All photos by Scott Lynch
Pizza, pastries, provisions: Mo’s General may be the perfect neighborhood spot
New Williamsburg slice joint from the folks behind Olmstead and Craft doubles as a coffee shop (and triples as general store)
A new pizza place is never not welcome in Brooklyn. But when a spot is as good as Mo’s General, which opened a week ago on a corner of Lorimer Street, it’s cause for celebration. Because Mo’s isn’t just a slice spot. It also has a full coffee and pastry program, plus a pantry stocked with provisions, including Duke’s Mayonnaise, Ritz crackers, Mike’s Hot Honey, Manhattan Special Coffee Soda, and Little Debbie’s Nutty Buddy bars.
Mo’s is owned and operated by Max Katzenberg, a founding partner at Olmstead and Maison Yaki, and Mac Murdock, who did a long stint in Tom Colicchio’s kitchen at Craft and lives down the block from the shop. For both of them, it is a neighborhood labor of love.
“I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of my first jobs was at a place called Mio’s Pizzeria,” Murdoch tells Brooklyn Magazine, “Cincinnati is a small town, and Mio’s was like the center of our universe. You started washing dishes, then making pizzas, then delivering pizzas in your car. It was the most nostalgic time of my life. After getting out of semi-fine dining I think we all kind of go backwards, and go to our roots, so I was trying to replicate what I thought was a great time in my life, and build a business like that.”
The pizza here is rectangular, though less bready than a classic Sicilian slice (a la L&B Spumoni Gardens). It’s also not as crisp or chewy as the new breed of New York squares you might find at places like Scarr’s or Mama’s Too. Chef Jesse Burns, who works with Rebecca Moran in the kitchen here, just calls it “naturally leavened sourdough with really good things on top.” There are five different varieties available every day until each one sells out, and they are all terrific.
The pepperoni is the big hit here, the squares peppered with oily cups of sausage circles. But the cheesy white slice is excellent too, topped with radicchio, mushroom, garlic, and scallions. The simple tomato is bright and slightly sweet; the cheese is comforting and familiar, and the BBQ is a nifty curveball, coming at you with smoky sauce, caramelized onions, and jalapeños.
Unlike most pizza places where the sides are superfluous (better to just get another slice, no?), Mo’s makes some top-notch mozzarella sticks, called “fried cheese” on the menu, that complement and add variety to your feast. The coffee is from the Sey roastery right over in Bushwick and can be ordered in many ways. And the house made pastries include the sparkling lemon polenta cake, and the dense slabs of blueberry banana bread.
The provisions themselves are not just a handy way to score a big bag of Oreos on your way home, but also provide a way to help pandemic-proof the place, ensuring that Mo’s will be deemed an essential business should there be another lockdown. The big take-out window on Skillman Street was another Covid-era addition to Murdoch’s long-brewing plans, as was Mo’s sturdy and comfortable curbside dining room.
Mo’s General is located at 620 Lorimer Street, at the corner of Skillman Street, and is currently open on Wednesday through Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with pizza service starting at 12:00 noon until selling out