I show up and a waiter gives me a blank stare. I asked if I could sit anywhere and he shrugged. So I sat down on one of the tables on Carmine Street and waited a few minutes. Impatiently, I found and took one of the yellow take-out paper menus. He showed up a couple minutes later with another menu and I told him I was ready to order my pizza , ordered it and I asked for water as well. Without saying anything he leaves. A couple minutes later he clumsily dumps off a jug of ice water on my table without filling my glass or saying a word.
It was funny that after a couple weeks in New York I was actually waiting for this kind of service.
There are twenty different pizzas at No. 28 (or as it’s called by others, “Numero 28,” “Number 28″ “N. 28″ or “№ 28″). There was three versions of the Margherita: “Margherita Plain” with Tomato and Mozzarella, the “Margherita Original” with Tomato and fresh Mozzarella and the “Margherita Reginella” with Tomato, Mozzarella di Bufala and Basil. Not wanting a Margherita with the not-so-fresh Mozzarella and wanting something closer to an authentic Neapolitan pie, I ordered the Reginella version, which is six bucks more expensive than the ten dollar “Plain.”
After about fifteen minutes my pizza showed up and right away I was surprised with how beautiful it looked. The mozzarella and basil spread out nicely, the crust crispy and fluffy on the edges and charred slightly on the edges. I noticed the sauce first while tasting it - it was sweet and very fresh. I was using my napkin frequently as a couple times when trying to bite through a clump of cheese it wouldn’t separate and it’d come off the pizza and end up on my chin with the other half hanging out my mouth. Very tasty cheese at that, though.
Maybe I should have used my silverware more but it was so tempting to hold it as it was pre-cut into four slices.
When I finished, it took about five minutes to be noticed while trying to make eye contact with any of the servers and about another five minutes to get my bill.
Overall a very, very satisfying and tasty Neapolitan-style pizza and seemingly quite true to tradition. I’d go back, despite the service.
No. 28 Pizzeria
26 Carmine St
New York, NY 10014
212-463-9653
Inside are a bunch of two person tables and a wood fire oven in the back. Their menu is simple: four different twelve-inch, twenty-one dollar pizzas and some beverages. Is it worth it? Well, as far as Neapolitan-style goes, it’s close to perfect. Imported cheeses, incredibly fresh crust (they close for the night when they run out of dough), and the balance is spot on. Cooked to just the right amount of char on the edges. Served uncut, as it should be.
We had a few conversations about this pizza afterwards and it took me until the next day to figure it out. Una Pizza Napoletana probably isn’t great for a date, it’s not really a place to hang out with friends, it’s not much for ambiance and honestly, the pizzas aren’t even that exciting or new. On the other hand, if you go with the mindset to specifically have a fantastically authentic Neapolitan pizza this might not only be the best place to find it in New York; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the best place in the U.S.
A very tasty pizza and yeah, it’s worth the twenty-one bucks — in the name of authenticity.
Una Pizza Napoletana
349 E 12th St
New York, NY 10003
212-477 9950
Roman Market is a nice meat shop and deli. They recently added on to have small restaurant and bar called the Forum. It opened just over a month ago but they have their game down as if they’ve been open for years.
Our service was fast and friendly and got seated wherever we wanted. We were surprised by the decent bar menu but figured it’d be nice to have a few more locals. We didn’t drink as we all had work in front of us but Scott wrote there was…
…big liter mugs of Stella, Hacker Pschorr Alt and Moretti on tap and a nice bottle list as well. I had the Alt and a bottle of Kwak.
Yum. Not bad for this area.
Then our pizzas arrived. Right off the bat I couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful the pizzas were. We got Margherita, Fromaggi and the Vestuviu. The crust is a little bit thicker than you might expect with this style of pizza but they pull it off quite nicely. The tomatoes on my Margherita tasted especially fresh and the cheese was nicely placed and seemed to balance everything quite well. The sauce was minimal, as I’d prefer, and the cornicione was chewy. I tried a slice of the Fromaggi, where they use five italian cheese and the flavors were rich and quite rewarding. I wanted to have more. With both pizzas I tried, everything felt close to perfect for my tastes.
I asked around our table and everyone loved the pizza here. A surprise for us all. I don’t know how they’ve pulled off such great pizza with only serving for the last month or so. On the way home we joked that I should have window clings that I give as awards to places I think have fantastic pizza. This place would get one right away. Even though it’s small trek from the office we’ll find excuses to make our way out here more.
Roman Market
460 Stillwater Rd
Willernie, MN 55090
651-653-4733
