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
Menu [PDF]
Posted in OliO, WEST VILLAGE
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July 28th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Hungry
July 28th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Here the adage regarding the uses of a picture proves true again. A simple glance tells you there’s too much here, which inevitably means too little. To my mind, prosciutto never improves with heat. Having visited Naples twice and eaten a lot of pizza, I was always delighted by the virtues of simplicity. This level of complication seems designed for those who who are accustomed to confuse stuffing one’s face with eating.
August 2nd, 2010 at 3:39 am
The components of that pie really do sound great. It’s unfortunate that the execution just wasn’t there. This looks like an interesting spot, though; I may check it out.
August 9th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Hi, i am Giulio Adriani, the pizzaiolo inventor of this pie.. I would like to apologize for the problem, it is something we fixed, cause in the first days of opening we had a problem with the slicer and we cutted the prosciutto with the knife… Obviously i know very well that Prosciutto exalt itself with the thin slice and i corrected..
About the wet dough, i think this is a characteristic itself of the neapolitan pizza, we like in Napoli to make the “scarpetta” (eating with the border of the pizza the sauce that the pizza leaves at the center) and that’s why the center is wet, but i agree with you and corrected the problem, we were using a type of burrata too wet, now we are draining it and the final result is very good. The campagnola is our best seller pizza..
I apologize again for the problem and invite you to try it again
Ciao
Giulio
August 20th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Olio was one of the worst meals I’ve had in a long time. Soggy pizza – I mean, you couldn’t even pick it up – and an unbelievably rude wait staff. I can’t imagine they’ll last long in that prime location.
November 22nd, 2010 at 7:27 pm
If you who had a less than favorable experience- try giving the place another shot. Friendly staff (including the manager Dan, who came out to chat with each of the patrons for a while, and a waiter with a well balanced approach), understated elegance and flavorful (but not over the top) pairing make for a classy yet cozy spot. Another tip- visit during the early to mid week late lunch/ early dinner for more personal attention.
June 27th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Very interesting pizza. I love how the toppings are not cooked, and are fresh and raw! Very creative! I think this new condiment called Onion Crunch would be unique to this pizza (and others), because it is extremely crunchy in texture too. Here: http://www.onioncrunch.com
September 22nd, 2011 at 8:18 am
We’re sorry…but we found it hard to read this post because of the delicious image you posted having a staring contest with us. Prosciutto on a pizza? We’re sold! We’re going to have to give OliO a try soon. Thanks for the suggestion!
July 2nd, 2013 at 7:50 pm
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