Co., Chelsea

Address: 230 Ninth Avenue at 24th Street
Purchase: Six 10" pizzas, a growler of beer, and two $7 bottles of sparkling water.
Cost: Pizzas range from $13 (Margherita) to $20 (Nightly specials), Growlers of draft beers $25
Pizza Rating:


AJ and I were in the city for a quick trip before Thanksgiving and finally decided on the relatively-new Co. in Chelsea for our pizza night out. Runners up were Kesté in the West Village, and Saraghina in Bed-Stuy, both of which we plan to visit in upcoming trips.

Co. is very trendy, despite it's generic exterior on 9th Avenue, so even though it was 7:00 on a Tuesday, we had to wait about 30-45 minutes. We were seated around the end of a long communal table, which was a tight fit, but I think we were all comfortable.

There were so many appetizing choices on the menu, plus three specials, so it took a while for everyone to settle on one. The waitress "encouraged sharing" as pizzas "may come out at different times." They were, in fact, delivered individually, but it wasn't too long wait for anyone. AJ and I shared a Margherita, which was as good as any I've ever had, with a light fresh sauce and deliciously fresh buffalo mozzarella. We also tried one of the specials of the night: the "Chanty Pie," with chanterelle mushrooms, leeks, and cubes of roasted turnips. It had three cheeses, and no red sauce. Absolutely scrumptious, although the turnips were a bit out of place.

Other hits at the table were the Brussels Sprouts pie, with shaved brussels sprouts and lardons, and the "Popeye," which had a very generous pile of spinach, and another combination of cheeses, pecorino, buffalo mozzarella, and gruyere. Both were without red sauce (as owner Jim Lahey explained to New York Magazine: "Tomatoes aren't even indigenous to Italy, so where do we get off saying it has to be tomatoes on top of the bread?").

My favorite part about the pizza at Co., however, was the crust. It was chewy and had a great flavor. Not too thin or crispy, but almost like Naan (it was also about the size of normal Naan, which is to say, rather small for a pizza.) I'm looking forward to trying a hand at the no-knead dough at home, with the recipe Lahey shared with NY Magazine.

The beer selection was good, and rather than pitchers, they offer $25 growlers served in their own Co. branded growlers, which match the Co. branded bottles of $7 sparkling water, of which Grier was so generous as to order two, despite the waiter's offer of "tap." A mistake he probably won't make again, but we all enjoyed the indulgence.

The Chanty Pie

A bit of the Margherita.

With Erin, Grier, Jake, and Lincoln.

Walking the Highline before dinner.

Motorino, Williamsburg

Address: 319 Graham Avenue (at Devoe)
Purchase: Five varieties of personal pizzas, an heirloom tomato appetizer special, wine
Cost: Pizzas range from $10 to $15, wine starts at $18/bottle
Pizza Rating:


During our visit to the city for a fun (brief) weekend away before AJ starts medical school at UVa next week, we finally settled on the new Motorino in Williamsburg for our Saturday night dinner. Based on Frank Bruni's review, which ranked Motorino number one on the list of the city's "Best New Generation Pizzerias," (which comes with an informative interactive feature) we thought it would be a good choice.

With six of us we were able to get a reservation, so there was no wait and we had time to enjoy a drink before hand during happy hour at one of our favorites, Barcade (as a bonus, the bartender there had his Boston Terrier with him behind the bar).

The pizza was quite good. Not as stand out as Lucali, in my opinion, but I like the slightly chewy thin crust on my Margherita (good bubbles), and there was a nice proportion of cheese to sauce (pictured above). Lincoln ordered the Margherita DOC, which, for $4 more, is made with mozzarella di bufala instead of the housemade fior di latte. However, for $4 more, I think we were all surprised by how much less cheese was on the pie. If I wanted to enjoy the DOC cheese I would order some on its own from the left menu.

Grier orderd the Pugliese (left)—with burrata, broccolini, sausage, fresh chiles, and garlic— without the sausage, which was quite good, as Mario Batali agrees. Our appetizer, a fresh heirloom tomato in olive oil and seasalt with a sprig of basil, was, as Soraya described it, the essence of summer. Yet one small (not quite ripe) tomato, heirloom or not, for $6 seems a little much, but maybe that's just because we now have our own garden of them.

Motorino is soon to open a Manhattan location at the old space of Una Pizza Napoletana in the East Village. If the menu is the same as at the Williamsburg location, the spot's new incarnation will be much easier on the wallet. Even after three bottles of wine, the six of us left Motorino for just $30 each, with pizza left over.


The pizza makers and their wood burning oven.


Soraya, Catherine, Lincoln, Grier, and AJ.


Leaving quite satisfied.