New Casual Italian/Pizza Restaurant, via Danny Meyer: MARTA
 

Just wanted to mention that I had some of the best pizza of the year this past week at the new Danny Meyer Italian place, MARTA, on east 29th Street, in the newly refurbished Martha Washington Hotel.

The "funghi" pizza ($17) with maitake mushrooms, chanterelles, Fontina, thyme, red onions on cracker-thin crust, was out-of-this world.


We also tried the Maccelaio pizza with guanciale, sausage, and sopressata ($16) which was very good, but not as divine as the mushroom pizza.

Well-priced list of wines-by-the-glass, from Italy.

We arrived too early (after a Yankee game; bye, Captain!) to sample dishes other than pizza, which are not on offer until after 5:30pm, but I hope that this was the first of many visits, as we liked the restaurant very much. Again, crust is very think and crispy, so do not bother if you do not like this "Roman-style" pizza.

http://martamanhattan.com/menus/#dinner

Thx! Arriving Tuesday and might be in the area. Funny how you can't usually get pizza before evening in Italy !

E: I am away from the City this week; how long will you be there?

Also, here are two of my current favorites for casual dinners, both downtown and within sight of each other:

GATO:


http://gatonyc.com/menu

ESTELA; see if you can have James wait your table:


http://estelanyc.com/estela/wp-conte...-Menu-9314.pdf

Sounds good.

"Funny how you can't usually get pizza before evening in Italy !"

I'm curious what you mean. We went to Naples armed with the list of the best pizza places. All are jammed with locals at lunch.

Sounds great, Ekscrunchy. Up till now Otto has been our favorite for " contemporary" pizzas. ,

EK, coming back to NY with kids for first time. We seem to like the same restaurants, from Paris to Sevilla, so will try your recs. Thanks

Marta is reviewed in today's NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/di...omad.html?_r=0

Plambers: I love to talk about food and restaurants, so will be happy to discuss your plans for NY!!

Now it will be even harder to get a reservation!

But then again, who makes plans for pizza a month in advance?

It sounds good again.

EK, kids are 11 and 13. We are staying on the East Side in the 50s. A new Chinese hot pot restaurant, 99 Flavor Taste, was recommended to us. Also Tony DiNapolis. I love Molyvos and hope to get there. As you know, I will travel for a good meal! Son not into 3 hour dinners, so would love other ideas. We will be at Met, Museum of Natural History, up to Columbia, by Rockerfeller Center, ice skate at Bryant Park, perhaps Hi line and West Village. Thanks so much!

Plambers: I know nothing about Favor Taste. I've had only one Chinese hot pot in NY, in Flushing, and was not enthralled with the meal. But that's just me! The website of FT says that the hot pot costs $19.99 per person, so unless you are really set on hot pot, you could put together a really good Chinese meal for the family for the same price range. The East 50s (which is my neighborhood) is home to a new branch of Hot Kitchen, on East 53rd Street, which gets good reports from people I know. I might go there this week and if I do I will report back.

I apolgize if you wrote this already, but when are you coming to NYC? Are you far east in 50s, or near Fifth Avenue.

Let me know a little more about the kind of places you like; what restaurants have you been to here and enjoyed?

I mentioned two of my favorites up above, but they are downtown. I love MAREA, in midtown, but it IS on the pricey side. In fact, very pricey, but not a three-hour meal. You could go and order pasta there and you would be more than pleased, I'm sure. In West Village, I like PERLA for Italian. I SODI (simple, Tuscan) is also good. You need to book all three of these ahead of time, but not a month ahead. Also, you can have a pretty quick lunch, or dinner, at the BAR ROOM AT THE MODERN (MOMA); you also need to book ahead, and it can be very noisy, but there is a wide menu and food is very good.

If you like Mylovos, I suggest both Pylos and Taverna Kyclades, two very different places in the East Village.

Erica, we are staying at the new Hilton on 52nd and 2nd so your next of the woods. We arrive Jan 2 and depart Jan 5. My colleague recommended Tony di Napoli and I found a ramen place (need to look up name), and Rosa Mexicana, where we used to eat. I am not crazy about Rosa M. Am thinking after long days we might want dinner nearby to hotel so am thrilled for recommendations.

