Fino's Pizza

 Connecticut has two foods that they claim historical ownership of: hamburger stands and pizza joints. Pizza in America may or may not have started in New Haven, but this is not the place to resolve that argument.

Watertown, the blog's hometown, is home to too many pizza places. "Let's get pizza" is only the first act in a negotiation in our family. Everyone tends to develop certain preferences when it comes to pizza, and those preferences can become a tenet of faith, a cornerstone of you palate.

The "fanciest" pizza joint in Watertown is Fino's. Formerly the Main Street Grill, they took the place over and kept the bar and reduced the menu to coal fired pizza and a few appetizers. Eventually ownership changed again and they expanded the menu, but let's face it: you go to Fino's for overpriced pizza.

It used to be that you would order a single sized pizza for $12-15, now they offer bigger pies, burgers, pasta...who knows if it's any good.

The small pies come out pretty quickly. The crust is thin, to the point where it's an engineering problem to get the slice to your mouth. Coal fired stoves give the crust a taste of charcoal, which tastes better than it sounds. 

For my money, the Pepino is their best pie, but they do offer all sorts of weird options. The Fico is good, with Prosciutto, figs, goat cheese and a balsamic glaze, for instance.

Better appetizers include the wings and calamari, though the latter seems to have gone downhill since ownership changed hands.

Staff is usually younger but friendly and competent. The beer list is good but limited and they offer some specialty cocktails. 

The space isn't huge, though there is a back deck during nicer weather. This keeps it quieter, despite the brick walls.

Fino's is somewhere between a quick pizza and a fancy night out. Time will tell if expanding the menu makes sense, though.

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