New Kosher Pizza- 56th and Madison (NYC)

[EmpireState]

This was in yesterday's NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/din...

[AdinaA]

Disgusting, grimy, do they own a mop? The atrium on a Sunday afternoon was filthy. The tables looked as though they had not been been cleaned in days (crumbs, goop, spilled stuff.) The floor was filthy with dirt and detritus. The public bathrooms were disgusting, raw sewage overflowing the toilets onto the floor of the ladies room.

Perhaps it is better on weekdays?

The restaurant itself looked clean. But I had no desire to sit and eat a meal in that filthy space.

[cheesecake17]

So I was planning to go there next Sunday. I guess I'm changing my plans...

[ahuva]

I've been there a lot and have never had that experience. The Sony atrium makes for a great place to enjoy the solo pizza, but i guess sony doesn't always take such good care of their public space. i'm going next Sunday with the family - i'll keep you all posted on the status of the atrium!

[iris]

Went there Friday. Solid pizza by any standards. Crispy, thin, charred crust, balanced sauce, authentic cheese - though there could have been a bit more cheese. Salads good though not exceptional. Ample available seating in the Sony atrium. A great addition to kosher eating!

[MartyB]

Must try! Here is the menu.

http://www.pizzadasolo.com/pizza.pdf

http://www.pizzadasolo.com/

[KosherKing]

It's almost funny to read everyone saying Pizza da Solo's pizza is the best they've ever had. I totally agree. What I find funny is that we all have been eating --excuse my Yiddish here--drek pizza for so long. This is the real thing folks: quality ingredients and a pizza maker dedicated to quality above all else. Crispy, charred crust. Not doughy and flavorless. Home-made fresh mozzarella, not so-called pizza cheese that comes packaged in huge bags and has zero flavor. And San Marzano tomato sauce, not canned low-grade sauce that often tastes like ketchup.

Unfortunately most kosher food offerings focus on quantity and turning a dollar and not quality. No doubt Joey is making good money with Pizza da Solo but, you know what? I am happy to hand over my money in exchange for top-flight food.

OK. I will step down from my pedestal now.

[iambarry]

Tuesday night I sampled three of da Solo's pizza. It was good. It was certainly better than most other kosher pizza places I've tried.

But I guess I have to disagree with many posters. It was not the best kosher pizza I've had. That honor goes to the pizza I had today from cravings (17 Trinity Pl, Manhattan).

Anyone else been to both and agree/disagree with me?

[avitrek]

I haven't been yet, but I would put Cravings below Mikes and NoiDue, so unless you haven't been to those two, I think I will probably disagree with you.

[ahuva]

i have to disagree - i've been to both and while cravings is certainly a fine choice, i like solo's four cheese pizza a lot more than anything i've had at cravings. sorry to be a spoilsport, iambarry.

[iambarry]

I tried da Solo's four cheese pizza. It was good - but it wasn't an authentic quattro formaggi pizza, and it didn't entirely work. It had no tomato or other acid to offset the cheese, and also it was under salted. I did find the brie or camembert to be interesting, but overall It was lacking.

[helou]

My daughter, a fussy eater ever since she was little (in a good sense - she likes only good food) ate there a couple of days ago and said it was absolutely the best pizza she's ever had.
She also reported that there was a line, and there were many Asians and Hispanics too.

[zsero]

Do they sell by the slice or do you have to buy a whole pie?

[jasonld]

Sold by the pie only. Neopolitan pizza is smaller than normal pizza; the pie is 10" in diameter. A pie can feed one person, or it can feed two people who don't want a full meal.

[CWY]

I ate there this evening. Best pizza I've ever had.

[PotatoPuff]

What are their hours? And what is the actual name of the restaurant?

[ahuva]

11 - 9, pizza de solo

[jasonld]

Actually it's official name is "Pizza da Solo" (de is Spanish, da is Italian).

[PotatoPuff]

Thanks ahuva! Any word as to if it is open motzei shabbat?

[Kosher Critic]

Stopped in today - I'm slipping, being that I only made it for day #2. (Actually, I looked in a few weeks back while they were remodeling.) The pizza was great. First, the dough is excellent - a bit of chewiness with just a wisp of char. The sauce is brighter than any pizza sauce I have had locally and the cheese is very good, though I believe that mine was missing the promised parmesan. There were too few fried basil leaves for my tastes but the couple I received were welcome. I devoured the entire thing quite quickly (not including the box) because I do not know how long the neighborhood will sustain a high end kosher pizza shop. I look forward to trying several of the varieties on the menu.

The kale caesar salad was only disappointing in that it was not made with any kale, much less the advertized black kale. Nonetheless, it was tasty and I would be happy with another. If I had any comments it would be that the lemon-garlic dressing could use a bit more lemon and some pepper.

[jasonld]

I had a Margherita pizza today. Delicious! Menu attached.

[PotatoPuff]

So excited! Was it super crowded? Is there seating?

[Dfood10]

The restaurant has no seating of its own but it's located in the Sony Atrium which has seating available to the public.

[jasonld]

There were a decent number of people there, and that was around 2:45PM. It is a very small place, takeout only. It is right next to Solo in the atrium of the Sony Building though; there is a large communal area right there with plenty of seating and tables. Photo attached of the storefront. You can see the head chef, pizzaiola Giulio Adriani in the center. Note that when I left about 10-15 minutes later, there were more people than in the photo. I must have gotten there at a small lull.

[ahuva]

i was there today with my two kids. we had the margherita pizza and the funghi pizza - the cost was a little more than if we had stayed on avenue j, but tastewise you couldn't compare - the solo pizza was MUCH better. my kids - who, as kids, can be picky eaters - loved their pizza. (okay, fine, they picked off the basil - green scares them). there was plenty of seating in the atrium, and it was nice to not be sitting on top of the other diners in the atrium, as so often happens in flatbush-boro park pizza shops. a great shushan purim excursion, and will definitely be going back!

[PotatoPuff]

oh wow! I'M SO EXCITED! I just hope the pricing isn't so bad that we can rarely eat there.

[cheesecake17]

The truffle pie is $38

[Dfood10]

A plain margherita pie is $9.

[seikoloco]

From the article>>>

"Finding flour and San Marzano tomatoes that were kosher was a challenge, Mr. Adriani said, but the mozzarella and ricotta are made in-house."

Its hard to find kosher flour???

[avitrek]

They are apparently using a high end pizza flour. I imagine that could be hard to find kosher.

[jrfigo]

Actually they use Molino Caputo flour, which is widely available in the US. Additionally there is a large variety of kosher San Marzano canned tomatoes in the US as well. The article was just a PR spin.

[israeliproducts]

I've been looking all over for 00 pizza flour with a good hechsher. Is Molino Caputo flour actually kosher? No one lists it that way online...? Who certifies it?