Adrienne’s Pizza Bar
Square must be the new round judging by Adrienne’s, a stylish joint venture from father-and-son restaurateurs Harry and Peter Poulakakos (Bayard’s, Financier Patisserie, Ulysses) and Nick Angelis of Nick’s Pizza fame. Although his superb signature round pie is on the menu, the big news is that Angelis has delved into the rarefied world of thin-crust square, or “grandma”-style pizza. Inspired by Brooklyn’s Di Fara and its thin-crust Sicilian pie as well as the trend-setting grandma version at King Umberto’s on Long Island, he’s crafted a pizza that—dare we say it?—could surpass them both.
ADRIENNE'S PIZZA BAR Location:54 Stone Street, in Manhattan's Financial District Phone: 212-248-3838
Just finished up what promises to be the first of many lunches here. Went by myself during lunch from work so as to not be distracted by inanities like friendly banter, talk about work, etc. Sat at the spacious bar, which is set up for dining. EVERYBODY at the bar was doing the "Old Fashioned," a.k.a., your Grandmamma's pie. It's the one I'd read up on, and it'll probably become a trend in local 'zzarias, judging from the style's popularity. It's basically a thin-crust Sicilian, made in a rectangular pan and resulting in rectangular slices. Because I love the taste, I added anchovies only to my half-pie (5 slices, a reasonable amount for the typical pizza lover given the relatively small size of each slice). Total cost was $7.50 for the half-pie, plus $1.50 for a single half-pie topping. VERY CHEAP based on the quality! Everything about my pizza, crust, doneness/char quotient, sauce, cheese and fish, was excellent, really top-notch. Not surprising given the Nick Angelis pedigree, all told. Walk-through space with entrances on both sides (address is on Stone). As Ossie Davis would say, though, it was "hot as the blazes" inside. Doesn't help that there was no a/c coupled with the 'za oven going on at one end. Even though I'm an a/c fan (no pun), it wasn't enough to diminish my enthuasiasm for the end product (or that of the many other patrons there).
I just went for lunch today. It's only been open around a week, it was jam packed. The pizza was good - not even close to DiFara's, but that's a high standard. Pie's were all square, either a half or whole. $7.50 for the half would easily fill you up for lunch.
I would go back, but I'm not going to rush down there.
I ate there last Friday for dinner. It should be clear that they offer regular round pies (albeit smaller than average). The square pies weren't even on the menu and our waitress commented that they're generally ordered as appetizers while round pies, pastas, etc. make up the main course.
Anyway, we had a square pie, a round margherita pie, and a round four-cheese pie. I actually enjoyed the margherita the most. They did a great job on the crust and the ingredients all around were top-notch. I enjoyed the grandma's pie, but wasn't overwhelmed (it also came to our table luke-warm, which certainly affected my perception).
The atmosphere was a bit formal for my taste and had the feeling of a "scene", but given the classy image they're trying to project I was surprised how cheap our final tab was. Overall I was very happy with my experience and would certainly go again.
Went back again today, with 2 colleagues. There was a wait at lunch, and the bar area was full. Host was very accomodating and a pro. Well worth the wait, again. I discovered that they do serve pizza by the slice at a counter in the rear by the pizza oven. Also, some flux with the menu. All of the pies on the menu with a preprogrammed set of toppings were not available. Frankly, I also thought that they were unnecessary. What was available were the four basic types of pies, and a host of design-your-own toppings, with which you could easily replicate most if not all of the prefab pies. Must've been getting confusing in the kitchen. Today, 3 of us (one light eater in the bunch) banged out some salads and an Old Fashioned with prosciutto and mixed roasted peppers. Nick Angelis was sweating it up behind the counter, and his touch could be observed on tabletops as far as the eye could see: beautiful pies! BIG NEWS: the a/c was back on and in good shape, so altogether, another great meal!
Looking forward to trying Adrienne's next time I'm in the city. I'm glad there's a good pizza place in that neighborhood.
