Montes de Oca

Because little English is spoken at either branch of this pizzeria, it's hard for an Anglo to get an explanation of what makes the place's specialty, Cuban pizza, different from other pizzas. But basically it's the crust, which is thicker than those of Neapolitan, Roman, New York, or designer pizzas but differs from similarly thick Sicilian crusts by its relative lightness. Montes's pizza bases are like pleasantly dense bread with a crunchy, gratifyingly greasy outer crust: Cuban focaccia. As for toppings, the major meat mixta is probably the most characteristically Cuban, but even carnivores like the cheese, tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, onions, sliced mushrooms (canned, unfortunately), and lots of red and green peppers. The platano (banana) pizza also is extremely popular, for reasons that cannot be explained in words of any language but seem perfectly clear at 4:00 a.m. (Montes is open 24 hours.) And the crema de queso, an intensely rich but surprisingly light cheese soup, may make you forget about pizza altogether.