto sandwich, although ZA may tweak the ratio of crust to filling for much less doughy bites. Tenney’s moist, tender meatballs would certainly win approval from even essentially the most discriminating Nonnas. If you go to this fall, strive one of many bar’s autumnal cocktails: Basic Witch is good as is, when you ought to ask for the Woodsman straight as much as savor its nuances.

Ratings comply with this scale and consider meals, ambiance, service and worth and sort of restaurant (an informal bistro might be judged as an informal bistro, an costly upscale restaurant as such):

* Poor 

** Fair

*** Good

**** Excellent

***** Extraordinary

The Maine Sunday Telegram visits every restaurant as soon as; if the primary meal was unsatisfactory, the reviewer returns for a second. The reviewer by no means accepts free meals or drink.