Pieducks

Madeline Marr8/1/2011

Call Pieducks the anti-chain pizza.

If you're craving pies like the cast of Jersey Shore chomped on while filming in Florence, look no further than this newcomer, which debuted near Brickell and has just opened a second location in Midtown. Owner Claudio Nunes says a wood-burning brick oven is all you need to make a perfect thin-crust pizza with those delectable charred patches and hints of charcoal. "Due to the high intensity of the heat used, it makes the dough rise very quickly and keeps the moistness in the crust,'' says Nunes, a native of Brazil who owned South Miami's Grappa. "It's the only way to go.''

So are quality ingredients like plum tomato sauce from Italy, organic flour, spring water and premium cheeses. Pies are sprinkled with oregano from the mountains of Chile. Order the Cheese Cheese and customize it with sliced tomatoes, red onions, fresh garlic, Kalamata olives, marinated artichokes and capers, among other add-ons.

Pork fans will devour the No.6, with slices of applewood-smoked bacon, crumbled feta cheese and green olives. The No.9 is for the more health-conscious with fresh organic spinach and sliced mushrooms as well as onions, garlic and green bell peppers. Can't stop loving on the cheese? Go crazy with the Quattro, named for the gooey quartet of Asiago, Pecorino Romano, Holland Gouda and Wisconsin mozzarella. Another top seller sports smoked Italian sausage from Calabria, which the menu describes as "baked to perfection.'' Well, pretty close.

Other food options are few, but that's OK. You know what you're here for. You can pick up a Power Salad, with spinach, arugula, romaine, pumpkin seeds, feta and the house-made honey-mango vinaigrette. The Caesar also has house-made dressing. Don't deny yourself the guilty pleasure of garlic breadsticks, also baked in that glorious brick oven. And we hear they do a mean cheesecake topped with guava sauce.