Walking into Mona Lisa is like stumbling into a neighborhood gem in the heart of Brooklyn. Here, owner, Steve, likes to keep it ‘all in the family.’ His children, fourth generation in the biz all work behind the counter in front of the large coal-fired brick oven. Mona Lisa’s popular thin crust pizza is created on a hearth of 85-year-old seasoned bricks from their two award-winning Brooklyn locales. Steve has quite the labor-intensive operation, shipping in water from New York once a week. “We make our dough from four types of flour for six months out of the year and eight types in the summertime,” he said. Every pizza is inspected by one of the family.
Speaking of family, his walls are lined with headshots of some of the most notorious gangsters of real life and the silver screen, everyone from Al Capone to The Sopranos. On the other wall, two Popes look on, giving their blessing.
Steve opened this locale back in November. “We cater to the locals … but people come from all over,” he said. He isn’t kidding. A woman makes sure to tell him on her way out: “We drove here from Miami. This place has the best pizza around.”
The secret to his success, it seems, is not only his customer service, but his fresh flavorful food. The mozzarella is homemade, as well as all of their pastries (including cannolis, seven-layer cookies, melt-in-your-mouth napoleons and ultra rich cheesecake. They ship in 80-pound blocks of cheese, six at a time, from Italy ($12/ pound) to put on the pizza. Their pizzas, in bianco or margarita, come with various toppings. The sausage is out of this world, seasoned just right and fresh! The pepperoni is a close second. Appetizers, from chicken wings, roasted in red wine and rosemary topped with caramelized onions, to broccoli rabe and sausage are a feast alone. Their antipasto is piled high with meats also imported directly from Italy. And homemade Sangria makes a nice complement.
They even roast their own coffee beans here with their new $25,000 machine from Italy. “A lot of people come here after hours to sit on the patio for dessert,” said Steve, who emphasized his main goal is to make people happy. “People love the Tiki bar. But, we emphasize this is a family place. We are open on the weekend ‘til 12, but I may extend it to 1 a.m.”
Mona Lisa’s is located at 2009 NE 2 St. in Deerfield (1 block west of the beach on A1A). For more information, call 954-420-5644.
