La Testa Dura

A hard-headed trio who are tender when it comes to their dough, École Ferrandi alums Carolina Paradiso, Hugo Lipsky and Maxime Gourgues first got their hands in the flour under Bartolo Calderone (the director of the Professional School for Natural Bread and Pizza Making) before opening their own pizzeria / gelateria on Cours d’Albret in Bordeaux, across from the Galerie des Beaux-Arts fine arts museum. The space speaks for itself: a long wood and granite counter, a framed bag of Rouge de Bordeaux heirloom flour hanging on the wall, bottles of natural wine scattered about… and a big wood-fired oven, from which emerged all of the following the day we went: an impeccable round of nicely puffed up dough made with the aforementioned flour and natural sourdough starter, prepared cacio e pepe style (Parmesan, pecorino and scamorza, all generously peppered), which we chose over the pizza topped with squash, guanciale, sage butter and hazelnuts. Also available à la carte were a few carefully sourced antipasti (we spotted some Kintoa and Bellota hams) and exceptionally delicious seasonal ice creams, like the peanut version – which is even better savored on the upstairs terrace, with its views of the busy street below. // Marcellin Caillou

FEELING THIRSTY? : Around thirty very French wines to choose from (including a local red from the Domaine SKJ at €7 a glass, Blizzard, a Périgord white from the Domaine de Lestignac at €33 a bottle), and a welcome Italian exception to the rule, a Treviso Prosecco from the Corletti winery (€28), in addition to a handful of transalpine cocktails (spritz, Negroni and tutti quanti).
PRICE: : Antipasti €6-1, pizzas €11-18, ice cream and dessert €3-11.