The Thin Bread Line

It's really amazing how many places advertise that they have the best pizza in New York. Some signs even proclaim the best pizza in the country or the world. I mean, who are these people? Can a chef decide he has the best pizza in the city and then post it on the window for all to believe?

I need more than just a sign to back this up. An article in NY Magazine works (like Kesté), a write-up on all the NY pizza blogs (like Di Fara) or maybe just a ton of recommendations and a personal facebook endorsement from my best friend's mother (as is the case with Waldy's).

Since its name kept coming up when talking about my pizza search and it has a very prominent sign claiming it New York's Best Pizza, I had to find a lunch time to check out Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza and see for myself.

I arrived around 1pm on a Wednesday and the small little restaurant was slamming. There's a counter and a handful of tables that were all pretty much filled. There were also many people waiting for their take-out orders. I'm not usually in midtown around lunch time, but I imagine this is a typical weekday afternoon.

There's no table service so I ordered my pizza up front. I was impressed by how friendly and helpful the staff were, especially considering how many orders they kept taking. I figured I would have to wait a bit so was very pleasantly surprised to discover that there was a bookshelf full of food books to peruse for just this very moment.

As I waited, I dove into Ed Levine's book on pizza in America, A Slice of Heaven. The guy definitely has me beat on the pizza adventures. I become so engrossed, I almost forgot I was waiting for lunch.

So the deal at Waldy's is that they make ultra-thin pizza. I mean, ultra thin. And they cook it in a wood oven with fresh, unique toppings. Of course, I stuck with the Classic Margherita, the pizza to judge all pizzas by.

I think there's a fine line between NY thin crust and a cracker with cheese and tomato sauce. And Waldy's walks that line. Their crust is amazingly thin. Of course, it was very crispy and had a nice charred flavor. But I do wish there was a bit more substance to the bread.

The mozzarella was incredibly creamy and I think there was some parmesan because it had a nice bite. The tomato sauce itself might have been a bit more flavorful, but the addition of fresh tomatoes helped with that. The basil was shredded very thin, but it was plentiful and added that fresh herby finish.

The pizza here was tasty and I do love a thin crust, but at some point, it blurs the line between pizza and something else. I mean, much thinner and Waldy's would be nothing but toppings. And nobody seems to advertise the best toppings in the city - it's the pizza people want!

Is Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza the best pizza in NY? It comes close to not being pizza at all, but since it stays on this side of the line, I give it a 7 out of 10 for some tasty flavors, good service, and some good reading material.

Pie-dentity Crisis

About a year ago, the hip new pizza movement in New York City became evident when Jim Lahey opened a spare, homey pizza restaurant in Chelsea with lots of natural lighting. Lahey is first and foremost a baker and has been making delicious pizza-like concoctions at Sullivan Street Bakery for years.

This newer restaurant seems to be called Co. That's what all the press and reviews had titled it. I figured Co, was an abbreviation for something. I just hope Lahey wasn't referring to the chemical element cobalt (Co). That's not among my favorite pizza toppings.

On my first visit (many months before I began this official pizza search), the mystery was cleared up when I saw the big sign welcoming me to Company. Not Co. at all. Yet when I went inside and was presented with menus and noticed the young waiters all wearing logo T-shirts, there was the "Co." once again. So what the hell is this place called?

I've read in interviews that Lahey thought of Co. as the abbreviation for "corner" (The restaurant does proudly take up the corner of Ninth Avenue and 24th Street), so where does the company come from now? My only guess is that it's a reference to the two long communal tables that take up the majority of the dining room. Communal tables are all the rage. They're social, gimmicky, and really make you appreciate the co. Sorry, I mean the company.

But really what's in a name? It's all about the pizza! And Company, or Co. (Seriously, I don't know what to call this place. It's starting to piss me off!) makes individual pizzas in sort of a Neapolitan style. But there are many differences between these pies and the classic Neapolitans. First and foremost, these are cooked in a gas oven as opposed to a wood one. That's sort of a dealbreaker right there. I can pretty much guarantee Lahey won't be getting any invitations to the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani Christmas party.

It was an off-time when we arrived at 4pm. We were the only one's in the restaurant (which is usually bustling at prime time) except for the corner table of managers in a meeting. We didn't feel un-welcomed per se but I felt as if I saw a little too much of the man (or men) behind the curtain. Shouldn't they have their meetings when the restaurant is closed? Also, because it was so quiet, I became more aware of their ridiculous choice of music. We must have heard some weird French cover of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" three times during our hour-long dinner.

We ordered both the margherita and the flambé. We picked the flambé because I work at The Modern which makes the most authentic and delicious tarte flambee you'll have this side of the Rhine. So I always have to check out the competition.

The bread was pretty good across the board. It's obvious Lahey knows his yeast. Considering they don't use a wood oven, the bottom had an intense char and while the crust was not as doughy and tender as I come to expect from Neapolitan, it was crispy, chewy, and delicious.

I wish I could say the same for the toppings. The flambé was slightly reminiscent of California Pizza Kitchen (which is another of my former employers). That's not a bad thing if you're into that kind of stuff, but the flavors were a bit too rich and sweet for me. The bacon tasted honey glazed and the bechamel was a bit thick. Didn't come close to the light delicious ingenuity of The Modern's.

The margherita was also lacking. The pie was pretty wet and became soggy way too quickly. The pizza was very light and had just a hint of everything. Just a hint of cheese, a hint of tomato, a hint of taste.

I'm sure their more unique pies fare much better. I've heard amazing things about the stracciatella and the popeye. But my feeling is if they can't get the standards right, then you've got to re-think your concept (or at least take those options off the menu).

And the pizzas weren't bad, they just should have been better. Lots of attention was paid to the bread itself, I just wish there had been more thought put into the things that go on top of that bread. And some more thought into what to call this place because I'm getting tired of writing two names. Until they make up their mind, I'm calling this place Cobalt. Take that, Jim Lahey!

Is Co. (or Company) (or Cobalt) the best pizza in NY? The pizzas are a bit expensive and could use a little more oomph in the ingredients and the flavor combinations, but that crust is a stand-out. And it's really the only reason this place gets a 6 out of 10.