Coal-burning ovens are hot commodities for pizza makers (since city codes prohibit new coal ovens from being built). The only way to get one is to inherit it—which is what happened at Luzzo’s, Michele Luzzo’s East Village pizzeria. Exceedingly thin and crisp, minimally slicked with a sweet and tangy tomato sauce, Michele’s pizzas have captured all for years.
Pizza is the simplest food but also the most diabolic. It can capture you with a bite. But making it is not as easy as eating it. You have to be a real master. At Luzzo’s this is not an issue. Each slice is a slice of culinary heaven. Even Martha Stewart (who has a pizza featuring truffles named after her on the menu) says so…and if Martha says it! She even ended up on page 6 of the New York Post and Mr. Luzzo was featured on the show.
Through the years Luzzo’s has become a favorite of many and, needless to say, the request for his pizzas has incessantly increased, so that recently, he had to open a new location on the opposite side of town.
Chelsea is a neighborhood that has it all – nightlife, art, shopping, and recreation at the Piers. And, of course, a happening restaurant scene. For this reason, Michele Luzzo, has ventured to this neighborhood and inaugurated the city’s first Pizzoteca (the name combines the two Italian words Pizzeria and Enoteca): Ovest.
Located right by Bungalow 8, Amy Sacco's private lounge that offers its platinum-carrying clientele anything from a haircut to a helicopter ride home, Ovest (513 West 27 Street, between 10 and 11 Ave) is an eatery that brings a slice of Italy to NY.
Ovest is taking the place of an old garage so during renovations a lot of the characteristics of the previous location were kept intact, including the immense glass window/door that faces the street. The inside, designed by Italian architect Matias Sagaria, is a juxtaposition of modern and rustic, where typical New York bricks warm the space filled with linear and clean-cut wood fixtures. As it is surrounded by clubs, Ovest is also embracing music and its designers have created a special DJ corner where music is played for the customers’ enjoyment.
The well-deserved spotlight is given to the pizza oven. That’s where most of the magic happens – where the burning fire can elevate a pie to greatness by perfectly charring the crust and imparting a smoky flavor. The menu features all the traditional pizzas that we have all grown to love and cherish: Margherita, Quattro Stagioni, Marinara, Quattro Formaggi, Ortolana and Diavola, and some mew creations like Pizza Fritta (fried pizza).
The ingredients mix in such a harmonious way that for sure nobody has tasted anything that equals it. Mr. Luzzo, enjoys talking about his venture, but there is no way to find out his secrets. Well, like with all other chefs, a secret is a secret. Legend says that he asked his wife to lock him in the kitchen of their apartment and he would get out only when he has perfectly replicated the taste of the pizza his Neapolitan grandmother used to make for him. It took three days and three nights, then he was able to get out. That’s the pizza we all eat today, night after night, when we go there.
The rich yet simple menu offers amazing pizzas (the classics and some more contemporary pies), Neapolitan specialties and sandwiches. The place is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from Sundays to Wednesdays, while from Thursdays through Saturdays it is open for 24 hours featuring, from midnight to 6 am, a Late Nite menu of solely pizzas and sandwiches. The weekend also sees the introduction of a special brunch that is a fusion of American Contemporary cuisine and Italian breakfast.
Aperitivo alla milanese is served weekdays from 4.00 to 8.00 pm. The experience of the aperitivo is a consolidated Italian tradition. Literally, aperitivo is a pre-meal drink whose scope is to stimulate appetite, but it has come to signify the ritual of going out for a drink at one of the many bars that offer it throughout the peninsula.
Just like the bars in Milan, Ovest serves a wide variety of finger food, piadinas and pizzas cut into bite-sized portions will be served along with tiny sandwiches. And just like in Milan, customers will be charged for the wine or drinks, but not for the food, which is there to complement the bar offering. The bar will feature Italian classic cocktails like Negroni, Spritz and Americano. For Italians in the USA it is synonymous of home and for American themselves, it means Italy and a desirable lifestyle.
With Ovest, Michele Luzzo’s goal is to attract a different clientele depending to the time of the day – at daytime the population of artists and fashionistas that mingle in the galleries and showrooms of Chelsea, while at night all the jet setters and party goers that have made of 27th street one of the hippest blocks in Manhattan.
Natasha Lardera
