Two threads have been started in the last 30 hours on Chowhound dissing Co. Company.
Co. Pizza—Too Tarte: "These pizzas are more like gallettes or, at the risk of further pissing off Lahey, pissaladieres."
Co. Not So Hot (Longish): "The pizza was strictly ordinary.... The previous week I had a way better pizza, handmade with the freshest ingredients, with exquisite personal service by the owner and his family in, of all places, Germany."
Co. Company's Jim Lahey (above) is not happy about his one-star review in the New York Times. He tells the New York Observer:
"We've been open only 90 days," he said. "We have not had a chance to even breathe in 90 days. What the fuck are we being reviewed by the New York Times for, you know, 90 days into being open? It makes no sense.
"If I knew we were going to be under the microscope, I would have possibly treated the opening of the restaurant a lot differently," he continued. "I didn't open this restaurant to get reviewed by the Times. Otherwise, I would have made the food a lot differently. I would have bought really nice plates and beautiful stemware. And we would have done slightly less informal service, know what I mean?"
Lahey was responding to Frank Bruni's criticism that the toppings weren't quite there yet.
Hey, it's like the old saying, "I may be fat, but you're stupid—and I can go on a diet!"
In this case, toppings are easy to tweak. It's the crust that hard to get right. And Lahey pretty much has that part down. Of course, I guess Lahey would argue that he doesn't need to tweak the toppings.
On a side note, Lahey also calls his much-lauded pizza bianca "dogshit." Apparently, it's not up to his own standards.
The paper's restaurant critic gives one star to Jim Lahey's Co. Company pizzeria. He mostly likes it but has some criticism that's fairly accurate:
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.
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
212-243-1105
co-pane.com
While everyone else is talking about the four new pizzerias that opened in the last ten days, the New Yorker looks at Co. Company in this week's issue. For the most part I share writer Lila Byock's take on the pizza there. She loves the Boscaiola pie (mushroom, onion, sausage, chile peppers) and eschews the Santo pie ("what's with all the béchamel?") that many other (wrong-headed) critics and food bloggers have praised.
But she sets up a bit of a straw man, creating some sort of schism between two supposed sects of pizza-lovers:
There are the ascetics, who demand pies as thin and brittle as Communion wafers, versus the libertines, who prefer something they can sink their teeth into. If anyone can persuade the quarrellers to break bread, it’s surely Jim Lahey, of Co.
Where are these people demanding crusts as thin and brittle as Communion wafers? I think what most pizza purists agree on is perfecting a Margherita that's properly balanced and has a great crust. If a pizzaiolo can do that, we're willing to grant him or her some leeway when it comes to more inventive toppings.
Just not béchamel.
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
212-243-1105
co-pane.com
Clicking in to the Slice inbox today, we've got ...
Adam,
Went to Kesté last night and had a very, very satisfying meal. The place was packed, but we were able to get a table for four after less than 30 minutes. It seemed like every Italian-speaking New Yorker was eating there. Anyway, after having gone to Co. twice, most recently on Saturday, I think I can say Kesté is far better—in terms of value, authenticity (though I realize that's not quite what Jim Lahey is after), and taste. Despite being a bona fide pizza fiend, I could not finish my Margherita at Kesté, which is priced at a very reasonable $12 (albeit, this is after also getting to taste a slice of the PHENOMENAL "pizza del re"). I hope they do well, and I think it deserves a spot in the upper echelon of Neapolitan pizzerias.
Faithful reader,
Justin
Related
Kesté Pizza & Vino: What You Can Expect
First Taste: A Gallery of Co. Company Pizza
Today in the New York Daily News, Danyelle "Restaurant Girl" Freeman reviews Co.
I know some of you are getting sick of reading about Co., so had this been another stellar review, I would have skipped the reblog on it. But for all you Co. haters, you have a champion in Freeman:
Like all the crusts at Company, it's always perfect.
But it's the only thing that's always perfect at Company.
Unfortunately, pizza isn't just crust. And it isn't just sauce. And it isn't just toppings. It's the quality of these things and their ratio that make a great pizza. From day one, Company has been mobbed. Crowds hover near the door. They jam the tiny bar, waiting for a seat at one of the tables. They huddle around the hostess like Sullivan St. zombies. Which would make sense if the pizza were consistently terrific, but it's not.
People care about toppings, too. Where's the sauce? And where's the flavor, especially in the Margherita pizza—the true measure of any good pizza place? The Popeye pizza sounds like a good idea, but it's really just baby spinach leaves on excellent toast.
