Inside Oro Di Napoli, Now Firing on N. Williams

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The N. Williams neighborhood now has a casual Italian trattoria in the form of Oro di Napoli, which softly opened just before Christmas in the Albert building. Owner William Kim confirms that former Bluehour chef Kenny Giambalvo — who signed onto the project in October — is no longer with the restaurant; instead, two consultants, one from Napoli proper, are taking the menu in a more casual, trattoria-direction. "Kenny has been a great help to us for the setting up of the concept initially, but what I would like to pursue is more casual and simple compared to more fine Italian dining," Kim says. "But I really appreciate Kenny for his great help in opening the restaurant."

Save for appetizers and salads, Oro's current menu focuses entirely on pizzas fired in a 7,000-pound, imported Stefano Ferrara oven. (Old Town's Via Tribunali has the only other volcanic-ash-insulated Ferrara oven in town; the 900-1,000-degree oven famously cooks a pizza in 45 seconds). Nine pizza varieties are available, including the "Portland" (featuring rapini and housemade sausage), a traditional calzone, and pizza fritta (aka fried pizza that's a popular Neapolitan street food). According to Kim, additional dishes like fresh pastas, gnocchi, and croquettes are in the works. "We offer organic seasonal produce, all organic vegetables, but we use Italian dressings and cheese. So it's kind of a combination of authentic Italian ingredients with fresh produce from the local farms."

Oro's current hours of operation: Monday-Saturday, 5:30 to 10p.m.; Sunday, 4:30p.m. to 9p.m. Plans are to add lunch service in the near future.
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