New Pizza Style in NYC Uses Puff Pastry as Crust

Posted by Adam Kuban, May 13, 2009 at 11:00 AM

You know, I thought I had linked to this Village Voice blog post the day it came out in one of the daily(ish) Leftovers I do, but it looks like I didn't. Oh, well, I was going to give it its own post anyway, since it's totally worth it.

The heart of the matter: Robert Sietsema has discovered a new pizza style in Manhattan at Birdbath Bakery:

[Birdbath] has come up with a pizza based, not on the usual yeast- or sourdough-risen crust, but with a flaky puff pastry crust. The crust renders brittle and oily, and tastes fantastic.

Sietsema says that they're using a good-quality mozzarella and that a spinach and goat cheese version is also available.

Birdbath Bakery

223 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 (b/n 13th and 14th; map)
646-722-6565
birdbathbakery.com

145 Seventh Avenue, New York NY 10011 (at 19th Street; map)
646-722-6570
birdbathbakery.com

6 Comments

Tags: Birdbath Bakery, East Village, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NYC, pizza styles, puff-pastry pizza, reviews, Robert Sietsema, Village Voice

6 Comments:

You know, I'm going to straight-up disagree. I enjoyed the crust, but found the tomato sauce so sweet as to be off-putting. (And I don't usually mind sweet.) The mozzarella was indeed high-quality, but not exceptional. Overall, it tasted more like a weird, warped breakfast pastry than a pizza.

Carey Jones at 11:39AM on 05/13/09

This is basically a tart with pizza toppings, no? Doesn't seem new to me.

Asado at 12:05PM on 05/13/09

There's a chain here in Quebec that's been making pizza with puff pastry for quite a long while. Personally, I don't care for their version which uses low-quality industrial puff pastry, but can certainly see the appeal of a higher-end version.

But I refuse to call that thing a pizza. Pizza is a flatbread and puff pastry isn't bread. That thing is a tart with pizza toppings, just like Chicago deep-dish is a pie. If I put tomato sauce and mozzarella on a crèpe would that make it a pizza?

SqueezeBottle at 12:30PM on 05/13/09

Yeah- nothing new. In fact, a recipie for these 'pizza tarts' is actually on the packaging for puff pastry in the UK.

beemoh at 3:20PM on 05/13/09

ugh, that looks like one nasty tart. no thanks.

sloppy at 3:12PM on 05/14/09

they're also serving this style of pizza at city bakery now. the crust was way too soggy in the middle for awhile but i think they've solved that problem now--the last time i had it, the crust was much firmer in the middle. i used to really like city bakery's old pizzas, which used joe's daily mozzarella, a thick but tasty crust, and chunky tomato sauce. this new pizza is still good though not as craveable. it's sort of like croissant pizza. i don't like the cornmeal that they're using on the bottom though. when i bite down it sounds like i'm breaking a tooth. i also hate that two boots does that to their pizzas--completely ruins the experience.

somaticplastic at 6:45PM on 05/18/09

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