Tinder Hearth & Monte’s

The New York Times has included Tinder Hearth in Brooksville in their 2023 list of the 50 restaurants they’re “most excited about right now.”

They bake only 150 pizzas a night, in a wood-burning brick oven, and only four nights a week. And what pizzas they are, built on thin but sturdy 17-inch crusts that have been leavened with wild yeast. The thrill comes from a rotating cast of toppings that might include pork meatballs, chile and garden mint, or confit cherry tomatoes, caramelized onion and ricotta with pops of fresh green coriander and honey.

And, as the Press Herald reports, a recent positive review by Dave Portnoy from Bar Stool Sports has spiked demand for the pizza at Monte’s.

“We’ve been turning away so much business the last few days. We could have doubled or tripled our sales if we had the capacity to keep up with demand,” Quattrucci said, noting that his team has since found ways to boost production.