A Stubborn Kind of Pie

Edited by Marina Crouse

With sourdough there is no room for compromise. If the temperature is too cold, the dough will not proof. Mix it under hot conditions and it could over-ferment. Even when going to extremely meticulous measures, you may still be humbled by an uncooperative final product, regardless if it’s in boule, loaf, or crust form. Consequently many folks deem sourdoughs aggravating, and Nina Levin is no exception. Despite the frustration, however, the owner of Stoney Hill Pizza also finds joy in decoding this slow-fermenting force. 

“I love it.” She states, then immediately adds with a laugh, “It makes me absolutely insane.” 

Leading her massively popular business through its second season, the Vineyard native credits sourdough as an ideal canvas for her creations. The combination of a wood-fired oven, impeccably-executed crusts, and toppings such as potato, fontina, and leek cream result in early sellouts at farmers markets. But Nina also concedes that sourdough can be demanding of her time. In fact, a typical week for her during peak season revolves around the starter.

“It’s a bunch of weird scheduling. Sunday I feed the starter, Monday I mix pizza for Wednesday. We mix and feed Tuesday night…” She pauses, then corrects herself. “No, Tuesday morning...no, Wednesday morning before the market! And then mix Wednesday after the market to divide Thursday for cooking off the pizzas Friday.”

These carefully crafted pies are also swept up at private events, as Stoney Hill is not a stationary business. Roughly the circumference of a kiddie pool, the pristine tiled oven is towed behind a pickup truck. Both the oven and vehicle are crimson, evoking the nostalgia of a neighborhood pizza shop. Also attached is a sink and refrigerator for the fresh local ingredients (and oranges for Nina’s snack breaks between waves of patrons). While compact, the mobile model seems ideal for Stoney Hill. When Nina discusses the practicality of a storefront for her business, she exhibits a stubbornness akin to sourdough. 

“I’m not willing to compromise anything at all,” she shrugs with a wry smile, “which is also to my detriment. I’m like ‘nope, I’d want this building if I was ever to do a brick and mortar.’ And if they’d say it’s not for sale? ‘Well, then I’m not doing it!’” 

Perhaps a storefront wouldn’t be ideal for the business, anyway. The portable inferno is tailored to Nina’s exact specifications, something that is abundantly clear when Stoney Hill is in action. Nina’s team is composed of friends, colleagues, and trusted island connections who assemble the pizza. Their mise-en-place is orderly and communication is clear. Nina, wielding her metal pizza paddle and temp gun, keeps a devoted watch over the cooking process, rotating the pies, replenishing firewood, trading witty one-liners with her staff. Once the pies emerge from the oven’s scorching maw - now sporting an irresistible leopard print char - Nina deposits them at the final station. The plater (sometimes it’s Tyler Potter, a previous MotV feature) shreds, sprinkles, and drizzles garnishes. A generous dollop of burrata. An extra few drops of Calabria’s finest. What began as “an axel and a tire” pop-up is now quite literally a well-oiled machine. 

Nina Cried Pizza

Stoney Hill Pizza was born from Nina’s broken ankle. Originally set to cook privately for a family in the summer of 2019, Nina’s injury sidelined her plans one week into the gig. Though she was unsure of her next move, the Vineyarder explains that being forced into idleness was beneficial for her. 

“I was like ‘OK! I’m gonna do this thing I’ve been thinking about, but I haven’t had the time to consider. Is it feasible?’ So I had a lot of time to sit down and think about it!”

During her post-surgery recovery, Nina took advantage of SCORE, a free program on Cape Cod aiding those in pursuit of their own business. Nina was promptly connected with a SCORE mentor who guided her through Stoney Hill’s early planning. Perhaps the shrewdest aspect of Nina’s business model was that it recognized the sizable gap between elevated and casual on Martha’s Vineyard, especially when it comes to food. 

“There’s a lot of private chef services on the island, but I also think people want a different experience sometimes.” 

Stoney Hill accommodates mostly smaller crowds due to the oven’s capabilities, creating a more intimate atmosphere than other food trucks. 

“Physically we can’t do big events. So that put me into a box, so to speak, which is nice because it kept me within some sort of parameters. We kind of fell into that niche.”

By June 2020, Stoney Hill was rolling into private events, pop ups, and the West Tisbury Farmers Market. While she was met with swarming, eager customers, Nina’s first year was still a dive into the unknown. She acknowledges that opening in the midst of a pandemic was a nerve-wracking feat. 

“Heightened sense of panic, flat out!” Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. “I remember getting into the farmers market and (thinking) ‘At least we have that, and that’s twice a week. It’ll be weird but we can start there!’ From there, people just wanted small gatherings. Really small and that was perfect.”

Running on the Pizza Wheel

Just one year into the endeavor, Stoney Hill’s pizza is already a respected, highly sought-after product on the island. With the positive reputation and growing loyalty - some clients have gone back to book with Stoney Hill three times already - Nina asserts that running her own business has been nothing short of “super humbling.”

“I was so naive, I didn’t really think it was going to work the entire way until I cooked the first pizza.” She admits, poking fun at her initial reaction. “I was like ‘oh this thing works, that’s cool! Now what?’” 

