Pizza at La Pizzetta

***3/14/10 So, La Pizzetta is no longer. A new pizza joint will re-open as of
March 22nd "Under New Management". We shall see.***

There's a newish place called La Pizzetta (145 Atlantic Avenue, between Henry Street and Clinton Street, 718-855-6400) that serves small, personal pizzas, calzones and various Italian appetizers and pasta entrees. They opened last fall and I had been curious to check it out. The first thing I noticed was the decor which is kind of "everyplace USA". It had that generic vibe that makes you feel as if you are in a chain restaurant in some strip mall somewhere, with no specific personality or culture of its own. The light fixtures were sorta cute, made from colanders and cheese graters, but the signs and posters on the walls screamed catalog when they meant to say 'vintage farmstand' and the design on some of the plates was headache inducing. ~sigh~

We started with the Tricolore Salad, made with arugula, endive and radicchio with a balsamic dressing. The dressing seemed more lemon & oil than balsamic but was good, and the ingredients were fresh and had bold flavors. Notice the plate though. We hadn't finished when our waitress came out with our two pizzas, one in each hand, and stood at our table until we picked the salad plate up to make room for the pies. She then took away our not-totally-finished-with salad. Another sigh.



We shared the two pies. One was the Romana which had mozzarella, tomato sauce, anchovies, capers, olives & oregano. The olives were from a can, and the anchovies were a bit tough. The sauce was good though, not at all sweet, which I hate, and with the salty, briny capers it was hard for this to taste badly. The mozzarella was good too, fresh and creamy in a thin layer. I didn't notice any oregano though.



We also got the Marchigiana with Mozarella, Artichokes and goat cheese. This was pretty good, with lots of cheese and yummy artichoke hearts. The crust on both pizzas was nice and thin, crispy and crackly, albeit a bit burnt in some spots.



So, the food was fine, but with a couple of stellar pizza places in the neighborhood and restaurants with a more charming ambiance and capable staff, I can't say I'll be back soon. I did see a lot of parents with kids - perhaps it's an easy, unoffensive place to take picky eaters. It's BYOB though, so stop by the wine shop a few doors down towards Henry before you head over.