Larry Olmsted

Special for USA TODAY

The scene: When the original Motorino opened in then still up-and-coming Brooklyn more than eight years ago, it was rated the No. 1 Best New Generation Pizza by The New York Times and immediately spawned a following so loyal that the eatery became a chain with three Big Apple locations and half a dozen satellites across the Pacific Rim. There has always been a lot of great pizza in New York, likely more than in any city in the world, yet upstart Motorino was the first to become beloved so quickly so far from home. Why? Well it is delicious, but it is also consistent, and perhaps most importantly, the company lives up to its credo of being “a neighborhood pizzeria, whether in New York or Hong Kong.” Unlike many brands we have seen turn into chains, there are no food court locations, and each Motorino in its own way feels like the only one.

The vibe is that of a small, informal local restaurant like a true Italian trattoria, with the focus on pizza, plus creative and varied appetizers. It is sit down style with waiter service at small, white marble-topped tables close to one another, white tile walls, mirrors, lots of windows and marble counters for making pizza. There is a well-rounded menu with great non-pizza appetizer options, and the oven is the centerpiece. The pizza making, topping and cooking process is on display, very close up and personal. For example, New York’s Upper West Side location is one of many similarly sized restaurant and bar storefronts in a very competitive dining stretch of Columbus Avenue, and has just eight tables all with clear views of the large tile pizza oven occupying one corner of the small space. It’s unpretentious and warm, the kind of place where you think of going “for dinner” rather than “for pizza,” though its combination of small size and large-scale popularity can make for long waits to be seated. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, so Motorino also offers takeout and delivery, and for this kind of pizza, it travels surprisingly well.

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Many of the famed New York City pizza temples this column has visited in years past, including John’s of Bleecker Street and Di Fara, have become full-time tourist spots (while still serving great food) with lines out the door before opening and nary a local in sight. Motorino bridges that gap — a destination pizzeria that still caters to regulars, and if you don’t care to wait, you can always carry out.

Reason to visit: Pizza

The food: The pizza is obviously the main attraction here and the first bite is surprising. Despite the showcase high-temperature, wood-burning oven, charred edges with black spots, and apparent similarities to dozens of nouveau Neapolitan-style pizzerias around the world, this is different. The pizza is not crispy at all, with a uniquely doughy, airy, pleasantly chewy and very tasty crust. It is not for extra crispy thin crust lovers, and it may well be this difference that has set Motorino apart and fueled its growth. The topping ingredients are first rate, nothing tastes processed, with fresh real cheeses including fior de latte and real Buffalo mozzarella, imported San Benedetto anchovies, fresh veggies with interesting options like Brussels sprouts and baby kale, and artisanal meats — great soppressata and smoked pancetta. The result is gourmet but still approachable, the kind of pizza you might make at home if you were a good cook and chose excellent ingredients — delicious, but not quite the earth moving, hard to believe it’s so good experience we’ve had at the world’s best pizza spots like Arizona’s Pizzeria Bianco.

Besides starters, the menu is all pizza, divided into two categories, red and white, with the former including the true classic styles, marinara and margherita, along with more typically topped creations featuring meatballs, sausage and salami. The whites are more inventive, with options including fresh cherrystone clams, kale, Brussels sprouts, anchovies and more, and the division is well thought out to let the flavors that are better on their own shine without red sauce, while those the tomato flavor complements are used well. You can construct your own, but if you simply choose whichever house specialty suits your tastes, you will not be disappointed, as all have the great crust and top-notch flavorful toppings.

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The appetizers are strong, and I love the beet salad, not really a salad at all in the green sense, but rather mostly roasted beets with soft boiled egg, delicious anchovies and a few olives -- really well-balanced flavors. The meatballs are very good, not quite great, but well worth having if you like the heartier, more substantial style, not the fall apart tender take on this beloved comfort food. There certainly will be a next visit because this is standout pizza even by lofty New York standards.

There is a small but well curated and affordable all-Italian wine list, an usual small slate of craft beers alongside blasé Italian lagers Peroni and Moretti, and an odd mix of soft drinks including Italian classics aranciata and limonata along with Mexican Coca-Cola products and craft root beers. It’s as if Motorino can’t really choose between its Brooklyn hipster roots or Old-World inspiration across the board from the wood oven-roasted chicken wings to baby kale to drinks, and has it both ways. The good news is that it all works.

Pilgrimage-worthy?: Almost and should be a stop on a pizza junkies tour of the Big Apple.

Rating: Yum-Plus! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)

Price: $$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)

Details: Three New York City locations: Upper West Side, East Village, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn; Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore; motorinopizza.com

Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a barbecue contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com. Some of the venues reviewed by this column provided complimentary services.