PIZZA REVIEW: Simò Pizza

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

One pizza area I never explored in NYC were those dollar slice joints. They really gained in popularity after my official pizza journey cooled. I was eating at DiFara and Lombardi’s well before anyone was hawking slices for 99 cents.

And amazingly, I have still yet to try one of those dirt cheap slices. Perhaps I’m a snob (I am), but I am pretty convinced that none of them are the best pizza in NYC. And my late night drinking days are way behind me. So why bother?

Yet I’m all for paying lower prices, so Simò Pizza in the Meatpacking District was somewhat intriguing to me. I had read about it when they opened as a novelty to be selling high-quality individual Neapolitan pies for under $10. Most of the wood-fired pies in the city are in the range of $15-$25. So $10 is most certainly a deal.

I found my way here because I was in the neighborhood with my family and we needed something quick (and cheap) to eat before my son threw a fit. And pizza almost always helps.

The room was a lot smaller than I had expected and it’s built like most casual slice joints in the city except the ingredients, wood fired oven, and presentation are more in line with sit-down Italian restaurants.

A steady group of tourists coming to or from the High Line and a few locals on a quick lunch filled up the room.

After ninety seconds in the oven (although a lot longer before the pie got assembled and put in the oven, I had my Margherita.

It came out looking a bit sloppier than some pies of this caliber. The cheese wasn’t nearly as blobby or melted as expected and the bottom char was a bit spotty with white (as opposed to a darker) crust. But I really don’t care too much about looks.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think the flavor helped much. The biggest problem was the salt level. Signs around the restaurant proclaimed they do not add any sugar to their dough or sauce. Great, but it seemed like they felt the need to overcompensate with salt.

The dough, as I mentioned, could have been more charred. I know 90 seconds is the standard for a Neapolitan pie when the oven is hot enough, but if it’s not ready, then another 30 seconds might be in order.

It wasn’t a bad pizza, especially for the price. And my wife’s gluten-free Prosciutto e Rucola pie actually fared much better. So maybe the key is to load up on the toppings, while still keeping the price low.

After all this, I think I’ll still pass on those dollar slices, thank you very much.

Is Simò Pizza the best pizza in NY? Based on its margherita. it’s a somewhat decent Neapolitan option, but it stays at a 6 out of 10 for me since a lack of char and a heavy hand with the salt shaker got in the way.