Of course, Freeman then says that two of Lahey's pizzas are spot on—the Flambé (which I found too heavy, actually) and the Boscaiola (the "woodsman" pizza, with sausage, mushroom, onion, and peperoncini). The rest of the menu, she says, is skippable.
Related
First Taste: A Pizza Preview of Jim Lahey's Upcoming Pizzeria, Co.
Co. Pizzeria Soft Opening Photo Gallery
Co. is now open for lunch. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's true. I'm there now. [via Danny]
Quite some time ago I received the following email about Gotham Pizza from Deb Perelman of the popular food blog Smitten Kitchen:
This email is entirely about pizza, and this dinky slice place (Gotham Pizza) that just opened a couple blocks from my apartment that I'm kind of in love with. It's not brick-oven, they don't import mozzarella from anywhere, there are no fancy toppings and its MO could be aptly summed up as, "Hey, at least we're not Ray's."
But seriously, as much am I waiting with baited breath for Co. to freaking open [I told you this was quite some time ago. —The Mgmt.], I have a big place in my heart for a decent NYC-style slice, and Gotham totally has it, in a neighborhood that was sorely lacking one before.
Crisp underneath and not overloaded with gloopy cheese, they also use something curious and breadcrumblike underneath (instead of cornmeal) that maybe you can help me decipher. I've never seen it before.
Oh, and two slices and a can of soda for $5 at lunchtime. How old-school New York is that?
Not more than a week after Deb's email came another one, from Slice reader "Big B":
The Margherita at Co.
GQ's Alan Richman offers an entertaining take on two recently opened pizzerias, Co. and Motorino. (He says Mayor Bloomberg should stimulate the city's economy by opening more pizzerias.)
On Co., Richman says:
The pizza at Co. is produced by Jim Lahey of the revered Sullivan St Bakery and answers this question: If pizza is essentially crust, and if crust is essentially bread, and if Lahey is possibly the finest bread-maker in New York, shouldn’t the pizza at Co. be superb? This is not a trick question. The pizza is, for the most part, exactly that. The only flaw is an occasional wrongheaded harmonizing of toppings, annoying but far from fatal.
Richman's take on Motorino, after the jump.
Martha Stewart, who is, unsurprisingly, a fan of pizza, visited Jim Lahey's Co., where "one can eat delicious breads, cheeses, sausages, and pizzas." Ms. Stewart has a 20-picture photo gallery embedded in her blog post, and true to form, spends almost as much time discussing the design of the dining room (three photos of its handsomely designed lamps) as she does the food. Looks like she's even collaborating with Mr. Lahey on décor:
The shelves: We discussed, with the owner, what should be atop these shelves. No decision was made.
The wooden tables, glass carafes, and plain dishes and glassware, make the feeling "everyman" perfect, for now.
Ms. Stewart recommends getting the lardons on the escarole salad dressed with anchovies and herbs, but we're more interested in her take on the pizza:
The first pizza to emerge from the oven—cheese, mushroom, and sausage. It had thin crust—a great combination of wet and crispy—Jim talked to us about his philosophy about pizza and its texture. And look—the menus are printed on the place mats!
Martha signed a place mat for Lahey's wife (above right), with a message meant to placate her, I'm sure: "All chefs work too hard, too long, and if they are great, it's worth it." [via NYMinknit]
Co. Pizzeria Soft Opening Photo Gallery
First Taste: A Pizza Preview of Jim Lahey's Upcoming Pizzeria, Co.
Martha Stewart Tries Cheesesteak for First Time, Prefers Geno's to Pat's
Photograph from Blondie & Brownie
I am outraged that all you pizza tourists are crowding my neighborhood spot. Go back home and eat the abominable pizza in your own neighborhoods.
Look at that line! (It comes from a Motorino-Co. head-to-head post by Blondie & Brownie.)
Granted, Co. is my work neighborhood, but still. You are going to make it impossible for me to enjoy a nice quitting-time pie.
Now, shoo!
Raphael here in the office just asked, "I want to know, officially, is it 'Co.' or 'Company'?"
So I just called.
Co.: "Hello, Co."
Me: "Adam Kuban here, from Slice, America's Favorite Pizza Weblog."
Co.: "Um, yes?"
Me: "So there's been some confusion about your name. Are you 'Co.' or 'Company'?"
Co.: We're 'Co.' as in 'company.'"
