After making a match at NYC's Roberta's, Brendan Smith and Rachel Greenspan took their pizza-powered love affair to the West Coast to a gleaming perch in the Montecito Country Mart. Each night, the pair dishes up a bevy of pie varieties tattooed with the delicate char of their wood-fired oven. Even staples like pepperoni are exceptional, thanks to the slow-fermented dough, house-pulled mozzarella, and tangy, ripe tomatoes from Bianco DiNapoli, and seasonal options like a creamed leek pizza with pork sausage and crispy shallot are equally satisfying. Pastas, like a hand-cut tagliatelle with braised lamb shoulder, show similar care. This oven also does a solid sideline in baked goods, so grab some brown-butter chocolate chip cookies or a crusty sourdough loaf on your way out.
