Olio Pizza e Piu

As the New York Times pointed out yesterday, “New York’s pizza moment is stretching into a pizza era.” Case in point: Olio, a new Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the West Village, which barely got any press when it opened. What press there has been has been mixed — my friend Jess (of We Heart New York) said there major flaws with the pizza, and yet she couldn’t wait to go back. We met for lunch there last week, and they must have been having a good day because my margherita was excellent.

This is why I love to order a margeherita the first time that I go to a pizzeria. Simple, nicely seasoned tomatoes, creamy fior di latte (fresh mozzarella), and wonderfully charred, chewy crust… I couldn’t eat it fast enough. Jess’s 4 Formaggi was a bit out of balance, though delicious; the four cheese were gorgonzola, fior di latte, parmesan, and smoked mozzarella (slices of that last one evinced by the presence of large brown rings, the rind of the cheese) piled up in a dense mound on top of that delicious crust.

Olio — 3 Greenwich Avenue