Does that sort out any confusion, Raphael? It's still sort of a nonanswer answer. But we'll just make the call and say that we'll refer to it on Slice officially as "Co." and pronounce it as co.
Clockwise from top left: Co. opened with a soft launch this evening; there were actual people from the general public in the dining room. As FOS Kathryn Yu said, from the outside, it looks less like a pizzeria than a fancy Asian restaurant. One of the stars of the evening, the Ham and Cheese pie. (You can click all images bigger.)
When I checked in late afternoon to find out if Co. really was opening on Friday, the gentleman in the dining room told me, "Yes—and tonight, too." It was a sort of soft opening. With the place just a couple block from Slice–Serious Eats HQ, my workmate Alaina and I went to check it out. We were joined by her husband and a couple friends.
I've already given you more Co. Pizzeria than you need, so I'll keep this one mostly to pictures. Ahead, photos of what we had—and the big menu reveal!
After other food blogs reported that Co. would open on Friday, January 2, Slice walked its lazy ass over to the joint to confirm. Turns out it's actually OPEN TONIGHT for a soft-launch dinner service. Closed tomorrow and Thursday, and then officially open Friday.
We're there now and will have pictures in the morning. Why don't you head down and see if you can find us there.
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
Target date was December 2. Lahey and company said December 5 or 9 were other possible opening dates. Stay tuned. Update: Time Out New York says it's been delayed till 2009. Possibly January 2. More on Co. here on Slice »
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
The Skinny: Actual round pizza from Jim Lahey, the bread man behind Sullivan Street Bakery (as opposed to his Roman-style flatbread pizzas found at the bakery). And, oh, it is awesome
Pizza Style: A sort of Neapolitan–New York-style hybrid
Oven Type: Earthstone gas oven; Lahey may burn a couple logs of wood or add wood chips to aromatize the crust
Opening: Target open date is Tuesday, December 2, but Lahey says, "realistically the 5th or the 9th"
Related: Update on Jim Lahey's Co., Co. Is 'Pizza Hut Meets Blue Hill'
Wednesday, about 5 p.m., Ed Levine here in the Slice–Serious Eats office was like, "So, who's going to Co. with me to shoot the tasting?"
"Um, what tasting," I asked.
"I told everybody about it. In the group chat on IM."
"Uh, no you didn't."
Long story short, I volunteered myself to trail Ed to some sort of preopening oven test and tasting at Jim Lahey's upcoming pizzeria on Ninth Avenue and 24th Street. (Lahey and company have a target opening date of December 2, but, Lahey says, "Realistically, it's more like December 5 or 9.")
We arrived, and it turned out Ed had scored some sort of super invite, because it appeared to be a tasting primarily for Lahey's investor, Phil Suarez. I felt like I had crashed an intimate gathering, but the company was welcoming, and pretty soon everyone was concentrating on the food coming from the kitchen, anyway.
Below are some photos, along with some thoughts. But before I get into it, I have to say that as I was writing this post, I called Lahey to get some follow-up details, and he told me to just come over and fire away as he was experimenting with some new pies. So the set below mixes Wednesday and Friday evening. Just go with my flow, peeps. Mega pizza porn, after the jump.
IM + intel = "IMtel." Here's a bit of received wisdom.
[screennameredacted]: got a bit of slice intel for you: a) wouldn't worry yet about the slice curse on motorino; went there last night with 3 friends and all four of our pies were easily 9/10s. maybe a little too much charring on one of them but otherwise terrific. also, i think i recall you once saying the SE offices were near FIT; the margherita slice at rosa's on 27th and 7th is truly a hidden gem, well worth trying it out. trust me on this one. everything else there is garbage though.
NYCSlice: Yes, that's our office location. Will try Rosa's on Monday! Thanks, [screennameredacted]!
I'd buy that for a dollar.
Walking down the street, if you see a sign advertising pizza for one measly dollar, I don't care who you are, you stop in and get a slice. It's a moral duty to be this thrifty, to take advantage of a deal like that. Keep your expectations low, and you might be surprised.
Looks like pizza.
I guess the 2 Bros. people have figured out how to eke a profit using the strategy of premade components, finding a high-traffic area, and doing some serious volume.
A new branch of 2 Bros. Pizza (at 32 St. Marks Place) has opened on 6th Avenue (bet 17th and 18th), this time calling itself St. Marks 2 Bros. Pizza Plus. The new location offers the same deals, but under the rubric of a "grand opening special." A slice for $1, or two slices and a can of soda for $2.75.