The 2021 season has brought on an entirely new set of challenges to Vineyard establishments - and vacation towns everywhere - with skyrocketing numbers of visitors. Staffing shortages, increased demand, and the ever-evolving pandemic situation are among the largest challenges for Stoney Hill in its sophomore summer. Nina says patience and a positive attitude are crucial to maintaining her sanity, as well as “understanding people’s personalities and figuring out how they work, even clients and staff.” She concedes that the process can be quite exhausting.

“There’s so much. Highly recommend it,” Nina remarks with no small dose of sarcasm, but follows it up with sincere sentiment, “but it’s also so fun and I wouldn’t do anything else. It’s like my baby.”

Southern Inspiration

Though she was born and raised on the Vineyard, Nina headed for the mainland at age 17. She cut her teeth in the culinary realms of Portland, Boston, Vermont, and South Carolina before returning home about ten years later. She highlights her time in Charleston as a particularly formative experience. Working with the talented Cynthia Wong and Melanie Durant not only allowed Nina to “hone (her) skills with bread,” it empowered her. Wong, who ran a semi-wholesale bakery and now owns an ice cream company, Life Raft Treats, is a “total powerhouse” in Nina’s eyes.

“She was like a workhorse, you know? She’d just have these amazing ideas she was able to bring to fruition without any road blocks. She’s doing really cool things, with integrity!”

Likewise, Durant, a pastry chef known for her breakfast food truck, Scram (featuring Japanese milk buns), inspired Nina with her use of fresh, local ingredients and labor-intensive technique. 

“I was thinking, ‘Oh this is possible! You don’t have to compromise! It’s a lot of work, but you can be really proud of what you make, which I think is really important.”

Reaffirmed in her staunch aversion to cutting corners, Nina’s philosophy is evident in Stoney Hill’s menu. The hearty flatbread and Sicilian-style pies, sourdough donuts, and vanilla cream sodas she serves are intentional in execution and decadent in consumption. Superb island products that might not have been achieved, ironically, without some time away from Martha’s Vineyard. Nina explains that while growing up on the island has its benefits, it can be isolating and “such a different world” from the rest of the country, let alone New England. 

“I feel like everybody should go out and spend some time out there and come back.” She insists, joking about how she felt elated during an off-island excursion the other day, even though it was a simple day trip to run errands. “It just gives you a different perspective and a different appreciation for good food.” 

Her stint on a South Carolina vegetable farm provided her with an appreciation for Martha’s Vineyard farmers, as well as the obstacles faced in obtaining land. Nina emphasizes that “connecting the farmers to restaurants” on the island is essential.

“Down there it was almost the only thing that a lot of people could do, because the produce was cheap and beautiful. People would buy it for the restaurants all the time.” 

Nina attempts to translate this system to her business, capitalizing on seasonal produce. Her aim is to “be accessible, but also use local stuff.” Consequently, she puts a sophisticated spin on a traditionally informal food, showcasing ingredients such as Morning Glory corn, Ghost Island tomato, and Nip N Tuck beef. This fits Nina’s specialty well, as utilizing mostly regional products is a staple of the Italian tradition as well as the origin of pizza.

Slaying the Slice

Nina will be the first to admit that she’s “one to never conform to anything,” and it seems to be working for her. Stoney Hill’s website bears a simple motto, “Eat. Beautiful. Food.” and its creator will not sell anything short of the description. 

“I’m just obsessed with perfection, it’s annoying.” Nina rolls her eyes, “Everyday I’m like ‘that’s not perfect’ and ‘could be better.’” 

Even though she sets lofty standards for Stoney Hill, Nina encounters an occasional moment of zen. Earlier this summer, she took a moment to appreciate the exceptional conditions during a private event. The oven was at prime temperature, the pepperoni pizza was divine, and the sourdough was obedient.

“It finally lined up! And I think that’s the first time probably since I started that I was like ‘Ok, here it is!’ There’s literally blood, sweat, and tears in that oven! Like actually. There’s a lot of that.” Nina chuckles. 

When a customer picks up her pizza, Nina hopes they feel the amount of effort that goes into making the variables align. While it can be tempting to seek out easier methods, Nina says the satisfaction yielded from a tirelessly-crafted slice will always prevail. 

‘The people who appreciate that? Like ‘this is really fucking good.’ That’s what I want. The people who like think about it consciously and are like, ‘I just ate that and that’s really tasty and I understand.’ There’s no disconnect. It’s not just food, there’s someone behind it who made it and thinks about how they made it.”

Nina’s pizza is not without thought. In cooler weather she blasts the heat in her car to  proof the dough faster. By using both yeast and the sourdough starter in her Sicilian pizzas, she doubles the factors for which she must account, and “makes life more difficult.” The Stoney Hill founder consistently inspires questions such as “why do you do this to yourself?” But the pizza promptly quells these inquiries. Like the sourdough, Nina does not compromise.

Check out Nina’s incredible pizzas at the West Tisbury Farmers Market, book a private event, or stay tuned for pop-ups through Stoney Hill’s social media.