West Village Pizza: OliO Packs the House but $21 Campagnola Pie Fails
July 28, 2010
On its second day of official business, OliO greeted NYC Food Guy with a full house, bar and all. But while the 1,000 degree oven churned out pies like the brightly flavored Margherita ($12) by the minute, not even the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the governing body of Neapolitan pizza, could prevent the disaster that was the Campagnola ($21) pie. It was the inclusion of burrata on this pie that intrigued me as I’d never had this wet, creamy mozzarella on a pizza. And pairing it with parma prosciutto, arugula and parmesan seemed fool-proof enough. There’s no complaining about the size of the pie, its sufficient for two, but when dealing with authentic Neapolitan pizza, sometimes less is more. Parma prosciutto doesn’t benefit from being sliced any way other than paper thin. OliO’s slices of parma required not just a bite, but a hand – to keep the ham in place while you tear at the thick, fat-streaked pieces. The confusion continued as the overabundant bed of arugula combined with the sharp parmesan to completely eclipse any flavor or texture the delicate burrata attempted to provide. The result is a soggy slice that leaves more fallen on the plate than in your mouth. The dough at OliO is delicious – pliant, slightly charred and mildly smokey – just go easy on the toppings.
OliO, 3 Greenwich Ave nr. Sixth Ave, New York, NY 10011 212-243-6546
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