Review of Vezzo Thin Crust Pizza
by ELENA MANCINI
178 Lexington Ave. @ 31 St.
Murray Hill – 212-839-8300
vezzothincrust.com
In this era of pizza pyrotechnics and continuously sprouting pizzaiolo stardom, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there are still places out there that deliver a good, solid sit-down pizza without the fanfare-induced fuss, long waits and high price tags.
Large Custom Pizza topped with spinach, black olives and shitake mushrooms
Vezzo Thin Crust Pizza is just one of those places and a low-key Murray Hill corner standby with spacious sidewalk seating. For primetime dining time for two on a Saturday evening, the wait was less than five minutes for an indoor table and approx. 20 for a sidewalk table. Although it was a warm but crisp September night, hunger dictated that we opt for the table that would be most rapidly available.
The menu is characterized by a vast variety of thin crust pizzas. While there are a number of pizzas proposed by this menu that I would not even go near such as the Chixpotle and the Big Pineapple–when it comes to pizza, my palate is exceptionally traditionalist when it comes to pizza, Vezzo offers a wide and inviting assortment of toppings and the possibility to order custom pizzas in small and large sizes. The large is a true 16″ pie and yields the standard eight slices. Vezzo’s menu also includes classic Italian appetizers and salads and pastas in limited varieties.
My dining companion and I shared a custom large with a marinara and mozzarella base topped with spinach, shitake mushrooms and black olives. The pizza that our friendly and attentive server brought us was as appetizing as it looked. The crust was cracker thin but without being brittle or too hard. While it was slight, it retained a slight but pleasant measure of chewiness.
The toppings were all unmistakably fresh. The black olives were of the delectable, meaty Kalamata sort. Happily, they were pitted and did not taste as though they were poured out of a can. The mushrooms were not exceedingly aromatic, but they had a snap to them. The spinach was neither overcooked, nor undercooked but scant in its appearance.
The wine list is decent for a pizza restaurant and the beer list, while limited also includes a number of imports.
My dining companion each ordered two glasses of the Pinot Grigio.
It was a very generous pour served very cold and best of all retrogradely priced at $5 a glass.
It made the fact that it was served in a stemless glass seem charming in that homey-non-pretensious way.
All in all, Vezzo made for a very enjoyable, stress-free, affordable evening that cost under $60 after tax and gratuity.
Oh, and if you live or work in the Murray Hill vicinity, Vezzo also delivers.
