Are you worried about becoming too popular? On Thursday night there was a pretty long wait for Motorino hopefuls. The way we did Motorino in the city is that we have a much smaller appetizer section, a much smaller pizza section. Because I was very well aware that we had too little seats, and Manhattan is a big city. And there were a lot of people interested. We can turn tables quite fast without cutting into the simple experience that Motorino is supposed to deliver. Meaning you can have your appetizer, your drinks and your pizza and your dessert in a very well staged manner, in a very comfortable manner, without being rushed. But it's a short experience. You're not looking to spend three hours sitting at Motorino, no. It should never be more than half an hour, 45 minutes wait to get there. Which is less than many other New York restaurants.
Ok, I'll bite; from the interview, "all I've heard is that they love the pizza and they love the ambiance even more. Some people told me that the pizza itself was better." Motorino is good, but I think UPN was better.
In full context, I think what you see is Palombino trying to say he thinks his pizza is as good as UPN's--or maybe as good in a different way:
Do you have any feedback from customers who used to go there when it was the other place, Una Pizza Napolitana? Yes. I'm sure there's someone out there who doesn't like it who wouldn't tell me, but all I've heard is that they love the pizza and they love the ambiance even more. Some people told me that the pizza itself was better. Now, I don't know about that. Are they saying that to make me happy? I don't know. I trust my own judgment. I appreciate when people tell me they like it better. To my own criteria, I think the new pizza is definitely as good. I won't say it's better, but I feel very comfortable with the pizza I developed and I am not an easy person to satisfy. I'm not very nice with myself. But I'm going to say I feel pretty comfortable with what I do. I'm not going to say that it's the only way in the world to do dough, or that my pizza is the best in the world, because it would be stupid to say such a thing like this. But I feel confident with my dough, with my crust, with my pizza.
The place is small, hot and cramped, the pizza is okay, but it will never come close to UPN. The music is loud to the point here you feel very cramped, hot, and not comfortable. It needs to be more laid back. Also, i think instead of serving soft serve ice cream that you could get from Mr. Softee, they might be better off serving something more authentic Italian. Starters were okay, but nothing really special, mortadella is basically glorified bologna. This guy should go spend a day with Lou Dipalo and maybe then the starters could include some silky Prosciutto, or Bresaola, or some Italian cheeses. The chef seems too rough and strict, while you eat, you see all of the commotion around the small kitchen space, and the servers are getting yelled at, maybe it's because of the fact that the place is getting on it's feet, but definitely not the same feel as UPN.
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3 Comments:
Ok, I'll bite; from the interview, "all I've heard is that they love the pizza and they love the ambiance even more. Some people told me that the pizza itself was better." Motorino is good, but I think UPN was better.
DavidL at 12:32PM on 10/03/09
In full context, I think what you see is Palombino trying to say he thinks his pizza is as good as UPN's--or maybe as good in a different way:
Adam Kuban at 12:54PM on 10/03/09
The place is small, hot and cramped, the pizza is okay, but it will never come close to UPN. The music is loud to the point here you feel very cramped, hot, and not comfortable. It needs to be more laid back. Also, i think instead of serving soft serve ice cream that you could get from Mr. Softee, they might be better off serving something more authentic Italian. Starters were okay, but nothing really special, mortadella is basically glorified bologna. This guy should go spend a day with Lou Dipalo and maybe then the starters could include some silky Prosciutto, or Bresaola, or some Italian cheeses. The chef seems too rough and strict, while you eat, you see all of the commotion around the small kitchen space, and the servers are getting yelled at, maybe it's because of the fact that the place is getting on it's feet, but definitely not the same feel as UPN.
djai695 at 9:35PM on 10/03/09