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“Nicoletta”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	East Village	Moderate	Great

White and former Merrill co-President Ahmass Fakahany (their others include Marea (2009), Osteria Morini (2010), and Ai Fiori (2010). The restaurant was born of customer frustration with the lack of pizza presence on the menus of their other more formal Italian iterations. “We are often asked why we do not offer pizza in New York given our range of Italian cuisine. We both love pizza and in the end did not have a good answer," said Chef White.

To the drawing board White went. Certainly, he’s not the first fancy chef to turn his sights on a pizzaiola. Mathieu Palombino left a shiny career at BLT to open Motorino, and he has never looked back. (I love his pizza, don’t you?) After all, pizza is to Italian food what the burger is to American, so the paradigm of branching out into this more pedestrian fare in these times of financial woe makes all whole lotta sense. Nonetheless White wanted to add to the pizza revolution, not replicate what was already on the stage. For his part, White honed his Midwestern roots for his take on the Italian classic. Indeed, what makes the pizza at Nicoletta worth braving the teenage world of NYU-istan is the crust: White’s rendition is an homage to his childhood favorite, distinguished by a Palermitana-style crust, typical of Midwestern pizza parlors.

This means the substantial high-heat crust is chewy but airy, crunchy but pliable all at the same time. It’s everything you’ve ever hoped a pizza crust would be, but were afraid to dream of. And what comes on top makes the dream one you will not want to wake from. So take your time in REM.

Diana and I chose two pies to share. Though one pie can certainly easily feed two people comfortably, it’s impossible to pick just one. So don’t torture yourself, order many and take home the leftovers. (Or make friends with the table next to you and agree to each get one and share—the tables are so tightly spaced you won’t have to reach far, and you’ll have made a new friend, perhaps one you can meaningfully connect with later on via Facebook or Twitter!)

In either case, do try the Tartufata ($22), topped with mozzarella, crema di tartufo, prosciutto cotto, and roasted wild mushrooms. The ruffled roasted mushrooms are earthy and more elegant than an ... [more, click below]

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Posted: July 27, 2012

Other restaurants in East Village :
+ Yujin-- Closed   + Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar   + Mermaid Inn   + Five Points   + Lavagna   + Five Points   + Bond Street   + Jewel Bako   + Alphabet Kitchen   + In Vino   + Bao 111   + Chikalicious   + Il Buco   + Hearth   + Lima's Taste   + Mercadito   + Hedeh   + Momofuku   + Una Pizza Napoletana   + Winebar   + Uovo-- CLOSED   + Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction   + Gotham Bar & Grill   + Colors   + Chinatown Brasserie   + Knife and Fork   + European Union-- NEW CHEF; SEE APRIL 2007 Review   + Aroma Kitchen and Winebar   + Stand   + European Union   + Mercat   + Gemma   + Back Forty   + The Smith   + Seymour Burton   + Belcourt   + Graffiti   + The Redhead   + Double Crown    + Apiary   + Joe Doe   + Apiary by guest reviewer Kiri Tannenbaum   + DBGB   + Northern Spy   + Goat Town   + Saxon + Parole   + Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria   + Acme   + Calliope   + Nicoletta   + JEPPNEY by Claire Jaffe   + Feast   

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