During the first blizzard of the year, Dan and I created a mini stay-cation for ourselves in the city. He had to work and wanted to avoid any kind of commute, so we cashed in our Citi Thank You points and stayed at the Empire Hotel at Lincoln Center just a few steps from Dan’s theater.
In between his shows, we made room for a few culinary adventures, including the one I’m about to describe here at PizzArte. What a fun stay-cation it was!
Atmosphere:
Located on 55th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, PizzArte’s locale certainly doesn’t insinuate coolness, but that’s just why it’s so great – it’s a true diamond in the rough.
The space is made up of a two-floor cozy restaurant, bar and
gallery rolled into one. The gallery
(hence PizzArte’s name) showcases a plethora of interesting works by
international artists and the ones we saw happened to be done by Qinza Najm, a Pakistani American artist. It was fun to be surrounded by abstract art, which put us in the mood to
eat something creative, as well.
Food:
Having the foresight to purchase a Gilt City coupon for our dinner, we sort of had our food choices mapped out for us, which consisted of a glass of house wine each, a personal salad, and a shared pizza pie.
Salad – Loving the fact that we can each choose our own personal salad, I was free to indulge in all the beets and goat cheese my heart desired. Dan went for a classic Caesar salad, which was done beautifully, with the perfect amount of cheese, anchovy paste and really crunchy, airy croutons, which I devoured as well. Both salads were generous in size and therefore signified great value right off the bat.
Pizza – Although PizzArte boasts many pizza choices, our Gilt City deal enabled us to choose from a slimmer menu, which was A-OK with us. Deciding to try the Eduardo, the dough was prepared in a unique fashion by first being fried and then baked in their coal oven. Dan was a bit skeptical at first, but our waiter reassured him that the fry method adds to the lightness and the airiness of the pie. He was totally right! In Dan’s words, the pizza had a “zeppolian pizzaarte” quality to it, meaning a hybrid between a zeppole and a pizza.
We both ooohhed and ahhhed and Mmmmmed a lot while eating the Eduardo pie. The dough was exquisitely light and the toppings of Italian ham (not quite prosciutto), melty mozzarella and ribbons of fresh basil gave it a beautiful earthy yet still luxurious quality. It’s unlike any pizza I’ve had before, and overall was a total win.
Service and Cost:
Due to the snowstorm factor, the restaurant was pretty low key in terms of clientele, and we loved it this way. Having our own little escape haven, watching the snow outside and relaxing with a full bodied red vino made it that much more romantic.
Our waiter was a great guy, and gave us the fabulous suggestion of ordering the Eduardo. He didn’t steer us wrong once, and seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the menu.
Having the foresight to purchase a Gilt City coupon for our dinner, we sort of had our food choices mapped out for us, which consisted of a glass of house wine each, a personal salad, and a shared pizza pie.
Salad – Loving the fact that we can each choose our own personal salad, I was free to indulge in all the beets and goat cheese my heart desired. Dan went for a classic Caesar salad, which was done beautifully, with the perfect amount of cheese, anchovy paste and really crunchy, airy croutons, which I devoured as well. Both salads were generous in size and therefore signified great value right off the bat.
Pizza – Although PizzArte boasts many pizza choices, our Gilt City deal enabled us to choose from a slimmer menu, which was A-OK with us. Deciding to try the Eduardo, the dough was prepared in a unique fashion by first being fried and then baked in their coal oven. Dan was a bit skeptical at first, but our waiter reassured him that the fry method adds to the lightness and the airiness of the pie. He was totally right! In Dan’s words, the pizza had a “zeppolian pizzaarte” quality to it, meaning a hybrid between a zeppole and a pizza.
We both ooohhed and ahhhed and Mmmmmed a lot while eating the Eduardo pie. The dough was exquisitely light and the toppings of Italian ham (not quite prosciutto), melty mozzarella and ribbons of fresh basil gave it a beautiful earthy yet still luxurious quality. It’s unlike any pizza I’ve had before, and overall was a total win.
Service and Cost:
Due to the snowstorm factor, the restaurant was pretty low key in terms of clientele, and we loved it this way. Having our own little escape haven, watching the snow outside and relaxing with a full bodied red vino made it that much more romantic.
Our waiter was a great guy, and gave us the fabulous suggestion of ordering the Eduardo. He didn’t steer us wrong once, and seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the menu.
Costs are moderate on the regular menu, with most pies
ranging between $18-$23. While they’re
not overly large, the pizza pies are filling and do a great job of satiating
you. Our Gilt City coupon turned out to
be an excellent value, setting us back just $30 total for our aforementioned
meal. Go ahead, and snap it up – there’s
still time!
3 Mmmms
PizzArte – 69 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019
3 Mmmms
PizzArte – 69 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019
212.247.3936
F Train to 57th Street
www.pizzarteny.com
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