However, as one of the comments above says, I see and hear so many times the phrase "not even close to Di Fara." I have yet to been there; is it the best pizza in the New York area? I love Grimaldi's but keep hearing Di Fara better.
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5 Comments:
Just finished up what promises to be the first of many lunches here. Went by myself during lunch from work so as to not be distracted by inanities like friendly banter, talk about work, etc. Sat at the spacious bar, which is set up for dining. EVERYBODY at the bar was doing the "Old Fashioned," a.k.a., your Grandmamma's pie. It's the one I'd read up on, and it'll probably become a trend in local 'zzarias, judging from the style's popularity. It's basically a thin-crust Sicilian, made in a rectangular pan and resulting in rectangular slices. Because I love the taste, I added anchovies only to my half-pie (5 slices, a reasonable amount for the typical pizza lover given the relatively small size of each slice). Total cost was $7.50 for the half-pie, plus $1.50 for a single half-pie topping. VERY CHEAP based on the quality! Everything about my pizza, crust, doneness/char quotient, sauce, cheese and fish, was excellent, really top-notch. Not surprising given the Nick Angelis pedigree, all told. Walk-through space with entrances on both sides (address is on Stone). As Ossie Davis would say, though, it was "hot as the blazes" inside. Doesn't help that there was no a/c coupled with the 'za oven going on at one end. Even though I'm an a/c fan (no pun), it wasn't enough to diminish my enthuasiasm for the end product (or that of the many other patrons there).
Slice La Famiglia Brambilla at 1:37PM on 06/08/05
I just went for lunch today. It's only been open around a week, it was jam packed. The pizza was good - not even close to DiFara's, but that's a high standard. Pie's were all square, either a half or whole. $7.50 for the half would easily fill you up for lunch.
I would go back, but I'm not going to rush down there.
Slice Shorts at 2:02PM on 06/08/05
I ate there last Friday for dinner. It should be clear that they offer regular round pies (albeit smaller than average). The square pies weren't even on the menu and our waitress commented that they're generally ordered as appetizers while round pies, pastas, etc. make up the main course.
Anyway, we had a square pie, a round margherita pie, and a round four-cheese pie. I actually enjoyed the margherita the most. They did a great job on the crust and the ingredients all around were top-notch. I enjoyed the grandma's pie, but wasn't overwhelmed (it also came to our table luke-warm, which certainly affected my perception).
The atmosphere was a bit formal for my taste and had the feeling of a "scene", but given the classy image they're trying to project I was surprised how cheap our final tab was. Overall I was very happy with my experience and would certainly go again.
Slice Greg at 1:13PM on 06/09/05
Went back again today, with 2 colleagues. There was a wait at lunch, and the bar area was full. Host was very accomodating and a pro. Well worth the wait, again. I discovered that they do serve pizza by the slice at a counter in the rear by the pizza oven. Also, some flux with the menu. All of the pies on the menu with a preprogrammed set of toppings were not available. Frankly, I also thought that they were unnecessary. What was available were the four basic types of pies, and a host of design-your-own toppings, with which you could easily replicate most if not all of the prefab pies. Must've been getting confusing in the kitchen. Today, 3 of us (one light eater in the bunch) banged out some salads and an Old Fashioned with prosciutto and mixed roasted peppers. Nick Angelis was sweating it up behind the counter, and his touch could be observed on tabletops as far as the eye could see: beautiful pies! BIG NEWS: the a/c was back on and in good shape, so altogether, another great meal!
Slice La Famiglia Brambilla at 4:48PM on 06/09/05
Looking forward to trying Adrienne's next time I'm in the city. I'm glad there's a good pizza place in that neighborhood.
However, as one of the comments above says, I see and hear so many times the phrase "not even close to Di Fara." I have yet to been there; is it the best pizza in the New York area? I love Grimaldi's but keep hearing Di Fara better.
Slice Boston's Hidden Restaurants at 4:23PM on 06/16/05