Walk along via Sant’Agostino these days and you’ll note the buzz mid-street on the way to piazza Santo Spirito. Spinza is the latest brainchild from the folks behind trendy Oltrarno burger spot Reburger—and they’re not afraid to make a splash.
The locale itself is tiny as food entrepreneur Amza Zahouani corners the takeaway market in what used to be his falafel haunt. Hewn wooden doors open into a three-sided counter lined with stools, but it’s the backlit menu that grabs your attention. That, and the glowing blue light of the UV sterilization container housing the starter seemingly dating to 1942. At 19 degrees Celsius, the temperature slows down yeast activity and fermentation, without stopping it completely. Brothers Elio and Charbel Khalil, in charge of the day-to-day operations, explains how a chef with a Michelin-starred background has consulted on the sourdough side. “He’s ‘sick’ with yeast and tells us exactly what to order.”
But what’s a pinsa and how does it differ from pizza? Coming from the Latin pinsere, meaning “to stretch”, today’s pinsa is a take on a recipe that dates back to Ancient Rome when rural populations lived outside the city walls and would bake flatbreads using ground millet, barley and spelt. Unlike pizza, a pinsa is oval in shape. Therein lies the difference.
On the summer evening I visited the chill space with a riff on a Tuscan barn complete with terracotta slat walls, a honey and truffle topping caught my fancy. Fior di latte mozzarella, truffle oil, black truffle shavings and a drizzling of the sweet stuff on a homemade sourdough pinsa: it’s so simple and yet so good. Split into Classics (margherita, marinara and the like), Specials (bufala and cotto, sausage and turnip greens) and Seasonal (zucchini, eggplant, watermelon with feta), there’s something for all tastes, including the required Choose your Own Topping category for fussy eaters—or people who know exactly what they want.
“Hot pinsa, cool people” is the slogan the guys have concocted for their latest food business, and it’s on-point. Hip couples, roommates and students with style, plus passing tourists, came and went in the half-hour I was there, sipping a glass of natural wine and grazing on my elevated flatbread. Spinza reminds me of a pizzeria al taglio by the slice situation, but sicker. For cool people, appunto.
