DISH OF THE WEEK: Mushroom Pie at Massoni

My search for the best pizza in New York continues….

SADLY, MASSONI IS NOW CLOSED.

It was one of my vegetarian days (Mondays and Thursdays for those keeping count) and I was intensely craving mushrooms. If there was a place I could think of that just served well-sauteed wild mushrooms, I would have ordered two portions. The closest place I could find was Massoni. This is a fancy-ish pizza place inside one of the hippest hotels in the city.

The chef overseeing it is Dale Talde who is famous for competing on Top Chef but also headlining a number of well-received restaurants over the years. I tend to like his food, but lately he has been going where the trends are and curating rooftop bars and the likes.

Turns out he still has the touch because the mushroom pizza I tried at Massoni was truly incredible.

I sat at the bar and the bartender gave me the option of getting a quick slice from the take out area in the lobby or waiting about 25 minutes for a full pie. I decided to invest the time and glad I did because I even had some pizza to take home.

There was a bit more refinement to this pie. It was hearty dough with crunchy ends, but the ingredients were certainly well prepared. The mushrooms used are meaty maitake (possibly my favorite) along with honshimeji and they are cooked down to release all their smoky, earthy flavors. To balance that, in place of tomato sauce, a French onion mascarpone provides plenty of rich sweetness. and the entire thing is heavily blanketed in stretchy mozzarella (both regular and smoked) and topped with thyme.

It’s a big pizza with tons of flavor that hits both the high and low brow. It’s truly the best of both worlds. And it fits my twice biweekly vegetarian diet without being diet food at all. Price: $17

Is Massoni the best pizza in NY? Based on this crave-worthy mushroom pie, it’s a serious contender and gets a 9 out of 10.   I’ll have to come back to try more pies.