Violet

In five years, Matt and Emily Hyland turned their Clinton Hill pizzeria called Emily into a budding restaurant empire. After opening three locations of Detroit pizza spot Emmy Squared, including one in Nashville, and a Emily-Emmy Squared hybrid, they have opened their fifth pizzeria in three years. Called Violet, it’s devoted to another regional American pizza style: the grilled pizza of Providence, Rhode Island’s influential Al Forno. Matt’s love affair with Al Forno began, he says, when his brother started college in Providence; it’s where he went on first date with Emily during their college years. (While the Hylands have separated, Emily remains at partner and is also behind the wine lists.) Of course, it is no small task to reengineer these grilled pizzas. The dough is low-hydration, naturally leavened with a sourdough starter, and oiled like focaccia, resulting in a crust that’s paper thin but not crackery, tender, and very light. While the toppings are familiar, they aren’t duplicates of Emily pizzas, either. Pizza, however, is only one part of the equation here, and the non-pizza offerings are more plentiful than at the other Emily restaurants. The idea is to do New England food, but revamped. That translates into clam “stuffies” with linguiça, pretzel stuffing, and uni; as well as hen-of-the-woods mushrooms with grilled miso treviso, goat gouda, johnnycakes, and crème fraîche. There are six different pastas, too, including an Al Forno homage of baked fusilli with vodka sauce, ricotta, and herbs.