Co. - Jim Lahey's pizzeria in New York

Jim Lahey, of Sullivan Street Bakery and no-knead bread fame, has a pizzeria in Chelsea on 9th avenue. We stopped in for a lovely outdoor early dinner this weekend. The pizza is, to me, essentially neopolitan, with the crust quite like Spacca Napoli here in town, except no soupy center. (No claims are make that it is attempting to be authentic to any style.)

The crust was terrific, with good flavor, a bit of chew and the requisite amount of charring. What made this some of the best pizza I've had were the excellent toppings. We had the Stracciatella, which had crushed tomato, black pepper, stracciatella and arugula. I don't think I've ever had stracciatella cheese, which melted into creamy globs on the pizza. Our other pie was Peas & Proscuitto, which had fresh peas, shredded prosciutto, béchamel, mozzarella, parmesan, pea shoots. I was worried that the bechamel, mozzarella and parmesan would make for an overly rich mess, but those ingredients were used carefully and made for a well balanced pie.

I love a neopolitan style crust, and toppings that have bold flavor, but are used sparingly for make for a balanced experience where you fully taste the crust and the toppings. I don't like lots of cheese, lots of meat, or huge gobs or anything. If this sounds something like what you look for, this is a joint worth checking out.

Co.
230 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10001
212.243.1105

P.S. The name really sucks because it's so hard to word search for.

Jonah

Thanks-- will try it soon. We ate our way up 9th Ave. Saturday night, but started farther uptown. Next time, will head the other direction.