Anna’s Wood Fired Pizza – Niskayuna, NY

Galleria 7 Market is an up and coming culinary destination in the area. At 1202 Troy Schenectady Rd in Latham, it is home to a number of eateries and purveyors, one of which is Anna’s Wood Fired Pizza. I learned about Anna’s through my friends at Screen Designs Inc. when they shared an image of the t-shirts they made for Anna’s on Instagram.

Anna’s is owned by the same family who owns Mario’s Restaurant and Prima Pizza in Niskayuna, so this is a supplementary offering to their NY style restaurants at a time where Neapolitan pizza places seem to be popping up frequently. It deviates by throwing a little of the Neapolitan style pizza making into the mix, and for that, they use a wood fired oven.

The day I visited, the young man topping and baking was free to talk, so we chatted about much of what they were doing. I asked about some nitty gritty details like what type of flour they use and who makes the proscuitto cotto they use on the pizza I ordered. Hearing the pride in their product, I didn’t mind throwing down $15 on a pizza that was just enough for me. It’s not cheap, but this isn’t Blaze Pizza after all.

I ordered the Prima (Mozzarella, proscuitto cotto, marinated tomatoes, provolone, extra virgin olive oil, and shaved parmigiano Reggiano). It was ready within 4 minutes from the toss to the slice.

I ate through the entire pizza while I talked to the owner. It was actually quite good. The mixture of mozzarella and provolone makes this more of a cheesy slice that I’d associate more with NY style, but the wood fired crust worked great with it. Actually provolone picks up a really deep smoky flavor when it’s in the wood fired oven, and that helped deepen the flavor here. The ham (proscuitto cotto = cooked ham) was good, albeit on the thick side. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the basil. I think it would have better served the pizza if it was added at the slice instead of before the bake. We debated the merits of both, and the owner knew what I was saying.

I’ve been back a couple of times and have enjoyed my pizzas each time. They offer a couple of bottled craft and imported beers, so it’s a pretty neat stop for a quick pizza and beer.