I was never the type to get excited over movie stars. I don’t follow Perez (is that his name?). I didn’t recognize Susan Sarandon, Katy Perry, or Gary Sinise when they were right in front of me. So, it follows that I don’t buy clothing or shoes made popular by a star, or sun glasses a singer was caught wearing. Yet, when Kenji-Alt Lopez (GoodEater.org and The Food Lab on Serious Eats), one of my favorite food writers ever, says that Motorino 349 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003 is “the best in the city”, I was there.
Hilary and I met for lunch, when it’s easy to get a seat. We started with a wonderful Roasted Beet Salad ($9) which is a great sharing salad, except for the sole piece of white anchovy. I really wish there was more. It was more pickled herring style than the super salty. Still, the half egg, ricotta salata, very fresh parsley were all great against the sweet beets coated in fruity olive oil.
I’ve mentioned before that Margherita ($12) is generally my favorite. I just like pizza plain and simple. Motorino makes a good pizza, very thin in the middle, bubbly crust, reminiscent of the Keste pizza. I did feel like a few bites were dry, not necessarily missing sauce or cheese, but just that the bubbly rim dough needed some more moisture. I was grabbing more water than usual.
That problem was solved with their Soppressata Picante pizza ($16), which I adored. The fat drips out of the soppressata and forms delicious little pools of spicy oil, spread about the pizza to bring moisture where needed. It was spicy and garlicky in every bite and every inhale.
It really surprised me that I liked this pizza with toppings so much, but so it is, this is the one I recommend. I’d go again just for the Sopressata and leave my Margherita eating for another day.
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I went to Motorino last night (Jan. 29, 2010) and also thought it was the best I’ve had in the city for higher-end pizza. It’s better than Co. in my book. I highly recommend the Brussel sprouts pizza, which was a white pie and had smoked panchetta (or get any pie with the smoked pancetta if they have it). The smokiness of the meat really brought out the wood fire flavor from the oven.
MMMMM,…the 2 pizza’s look truly inviting!!
Yum Yum Yum!
Jill, have you been to Keste and Numero 28. I haven’t been to Co. yet but I like Keste and Numero 28 a lot. I haven’t had Numero 28 since they opened 2 more locations though. I hope it hasn’t changed anything…
I’m generally not a fan of white pies but I’ll give it a shot next time since brussels sprouts and smoked panchetta is a great flavor combo.
That salad looks wonderful– any dish that contains beets is a winner in my book. The crust on that pizza looks so good, too! I’ll definitely check it out next time I’m meandering around BK.
Do you have any pizza recommendations for Hell’s Kitchen area? I just moved into the neighborhood and have yet to find a solid pizza joint
Savvy Soybean, I think Co. (Jim Lahey’s place) is in Hell’s Kitchen. I haven’t eaten there yet but many people like it. At Taboon, they have an Israeli version of pizza….great for brunch.
I’m glad you got here on my recommendation. It really is the best Neapolitan pizza around! I second the recommendation for the brussels sprouts pie. I’m normally a “simpler is better” type eater, but that pie is really incredible.
Best,
Kenji