Its the first and last pizza week here on EWZ, and that time of the month – W42nd st monthly launch. And by pure coincidence or not, this month issue lists the best pizza in Hell’s Kitchen. Long time readers will notice one major drop/add on the list. Although the major drop (John’s) is still fairly popular with visitors, and the addition is pretty far out there. So pick up a free copy of the W42st, to check out what this dysfunctional family is up to these days.
5 dumbest questions you can ask at a gourmet Pizza joint…
1. “Do you sell by the slice?” – particularly dumb especially when the waiter takes your order with an Ipad
2. “Is it like Pepperoni?” – while pointing at something on the menu. At least make sure you are in the right meat vicinity and not pointing at some kind of cheese or a vegetable. BTW in Italy if you order pizza with Pepperoni you get a smile followed by pizza with peppers.
3. “Can you bring the garlic and pepper shakers?” – NO SOUP FOR YOU!!
4. “So is it like a Neapolitan pizza Rabbi that comes every month to inspect?” – Not exactly. To get Neapolitan certified you can either call yourself that or get blessed by the Verace Rabbis one time.
5. “Why are constantly running reruns of the same cooking show?” – We’re not. Thats a live stream of our pizza making.
For the record we didnt ask any of that. Except perhaps #2 but we [ahem, I] were definitely in the vicinity
Don Antonio by Starita makes some pretty good Neapolitan pizzas. Starita is a Pizza legend from Naples, and together with Roberto Caporuscio of the popular Kesté Pizza, they opened Don Antonio about 6 months ago. Much to the delight of the socks and sandals wearing tourists of the good food challenged Times Square. Pies range from around $12 to $20. The menu also includes a plethora of interesting and tempting apps. But we (a group of 4) are here for the pizza
BTW, I think its a brilliant move to add the “by [your name]” part oto the name. Just makes it look that much cooler. i.e. Le Grand Véfour by Ziggy. Love the sound of that.
Anyway, we started with the Montarana, a Starita specialty which is lightly fried dough with smoked buffalo mozzarella and their signature tomato sauce. A different tasting pizza and in a good way. Liked it a lot.
The Girella was a hit as well, with that prosciutto, grape tomatoes , 2 types of cheese and other complementing goodies.
The weakest link was probably the white prosciutto with Arugula pie. Not bad, just not as flavorful as the other others.
Another group favorite was the Diavola. Nicely charred and tasty crust with tomato, fresh mozzarella and slightly spicy sopressata (pepperoni like). Terrific stuff!!!
Don Antonio by Starita, as the name implies prides itself in serving creative pizzas using fresh ingredients the Napoli way. In an area filled with pre-theater tourist traps, its nice to have this quicky option. Check it out loyal readers (how many are left at this point I wonder – My wife stopped reading after post #2)
Eating With Ziggy 