A pizza topped with fingerling potatoes and cream cheese. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland Last April, Wylie Dufresne started making pizza. This was new. At his modernist Lower East Side restaurant, wd~50, he had made “pizza pebbles” — sandy, air-puffed balls of pizza-flavored powders, accented with dollops of pepperoni emulsion and dried shiitake shards — but he had not, until the 10th of April, 2020, “literally start to finish” made an actual pizza.
Dufresne started making pizza almost by accident, with an oven that had been given to him. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland In the past year, things have changed in many ways, and one of the better ways is this: Dufresne is now very good at making pizza, as evidenced by his new concept, Stretch Pizza, developed in collaboration with Breads Bakery, where it is now in residence.
Dufresne’s pizzas range from classic to creative, including a version topped with romesco and grilled ramps.