218163 Fri Jan 21 23:53:56 -0800 2005 20 18 Manhattan 0 1161529 Anyone tried this place yet? If so, what are your thoughts? thx Fri Jan 21 23:53:56 -0800 2005 0 Tim 1 1161536 Went tonight. We were disappointed. Very good crust, but that's about it. I think they're using good ingredients, but who could taste them with so little used. And I think it's quite overpriced. Sat Jan 22 01:01:04 -0800 2005 1161529 0 Nina W. 2 1161538 I want to second that. Everyone has been raving, but I just did not like it. I mean, it tastes good, fresh, but it is more like having an "appetizer" pizza...not filling and way overpriced for what it is. I don't understand the positive magazine/newspapers reviews. Unsatisfying unless you have it pre-dinner, as a light snack. Agree that they use too few "ingredients." Sat Jan 22 01:10:02 -0800 2005 1161536 0 nickib. 3 1161539 must respectfully disagree. I find una pizza to be quite poetic and extraordinary. Upon revisiting last week, the bianca was just as subtle and balanced as it was the first week of business. The passion put into each pie must be encouraged. Yes, not filling. Yes, perhaps overpriced. But in a city where an omakase can be $350 minimum, this is a deeply committed chef who should be visited. He believes in those tiny pies... Sat Jan 22 01:55:42 -0800 2005 1161538 0 millefeuille 4 1161540 I thought the bianca was dull. So much in fact, that after eating a little bit of it, we pulled all the remaining cheese from the bianca and put it on the margherita. This guy may be a "purist" and a "traditionalist" but that doesn't mean he's making something that's worth eating, and certainly not worth that kind of money. I have no objection to spending good money when I reap the rewards in my mouth - but this didn't do it for me. Sat Jan 22 02:30:59 -0800 2005 1161539 0 Nina 5 1161591 I have tried all four pies, and, while I find the Bianca the best, they are all divine. Sat Jan 22 13:38:44 -0800 2005 1161540 0 John L. 6 1161595 Different strokes for different folks! Next time I feel like some really good pita with a little flavoring on the top, I won't be spending $16 for it. Sat Jan 22 13:55:24 -0800 2005 1161591 0 Nina W. 3 1161549 Raves from magazines etc... mean nothing more than having a connected PR agency get placements or a mag looking for advertising $$ down the road. Word of mouth (ie boards like this) is the only reliable way to find out whether a place is worth your business. Too many professional reviewers are afraid to give a bad review bec they won't get invited to the chef's parties anymore. Look at how many bad movies get good reviews. It's the same thing. Sat Jan 22 08:46:28 -0800 2005 1161538 0 LES Resident 4 1161554 And by the way, the Pizza is delicious at Una Pizza! I haven't found a better Marinara pizza in NY. Have you? Sat Jan 22 09:20:30 -0800 2005 1161549 0 David Lerner 5 1161558 I assume you mean his margherita pizza? I think Arturo's is better. I think DeMarco's is better (on a good day). Not the same mind you, but better. Sat Jan 22 10:20:05 -0800 2005 1161554 0 Nina W. 6 1161658 No, a marinara pizza is not a margherita! DeMarcos doesn't offer a marinara, but their pizza is perfectly fine high end neigborhood pizzeria and I go there regularly. But their crust is pathetic compared to Una Pizza. The two products are so completely different that I wouldn't compare them. DeMarco is a great place if I'm in the neighborhood, Una Pizza is for me worth a detour. Sun Jan 23 10:37:00 -0800 2005 1161558 0 David Lerner 5 1161560 Oops sorry they do have a Marinara pie. Again, I like Arturo's better. Haven's asked DeMarco's to do one, but I'm sure they would. The problem with Una is that you barely taste the ingredients because they're used so absurdly sparingly. Sat Jan 22 10:23:43 -0800 2005 1161554 0 Nina W. 6 1161569 Not sure what you mean by you don't taste the ingredients. There are only five ingredients (besides the dough): San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and sea salt. Which one couldn't you taste? I thought there were perfect proportions of each. Sat Jan 22 11:19:56 -0800 2005 1161560 0 Bowfinger 7 1161572 On the bianca, we overwhelmingly tasted the crust - there was so little cheese, and barely a hint of olive oil. The basil overshelmed those. On the margherita, maybe 3 bites of it had both tomatoes and cheese in proportions that allowed up to taste them together, if at all sisignificantly. The pizzas seemed like flatbread focaccias to me. Lots of crust, very little everything else, and out of proportion and balance. (Note: I grew up in New Haven, and have spent a lot of time in northern Italy). Sat Jan 22 11:39:46 -0800 2005 1161569 0 Nina W. 2 1161947 I'll go back to try the bianca... but will likely be the last time. Can not justify spliting a pie that amounts to $10 for two small slices. That said I found it very tasty with great balance of subtle flavours. Mon Jan 24 17:03:32 -0800 2005 1161536 0 m 1 1161543 A follow-up question: is this a sit-down restaurant with waiter service or is it a more casual to-go place w/stools? thx Sat Jan 22 03:19:16 -0800 2005 1161529 0 Tim 2 1161559 It's a sit-down place, but pretty minimalist. They just got their liquor license by the way. Their menu has one thing on it, and one thing only: pizza. Four types of pizza. Whole pies only, and you can't get half and half or anything like that. The pizzas are the size of a dinner plate (the feed one person each). The two of us got two pies, and we spent $36.00 before tax and tip, and we had no wine or beer (we brought our own wine because we didn't know that they had gotten their license, and they let us open it). Sat Jan 22 10:22:15 -0800 2005 1161543 0 Nina W. 1 1161579 An amazing pizza. However, at $36 for what amounts to two appetizers, I find myself not going back, when I can get pies of almost the same quality for $16 (which could easily feed at least two). They need to offer a larger pie as an option. Sat Jan 22 12:06:48 -0800 2005 1161529 0 Josh 1 1162386 I think people are raving about this place for all the wrong reasons. Yes, the chef is very committed to his craft. The pizza is authentic and is made with quality ingredients. But quite frankly, it's just not that good. It's fine, maybe pretty good, but certainly not divine. Wed Jan 26 13:19:05 -0800 2005 1161529 0 GOLDvader 1 1163112 My husband I just went here based on the Chowhound referrals and a recent article on a pizza blog citing this as one of the best places for pizza in NYC. While the pizza was very good, the prices were very ridiculous. Each pizza is appropriate to serve one person, but it costs $16.95. We purchased two pizzas and two glasses of wine ($7 ea) and ended up paying more than $60 for our dinner with tip. All this yet they served our tap water in small plastic cups. Huh. It was cool to watch the guy smoke the pizza using wood chips, the wine was good and the service was good (cups notwithstanding). We enjoyed our experience but we won't be back for more of this extremely expensive pizza. I'm suprised this blog was so silent on the super high price tag on this 'za. Sat Jan 29 23:52:46 -0800 2005 1161529 0 wrb 2 1163566 Just read Ed Levine's Pizza-A Slice of Heaven. I've tried every pizzeria in NY, New Haven and Boston worth trying so I had to continue my research. While UPN was a great place, beautiful oven and great ingredients, the final product is very good but not divine. While I had the bufala di mozzarella still in my brain, I went back to DeMarco's for a slice just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Sorry-I gotta give it to DeMarco's. And I still think Johns of Bleecker is still the best on a good day. Heaven...I'm in Heaven. Sun Feb 13 17:34:27 -0800 2005 1163112 0 guttergourmet