The price is right, but how does it taste? The verdict, after the jump.
The New York Times has a nice interview with Jim Lahey, of Co., the pizzeria he just might open later this month. It's "Pizza Hut," in that it will be reasonably priced and welcoming, he says, and "Blue Hill," in that it'll be ingredient-driven.
So the menu is still a draft. "We'll have six to eight annual pizzas — no, let's say five pizzas we'll do annually, then three seasonal pizzas," Mr. Lahey said, sounding like a student caught off-guard by a pop quiz. "But I'm sure that one of the seasonal pizzas will be topped with freshly shaved summer truffle."
The Times lets slip that the oven will be a "gas-fired refractory pizza oven."
230 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10001 (at West 24th Street; map)
Related
Update on Jim Lahey's Pizzeria, Co.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns Is the Most Important Restaurant in America
Lahey abandoned the idea of using this pass-through window. It's going to be more of a sit-down restaurant instead, he said.
After reading Gael Greene's post about Jean-Georges Vongerichten's involvement in Sullivan Street Bakery founder Jim Lahey's pizzeria, I called Lahey for a clarification. He said that Vongerichten and his partner, Phil Suarez, were investors in his pizzeria but they will have no involvement in either the management or the food being made there. The pizzeria will be called Company, spelled "Co." in the logo.
Lahey also told me that the equipment for the pizzeria hadn't arrived yet, and he doesn't expect it to be installed until the end of August or the beginning of September. Lahey is, of course, one of the city's and the country's great bread-bakers, so all serious eaters are eagerly awaiting the opening of his pizzeria.
He will probably not be making his trademark room-temperature Roman-style pizza at the new place (Lahey never says never). He will be making round, Neapolitan-style pies and perhaps other types of flatbreads. Lahey made some of these pizzas for a holiday party he invited me to the year before last, and I can tell you they were so good Lahey's place will likely make its way into my top-ten pizzeria list for the country shortly after opening.
Lahey is experimenting with all kinds of toppings, including a raw-corn-and-olive-oil purée. And, like the obsessive he is, he went around the country tasting pizza in preparation for his opening.
His top three pizzerias, after the jump.
I took some art history courses in college. Did they prepare me for this?
Pizza Corpse is an exquisite framing of the artist's nostalgia, social and cultural associations; interest in the grotesque, hygiene and self-image, corporal perturbations, and any other greasy subject related to these concerns in and out of the box. All of the featured artists are Yale School of Art graduate students or recent graduates, who grinningly pulled the book's topic out of a hat. This strategy not only introduced a re-examination of Fluxus terms for the compilation, but it also served as a method to display contemporary alterations of Internet-accessible imagery. You will find this book to be a humorous browse or an earnest sit down; the responses in the book are as varied as the toppings on a pizza.
I'm not sure they did.
Where: Printed Matter, 195 Tenth Avenue, New York NY 10011 (b/n 21st and 22nd streets; map)
When: 5 to 7 p.m.; Thursday, July 17, 2008
More Info: http://printedmatter.org/news/news.cfm?article_id=329
Roma Pizza in better days, before it unexpectedly closed last week.
Last week saw the passing of Roma Pizza on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. I'm probably speaking for everyone on the block—which is home to FIT and the Serious Eats/Slice office—when I say it was an unexpected event. One evening, we were buying slices there for a quick dinner, and the next morning the place was being cleaned out by an auction. By the time the 4 p.m. coffee break rolled around, there was a black plastic trash bag outside the door with the handle of a pizza peel peeking out of it.
Reader comment and response is still pouring in thanks to yesterday's New York Times story. So many great comments and recommendations. And questions. Reaching into the proverbial mailbag, we have ...
Dear Slice,
Do you know of any good late night or 24 hour pizza places in NYC?
—Bilal
Dear Bilal,
Slice is a homebody, more prone to lying prone on the couch at night, remote in hand, watching Battlestar Galactica. But our favorite late-night (if not 24-hour) place is Vinny Vincenz. Great squares here. Sunday through Thursday till 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday till 4:30 a.m.
Late enough for you?
And, as always, readers, if you know of any good 24-hour or late-night pizzerias, chime in with your comments!
Hasta la pizza,
Adam
VINNY VINCENZ
Address: 231 First Ave., New York NY 10003 [East Village, b/n 13th/14th sts.; map]
Getting There: L train to First Ave. Vincenz is practically on the corner
Phone: 212-674-0707
URL: vinnyvincenz.com
In yesterday's New York Times F.Y.I. column, the question was raised: Where was the first Ray's Pizza, and what's the story behind it?
