Living in a city as food-centric as New York, you’re surrounded by fads: minimalist restaurants charging twenty bucks for a leaf of kale or one gluten-free cookie the size of an Altoid. Pizza Vinoteca is not one of those restaurants.
Located on 15th Street between Fifth and University, Pizza Vinoteca is a hidden gem nestled in the side streets of Union Square, making the sheer size of the place all the more surprising. Spanning two floors, the high ceilings and simple color scheme give it the air of futuristic cafeteria. While that might seem to be similar to all the other minimalist fad places out there, Pizza Vinoteca has many qualities that make it different (and better) than the rest.
First off, the service is fabulous. Not only do you order using a set of iPads given to your table, but each and every waiter and waitress is extremely amiable and accommodating, especially when it comes to giving recommendations about one delicious item after another. One personal recommendation would be the veal meatballs, which bounce their way to you in a plate filled with mouthwatering tomato sauce and housemade rosemary focaccia. Get as much as that sauce as possible onto the bread they give you: it’s liquid gold.
Speaking of liquid gold, have I mentioned wine list been yet? No? Well here it is: wines can be sold by the half-glass in order for a better hit to the pallet and a lesser punch to the wallet. The wines are served from the back wall labeled according to flavoring, the countries ranging from Italy to France to Austria. It’s delightful, is what it is.
Finally, the main attraction; pizza. Served on flat pans, the crust is thin and the ingredients fresh, making it seem like the pies were picked right from the Pizza Tree. Another personal recommendation: get the mushroom and the cheese. They send your taste buds into such state they might cry at the end. Salty and cheesy without sending your blood pressure through the roof and your mouth screaming for water, you can practically taste each individual slice of mozzarella, mushroom, garlic, and leafy greens as if you were sampling it from the grocery store.
That’s exactly Pizza Vinoteca’s main draw: it’s ingredients. What sets Pizza Vinoteca apart is that it’s very Italian ingredients are, in fact, American, something general manager Flynn Hoban defines as an “old-style Italian with an American twist.”
“It’s all American-driven,” he states, “There are all these great products around the country–cheese from the Bronx, tomatoes from Jersey and California– that no one really taps in to. We keep everything as American as possible…except the wine, of course.”
There you have it: the prices are cheap, the atmosphere edgy, the staff friendly, and the food everything food should be (plus more). The average college student should visit Pizza Vinoteca at least once in their college career, it being everything a budget and a hungry stomach can ask for.
Oh…and don’t forget the ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Life’s too short to cut calories.
For more information visit http://www.pizzavinoteca.com/
Photo Cred: iPhone 5C
Model: Gina Dimuro, darling sister