But he could indeed improve upon his pizzas somewhat. Although the best of them are outstanding and all pack the pleasures of a serious crust with serious blisters—Mr. Lahey uses an oven that generates heat in excess of 900 degrees—he hasn’t yet nailed the toppings. It’s as if he’s too focused on, and maybe too confident about, what lies beneath. A pizzaiolo-come-lately, he needs to sweat the cheese and the rest of it a little more.
If you know what to order, you'll have a good pizza there. I'd recommend staying away from the béchamel pies. Mr. Bruni also says:
And those blisters sometimes multiply and spread into jarringly ashy, sooty territory. What’s a desirable sear and what’s no better than cinders? A few of the many pizzas I had at Co. left me wondering.
Co.
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
212-243-1105 co-pane.com
Bruni will never give a mere pizza joint four or five stars because this would ruin the entire rationale for going to out of sync places like Buddokan and Per Se for $275 tasting menus. Starr spent 10 million on Buddokan and Co. cost $100,000 tops to open
@paulie: When I was in the kitchen there, it was running around 700°F, but this was before Lahey had the gas going full crank. (Part of the delay in opening was something about getting the gas lines going properly.)
Paulie
Make that $200,000 plus a nice fresh new low priced lease compared to restaurants that opened at the top of the bubble. Plus all tradesmen work for less than 3 years ago. So $200,000 and good luck to Lahey
Am I going to eat artisan pizza tonight or artisan Buddokan blow fish? I will eat the pizza and this is what a lot of Serious Eats is about.
@gaffer: Unfortunately, Co. Company probably didn't get in on a lower-priced lease, since they'd been working on this thing for more than a year before it opened. Unless, of course, he was able to renegotiate. Who knows. Who cares. As long as it can stay in business and make good pizza.
@gaffer I couldn't agree with you more regarding people choosing artisanal pizza over more expensive options these days. There are always throngs of New Yorkers who constantly seek out the best of everything. During these tough economic times, the best of many cuisines are a little out of reach for many people. However, just about everyone can afford the best pizza money can buy. Unless we're talkin' about that ridiculous $1000 pie we heard about a while ago:
As far as the cost of Co. goes, I was told by someone who recently built two artisanal pizza restaurants that the rule of thumb on buildouts is roughly $200 a square foot. And that's not in NYC, where everything costs more.
Pauli
People who make and sell superior products at fair price will do OK. Same for superior services. Those who are not dedicated will fall behind. A sloppy plumber can do well during normal times but not when the economy is awful
So how about Lahey's reaction to this review? (You can view it on Eater.) I don't know anything about the guy but wow he comes off as a real asshole. I think I'll check out Tonda, Keste and the Bkyln newcomers before I go to Co. anytime soon.
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11 Comments:
900 degrees!!! It's done in a minute!!
Mooner at 4:47PM on 04/08/09
@Mooner: Um, yeah. Pretty much. As is pretty much the case for any oven operating in that range. Minute and a half, 2 minutes at most.
Adam Kuban at 5:50PM on 04/08/09
Bruni will never give a mere pizza joint four or five stars because this would ruin the entire rationale for going to out of sync places like Buddokan and Per Se for $275 tasting menus. Starr spent 10 million on Buddokan and Co. cost $100,000 tops to open
gaffer at 10:02PM on 04/08/09
@gaffer You can't open a newsstand in NYC for 100 grand. I'd guess they spent closer to a half a million.
@Slicemeister Did you see the temperature gauge read 900?
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:28AM on 04/09/09
@paulie: When I was in the kitchen there, it was running around 700°F, but this was before Lahey had the gas going full crank. (Part of the delay in opening was something about getting the gas lines going properly.)
Adam Kuban at 10:27AM on 04/09/09
@Slicemeister NYC building inspectors sound like a scary lot.
pauliegee at 11:54AM on 04/09/09
Paulie
Make that $200,000 plus a nice fresh new low priced lease compared to restaurants that opened at the top of the bubble. Plus all tradesmen work for less than 3 years ago. So $200,000 and good luck to Lahey
Am I going to eat artisan pizza tonight or artisan Buddokan blow fish? I will eat the pizza and this is what a lot of Serious Eats is about.
gaffer at 12:09PM on 04/09/09
@gaffer: Unfortunately, Co. Company probably didn't get in on a lower-priced lease, since they'd been working on this thing for more than a year before it opened. Unless, of course, he was able to renegotiate. Who knows. Who cares. As long as it can stay in business and make good pizza.
Adam Kuban at 12:23PM on 04/09/09
@gaffer I couldn't agree with you more regarding people choosing artisanal pizza over more expensive options these days. There are always throngs of New Yorkers who constantly seek out the best of everything. During these tough economic times, the best of many cuisines are a little out of reach for many people. However, just about everyone can afford the best pizza money can buy. Unless we're talkin' about that ridiculous $1000 pie we heard about a while ago:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/03/the-1000-pizza.html
As far as the cost of Co. goes, I was told by someone who recently built two artisanal pizza restaurants that the rule of thumb on buildouts is roughly $200 a square foot. And that's not in NYC, where everything costs more.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 1:37PM on 04/09/09
Pauli
People who make and sell superior products at fair price will do OK. Same for superior services. Those who are not dedicated will fall behind. A sloppy plumber can do well during normal times but not when the economy is awful
gaffer at 2:48AM on 04/10/09
So how about Lahey's reaction to this review? (You can view it on Eater.) I don't know anything about the guy but wow he comes off as a real asshole. I think I'll check out Tonda, Keste and the Bkyln newcomers before I go to Co. anytime soon.
santoslhalper at 11:16AM on 04/10/09