A crowd favorite: Otto

Such a simple, but tasty pizza at Otto.

I have been going to Mario Batali’s cheapest restaurant, Otto, ever since I moved into the city after college. Whoever I take along ends up becoming a fan of this large, loud, warm, affordable and delicious restaurant. I’ve had a few birthday dinners here. In fact, I would probably have my birthday here every year if I didn’t have to worry about my guests getting bored.

Otto is great for large parties and has a very extensive wine list. In fact, their wine list is much longer than their food menu. If you’re a wine and pizza lover, then I highly recommend this restaurant. Since this restaurant is hugely popular, I recommend making reservations if you don’t want to wait 1.5 hours for a table for two. When you first enter the restaurant, you are in the enoteca area of the restaurant. If you are there during the weekend, I guarantee it will be extremely loud due to the number of people in the restaurant. I would not recommend going on a first date at Otto as you’ll most definitely have trouble hearing your date. After getting over the fact just how busy and loud the restaurant is, you’ll see the large train schedule which will have Italian cities listed and a time. Whether you make a reservation or not, you will be handed a train ticket when checking in with the hostess. When your train ticket’s city shows up on the train schedule, then it’s time for you to be seated. I find the train schedule really cute and reminds me of Italy.

If you end up having a long wait, I suggest getting getting a table in the bar area. Order a couple glasses of wine and maybe a cheese platter. I just want to tell all my readers that my absolute favorite cheese at Otto is Taleggio. It’s a soft and spreadable cheese, which goes perfectly with the very crusty bread. Otto also has great antipasti and I highly recommend the Cauliflower “alla Siciliana”. I don’t even know how to describe it other than being delicious.

Once you are finally seated, you will be handed a short menu which lists their everyday pizzas and pastas as well as their specials. My favorite standby pizzas at Otto are the prosciutto arugula and the pane frattau. I only heard about the pane frattau after watching Mario Batali and Michael Stipe on the Iconoclast series on the Sundance Channel a few years ago. Apparently the pane frattau is Michael Stipe’s favorite pizza! After seeing how delicious the pizza looked, my friends and I ordered it and it was truly amazing. It has a perfectly cooked egg, which I’m guessing is placed on the pizza after it’s cooked in the oven, pecorino cheese and tomato sauce. The pizza itself is really simple and delicate. The yolk is a bit gooey so it mixes into the pizza which makes it just perfect. I normally am not a fan of yolky eggs, but I make an exception here. If you’ve never had an egg on a pizza, I really think you should try it at Otto if you get the chance.

The only time I ordered pasta at Otto. It was delicious!

Another reason why I like Otto so much is that the menu is so moderately priced. Pizzas max out at $15. The pastas at $10. I admit that I can remember ordering pasta just once at Otto. I ended up ordering the pasta special of the day which had fettucine, summer corn, guanciale and tomato water. It was delicious. If this pasta is ever the special of the day, please get it. By the time it’s dessert time, I’m usually full with pizza and wine, so I end up getting gelato or sorbet. There are many fans of Otto’s famous olive oil gelato, but I am not one of them. I just don’t like salty and sweet mixed together in anything. Also, I feel like it doesn’t taste like olive oil. If you’re curious, then you should definitely try the olive oil gelato to see for yourself. After writing this post, I’ve decided it’s time for yet another trip to my trusty Otto.

Otto
One Fifth Avenue (between 8th Street and Washington Square North)
New York, NY 10003
212.995.9559
Takes Credit Cards
Reservations recommended

Pizza in New York City

Lombardi's with its forever line

I’m going to be honest, I love almost all pizza. I was raised on Domino’s back on Long Island. I enjoyed their chewy crusts. Their bacon cheeseburger pizza was one of my favorites. The only time I don’t enjoy pizza is when the crust is too thin. I remember the time my family and I went to the famous Eddie’s Pizza in my hometown. I disliked the pizza only because it tasted like eating a pizza cracker. I needed a little more chewiness in my crust. At the same time, I know there are many people who love Eddie’s, I just know it’s not for me!

Once I moved into the big city, I was bombarded with pizza places at every corner. I did my research on the best NY-style pizza places in the city and Lombardi’s and Grimaldi’s showed up in the top of all the reviews. After eating at both restaurants, I personally prefer Grimaldi’s, but it’s in Brooklyn so not that convenient for an Upper Eastsider like myself. I think I prefer the crust because it doesn’t seem to be as soggy as Lombardi’s.

However, this review is going to be dedicated to Lombardi’s, as it is JRA’s favorite pizza place in NYC. We’ve only been to a few NY-style pizza restaurants: Lombardi’s, Patsy’s, Grimaldi’s and Totonno’s, but JRA only wants to go back to Lombardi’s. For those who aren’t familiar with pizza restaurants in NYC, Lombardi’s claims they were America’s First PIzzeria because they opened in 1905. They closed in 1984, but then reopened a block down on Spring Street in 1994. Since Lombardi’s is written in almost every NYC travel guide, it has become quite the tourist trap. I recommend going early for lunch (by 12pm) to avoid the crowds. Also, I went on a Tuesday evening at around 6pm and there was barely a wait. I was pretty surprised.

Sausage and spinach pizza at Lombardi's

Whenever my boyfriend, JRA, visits me, he demands that we make a trip to Lombardi’s. When you walk into the restaurant, you can tell that it has been around for awhile. The decor is very old school. There are checkered plastic tablecloths on all the tables. If you are lucky enough to sit in the far side of the restaurant, you get to walk through the kitchen area. I love seeing all the pizzaioli making fresh pizza. Not only is it very warm in the kitchen, but the it always smells amazing. Since were are now regulars at Lombardi’s, JRA and I usually order the same items from the very simple menu. If we are really hungry, we start with the Caesar Salad which is a good portion for two people. Then we’ll get a large pizza with sausage and some kind of vegetable. If JRA is in the mood, he’ll get a bottle of Magner’s. Then we wait for a great and filling meal. I just want to clarify that I can only eat at most 3 slices of the pizza. JRA has been able to finish the rest of the pizza at times, but lately we always end up with leftovers. The boyfriend is more than happy to bring these leftovers back to Tampa with him. If you never have had NY-style pizza, you should definitely try it whenever you have the chance. I definitely think that if I ever move out of the NY metro area, I will miss the pizza. I have heard of other tasty pizza restaurants in Brooklyn (specifically, Di Fara Pizza), and I hope one day I’ll be able to do a Brooklyn pizza crawl. JRA, are you down?

Lombardi’s Pizza
32 Spring Street (between Mulberry and Mott Streets)
New York, NY 10012
212.941.7994
No reservations
Cash Only – ATM on premises