Last weekend Adam and I went to the East Village to try Una Pizza Napoletana, a pizzeria that burst on the New York scene a year or two ago on a wave of incredible hype. At the time, the story was that it was made by a pizza purist, who was dedicated to the pizzas of Naples, and determined to bring a good pizza to New York. When you say something like that in New York, be prepared for a controversy. When the review came in, they tended to fall along two lines: 1) This is the best pizza ever, wonderful in its simple use of high quality ingredients and techniques , and 2) The pizzas are nothing special, overpriced, and the place charges for tap water.
Una Pizza was ranked among the best in books, magazine articles, and various blogs. So I suspected I would like this pizza. The pizzas are $20, and I feel that if I have one of the great pizzas in America for $20, then it is well worth it.
The place only serves 4 pies, all of them fairly simple. We split two pizzas, both of them topped with buffalo mozzarella cheese, one with cherry tomatoes and garlic, and one with a sauce and basil. They were both incredible, although I preferred the plain Margherita pie. First of all, the crust was awesome, perfectly charred and with the right amount of chew. In addition, the buffalo mozzarella was so creamy that ever bite of it was precious to me. And the sauce, mozzarella and olive oil combined in a really harmonious way that went beyond what I've experienced in other pizzas.
I wouldn't say that it is makes me think less of the other Neopolitan pies in the city. For instance, La Pizza Fresca is probably 70% as good. But to me, this is Neopolitan perfection. Eat there, go now.
Oh yes, and they don't charge for water anymore.
Posted by ahyatt at June 25, 2006 12:19 AM