A. Why don’t you ask something simple, like what happened to Judge Crater? Some New York culinary questions (just who invented the black-and-white cookie is another) are destined to remain shrouded in mystery. The evolution of Ray’s Pizza resists an easy explanation....The Ray’s question is also bristling with lawyers. Rosolino Mangano, of Famous Original Ray’s Pizza on Columbus Avenue near 83rd Street, went to court in the early 1990’s, registered that name and branched out with many identically named Ray’s, run mostly by relatives, with others under license. Then there was Ralph Cuomo, who in 1959 opened a Ray’s Pizza at 27 Prince Street and then another one on First Avenue and 59th Street; the second location ended up in Mr. Mangano’ s hands. Other would-be Rays said they had a right to their versions. Some joined forces; some sued. You get the idea.
Slice suspected as much, from the research we've done on the topic, that's why you've never seen an in-depth investigative piece on the place on this website. I mean, if the might and muscle of the Gray Lady couldn't uncover the truth, we're afraid the Ray's question will forever remain a greasy mystery.
FURTHER READING
From A Full Belly, March 18, 2004:
Food Wars claims that there are at least 3,000 pizzerias in New York, and at least 30 of them use some form of “Ray’s” in their name including but not limited to Ray’s, Ray’s Pizza, Famous Original Ray’s Pizza, Ray’s Famous Original Pizza, World Famous Ray’s Pizza, Not Ray’s Pizza, and RayBari Pizza. A quick poll of Citysearch finds 2788 results on “pizza” and 45 results on “Ray’s pizza”. The thing is, there is no Ray.Using his mom’s pizza recipt, Ralph Cuomo opened Ray’s in 1959 in Little Italy, which quickly became known as the place to buy the slice (and later, the place to buy a slice AND some heroin, but curiously enough Food Wars fails to mention this bit of trivia). In the early 60’s, Cuomo opened a second Ray’s (54th and 7th Ave), which was eventually bought by Rosolino Mangano. Mangano changed the name to Famous Original Ray’s, even though it wasn’t the original. Mangano now goes by the name “Ray” even though legal name is still Rosolino, and has opened Famous Original’s all over New York City. Mangano also claims that he is the “Ray” that has made the name "Ray’s" famous.
In 1981, Mangano sold a store to someone else, who continued using the name “Ray’s” and soon more “Ray’s” pizzeria variations began popping up. Ralph Cuomo then attempted to trademark the name "Ray’s." The three "Ray’s" pizza players eventually incorporated together, trademarked the name Ray’s, and then went after everyone else using the name.
But wait, there’s more! Joe Bari bought a “Ray’s Restaurant” in 1973 and turned it into a pizzeria and added his own name, Ray Bari Pizza. Bari believes he, not Mangano of Famous Original Ray’s, made the name famous by using cab drivers to spread to word about the pizzeria. Joe Bari refused to change the name, and was sued by the corporate Ray’s, and eventually changed his restaurant name to RayBari Pizza.
And there you have a small slice of the contentious history behind New York pizza.
You Can Call Them Ray [New York Times]
New York Pizza, Part 1 [A Full Belly]
The New York Times reviews Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza & Penne in its Under $25 column today and comes away with a hit and miss conclusion:
Here's the good news about his new pizza venture: toppings, especially the more adventurous ones, are largely top-notch. Few linen-draped restaurants can boast of lamb as succulently braised as what's served here with bits of roasted lemon on one of the specialty pies (half-pies are $5 to $6; small pizzas are $9 to $14; large are $14 to $19).But the crust makes or breaks a pizza, and at Waldy's, prestretched dough sits in plastic-covered piles, looking as uninspired as it tastes even after a journey through the wood oven in the back of the narrow space.
WALDY'S WOOD FIRED PIZZA & PENNE
Location: 800 Sixth Avenue (at 27th Street; Chelsea)
Phone: 212-213-5042
Cost: Half pies, $5 to $6; small pies, $9 to $14; large, $14 to $19
Payment: Cash and credit
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
From the New York Times today comes a short blip about the impending opening of Waldy's Wood-Fired Pizza and Penne, which happens this Friday (June 24):
Since Beacon opened on West 56th Street six years ago, Waldy Malouf has spent much of his time near a wood-burning oven, shoveling food in and out of it with a long wooden peel. The opening Friday of Waldy's Wood-Fired Pizza and Penne, 800 Avenue of the Americas (27th Street) changes none of this, merely expands it. Mr. Malouf, left, the chef and an owner at Beacon, owns the new place, which he calls a "slice joint," with Rob Dixon. What other slice joint offers 11 different pizzas in two sizes of rectangles and also as a single-serving quarter-pie?
