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“Co. (Company)”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Chelsea	Moderate	Good

uo;s from Vermont, and it will cost you $2. Want to dip your bread into some olive oil? It comes from Chile and a pour of it will also cost you $2. Not sure how I feel about this, but my hunch is I don’t feel good about it. Pad the cost of something else and throw in butter and olive oil if you must. This pricing made me feel nickel and dimed.

The crowning glory of Co. is its pies, some round, some oval, some in a blurry shape in between the two not yet named in the world of geometry or otherwise. Shape is of no import to Jim Lahey’s world of pizza and quite frankly it is of little consequence to mine either. He could shape his pies into trapezoids or hexagons and I’d still relish the opportunity to feast on them.

The joy of his pizza (each serves one, or two depending on appetite and ability to share) comes from the crust—chewy and puffy borders touched by smoke from the earthstone gas-powered oven, a thin but substantial base that holds up to the ample toppings, and an inherent salty, yeasty seasoning to the dough that would make it quite easy to eat a pie topped with nothing at all. But there are some glorious toppings to be had. Even the simplest of pies, the Margherita ($13), is special: tomatoes that taste like they’ve been plucked from a sun-warmed branch and then rubbed over the warm pizza crust with olive oil and salt, then topped with warm milky mozzarella and fresh basil.

More “advanced” pies are not too busy either, so they don’t mask the joy of the crust. I particularly liked the ham and cheese ($14), topped with oozing layers of Gruyere, pecorino and mozzarella cheese and thin sheets of prosciutto. Surprisingly, the Popeye ($17) was an all around favorite as well. Instead of mixing the spinach in with the tomatoes and cheese, Lahey’s basic base of pecorino, Gruyere and mozzarella is crowned with garlic (sometimes too much garlic) and wide charred spinach leaves that make the pie look as though it’s crowned with swatches of Elizabethan taffeta.

His take on the tarte flambé is also an irresistible button-buster thanks to a mix of lardons, caramelized onions, and béchamel combined with Parmesan and mozzarella. Ditto the Boscaiola ($17), a hearty pie spiced up with pork sausage, tomato, mushrooms, onion, chili and mozzarella. In addition to the regular roster of seven pies, Lahey always runs a special pie of the day and th ... [more, click below]

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Posted: February 28, 2009

Other restaurants in Chelsea :
+ Matsuri   + La Bottega   + Tia Pol   + Bombay Talkie   + Cookshop   + D'Or Ahn: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Buddakan   + Crema   + InTent: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Trestle on Tenth   + Klee   + El Quinto Pino   + Socarrat   + Txikito   + Co. (Company)   

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