We have not been to NYC with kids so don't know what they will like but do know son will not sit for more than 1/5 hours.

We are also going to Rangers game that Saturday so would love a casual place near MSG pre game.

IM, will check them out. I love Greek food and used to work for a Greek bank.

Love Danny Meyer! He used to eat in my husband's restaurant in Sarasota all the time!

Updating this thread, which I began about 4 years ago. Until now I had not eaten any pizza in NYC that I thought was worth mentioning online. This changed two nights ago when two of us had an early dinner at PASQUALE JONES. This is a modern interpretation of a Little Italy pizza/Italian restaurant. They have two wood-burning ovens in which they cook many of their dishes which are by no means limited to pizza. Prices are high, but tipping is included in the tab. And their dried spaghetti is from a personal favorite maker, Martelli, from Tuscany; they also make some pastas in house.

Two of us began with the classic Italian spring vegetable medley--vignarola. We are not vegetarians but this dish alone might convince me to convert. I have tried and tried, and tried, to make this at home, with baby artichokes, spring peas, favas, and young leafy greens. This version blew my attempts out of the park. When pressed, the waiter mentioned the use of vegetable stock, and there was also a good amount of lemon in the dish, which fed two for a hearty appetizer and would be divine over pasta. (I will try later this week and let you know how my version goes!!)

We each had one pizza and my version, with clams, was probably the best I've ever had in NYC. (Do I need to get out more???) Ok, it was $30, including tip, but I did bring home two slices which were terrific the night after. Partner loved the Margherita.

Yeah, with one glass of wine bill was $80 more or less, and partner was quite dismayed by that figure. I say, go for it for a once in a while treat. I've already booked a table for three weeks from now...did I mention that tables were difficult to book??? Service can be hit or miss, too, but with pizza that great, not to mention the other items from the wood-fired grills, I can let that slide.

https://www.pasqualejones.com/menus/

NYPOST on the crazy high prices for NYC pizze:



https://nypost.com/2018/05/29/forget...s-are-soaring/

After several more meals at Pasquale Jones, and at Rubirosa, I will update this by saying that Pasquale Jones is very much worth a meal...

Pizza at Rubirosa is very good but atmosphere, depending on where you are seated, can be dark and cramped. Not sure I would repeat, but for visitors it certainly deserves a visit. It just did not merit a return visit, for me....

Going again to Pasquale Jones this week with restaurant owner from Bay Area.....the great thing about this place is that the other dishes are superb so you are not limited to pizza. Service included in the pricing so if you peruse the menu, keep that in mind...


Next on our calendar: Babbo, which we go to often, and Dirty French, which we will try for the first time with guests from South Africa.

Ought to begin a new thread, but places we liked in past months included The Grill (former 4Seasons); Xing Shun Dan (Flushing); Babbo; Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao (Flushing, off the LIE); Decoy (Peking duck in West Village...loved this place);
Nur (noisy but go early and have great Israeli Arab food); Tuome (East Village, Asian inflected; Nishi (David Chang in Chelsea)

Anyone looking for moderate, in both price and style, by New York standards, I can give a big recommendation to Pasquale Jones in Little Italy. Service included in prices. Incredibly good appetizers (who would think leeks could be so great??) Pastas excellent, much seasonal variation. We had one sucking pig agnolotti (not as good as the sucking pig pasta at Mailaino, however, but in agnolitti form instead of the wide ribbons, with arugula, that we love at Maialino) ) and one Amatriciana; the latter was the weakest of alll since many of us can make a decent facsimile at home.


Pizzas: Clam and Margherita were suberb. This has sort of become our go-to place even if we have to take the train to get there.....brought a Bay Area chef last night and she was swooning! Thought it was "cheap!!"


So keep it in mind if you are looking in that area... Two pizzas, two appetizers, two pastas, plus wine and soft drinks...about $50 pp. Not too noisy, either.

After dinner, you can walk to Ferrara for mini-cannoli:
http://www.ferraranyc.com (not my thing but they were good, dipped in chocolate)

or to Van Leeuwen, a branch of the Brookyn place (very $$) on Spring Street, for salted caramel or other ice cream flavors.


http://www.vanleeuwenicecream.com/nolita/

Or do both, as we did!

And before dinner, go stock up at DiPalo, as we did, for anything Italian.