WALDY'S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA AND PENNE
Location: 800 Sixth Ave. (b/n 27th and 28th Streets), Manhattan 10001 (Chelsea)
Getting There: F/V trains to 23rd Street; N/R/W trains to 28th Street
Phone: 212-213-5042
The Skinny: Owner of Beacon brings his skillz downtown a bit; cooking in a wood-fired oven, duh.
Pins and Pizzas: Slice spotted this sign (top left) on the way to Chelsea Piers Lanes last night; we thought our friends at Gothamist would enjoy this photo. The entrance (above right) to Chelsea Piers Lanes. The electronic scoring monitors (middle row, left) made it known that pizza was available for hungry bowlers. We were hungry, so we ordered a pie—and some beer (middle row, right). Adam K.'s thoughtful and creative coworkers unveiled a cookie pizza for him in honor of his upcoming birthday (above).
Three strikes and you're ... a turkey. At least in bowling. In baseball, however, you'd just be out. And in the world of pizza, if you strike on the crust, sauce, and cheese, you're out of the game altogether. Such was the case with the plain pie we had at Chelsea Piers Lanes last night.
Slice editor in chief Adam K. was at this classy venue with coworkers for our monthly after-work bowling party. I arrived early to reserve a couple lanes and, with that taken care of, did some pizza exploration while waiting for my colleagues to arrive. What I found was pizza on the scoring monitors and pizza in a warming case in the snack bar. A quick glance at the pie in the case told me that I should stick to beer or white Russians.
And that's what I did. Somewhere around the fifth frame however, after watching my skillfully rolled ball knock down all ten pins, I walked off the lane to find my coworkers had ordered a plain pie (see photo, above).
Ladies and gentlemen, I told my esteemed colleagues not to go near this stuff! The dudes did not abide.
Was this pizza as bad as it looked? Let me tell you something, pendejo: It was worse. One of my teammates, South Biyatch, described the limp, doughy, undercooked crust as "almost blond." The sauce was sour and overspiced, and the cheese was rubbery and flavorless. In short, eating this pizza was like rolling two gutterballs in one frame. Stick to beer and white Russians, my friends.
But the evening was redeemed by another "pizza." My thoughtful and creative coworker Trixie, who also happens to be Slice's nightlife editor, snuck in a giant cookie decorated to look like a pizza, with red frosting as sauce, coconut shavings as cheese, and Kit-Kat Bites as sausage. The occasion: my upcoming birthday (March 28; Aries; tiger; buy me shit here).
This pizza was a real turkey. And I mean that in the good, bowling sense of the word.
And now, because "Trixie" thinks this site should be about her and won't stop nagging me until I put a photo of her on it, here is time-sequence montage of her coming off the lane after a strike, attempting to high-five her teammate Rico, and accidentally hitting him in the face. Happy now, Trix?
Amanda Hesser's La Bottega review from a couple days ago. Though the chef's specialty is pizza, Ms. Hesser doesn't go into much detail about this restaurant's offerings in that department.
La Bottega, located in the Maritime Hotel (partially pictured above).
Nautical metaphors abound.
In the corner, near the bar, is a wood oven. And while not all of the food coming out of it is good, the scent of wood smoke, herbs and blistering pizza dough it gives off is addictive. From the moment you walk into La Bottega you are hungry.[Bottega Chef John] DeLucie's real specialty is pizza. His crust is flavorful and thin, and the toppings are added with restraint, so that each bite is an intense taste, not just filler.
THIS PIZZA'S 'SAGGY'
The Daily News visits La Bottega in the Maritime Hotel and reports that the pizza, cooked in a wood-burning oven, is "tasty but saggy":
Pizzas straight out of the wood-burning oven were tasty but saggy. (Point the wedge toward your mouth; if the tip droops, your pie's a drag.) One notable exception is the pizza robiola, a crisp, top-crusted affair sandwiching potent robiola cheese glistening with white-truffle oil.
Perhaps more interesting to us is the fact the Maritime's cheesegrater-like faade and that certain floors are rumored to be haunted (shuffle through your stack of recent New Yorkers and read it there).
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