The seedy corner of Hell’s Kitchen behind Port Authority may not be top of your list of Manhattan destinations, but it deserves a second look – and not for the strange whale murals on 41st street (sorry, mustachioed artist dude). If you ever find yourself skidding west from Times Square and in need of a bite, there’s welcome respite for you: Capizzi Pizza and Wine Bar.
Tucked next to the overpass on Ninth Avenue between 40th and 41st streets is this darling of a pizzeria, which has a cult following that includes the man with apparently better taste in pies than ties, Steve Harvey, who recently named this spot his fave New York pizza joint.
He’s not far off. Opened in 2010 by Joseph Calcagno, Capizzi Pizza and Wine Bar keeps it simple by serving up traditionally Sicilian-style pizza (flat-crusted personal pies – not the spongy squares New Yorkers have come to associate with the Italian island) and salad. That’s pretty much it. But that’s all it needs.
When visiting last week, I started with the special appetizer with burrata, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, roasted pepper and prosciutto. Everything Capizzi makes is fresh. The owner, Calcagno, puts sourcing the best ingredients as his top priority – something he learned from his grandmother. This was obvious the minute I bit into that chunk of mozzarella’s better cousin. It was creamy and savory and perfectly matched the roasted vegetables and ham. The whole thing went down well with a glass of the house sangria, a heady mix of red wine, peach schnapps and other secret ingredients.
Another great app is the Antipasto Misto Platter for two, which also shows off Capizzi’s ingredients with prosciutto, mortadella, salami, grana padano cheese, olives, and mushrooms, served with house-made focaccia and, if you ask for it, the pizzeria’s outstanding own olive oil, sourced from Sicily and for sale at the restaurant.
Then came the pizzas. On recommendation, two of us shared the Asparagus Special, a five-cheese pizza with roasted asparagus, tomatoes, truffle oil and roasted pine nuts, and the Pizza del Nonno, with crushed tomatoes, pecorino romano, parmesan and olive oil, and additional toppings of eggplant and provolone cheese.
Both had crusts with a winning combination of chewy and crispy, thanks to Capizzi’s wood-burning oven, and the toppings were fresh and plentiful. The 12-inch pies are big enough to share if you’re after a snack to accompany some great wine, but if it’s a meal you want, grab your own. It was certainly one of New York’s better pizzas, particularly if you’re partial to an abundance of vegetables and good meats on top, so once you tuck in, you may not want to stop. Just save room for dessert – the cannoli and tiramisu are great choices (we shared the Oreo truffle cannoli special, which is much better than it sounds).
As we ate our way through more food than we should have, the trattoria filled up with a combination of tourists who stumbled upon the place and clear regulars. The language of choice among customers was Italian, a testament to the true-to-tradition food served up at Capizzi. If you’re looking for a diamond in the rough that is Port Authority’s backwaters, this might just be it.
Twisted Talk: What’s your favorite New York pizza? Will you be giving Capizzi’s pies a try? Discuss below!
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