Donatella

You could be forgiven for wondering when Eric Ripert and Joel Robuchon will open a little Neapolitan pizza place. New Yorkers' appetite for the good stuff seems endless, as does the line of chefs eager for a seat on the bandwagon. The latest spot has been taken by Donatella Arpaia, the lawyer-turned-food-and-style-maven behind hits like Kefi and Mia Dona. Arpaia threw down the gauntlet by bringing one of Italy's most renowned artisans across the Atlantic to assemble her pizza oven on site in Chelsea. And what an oven: a shining gold beacon that beckons from the street and nearly blinds anyone who stares too long.

We met up with our friend Howard last night to try it out. The service stumbled at times: the hostess had to be talked out of seating the three of us at a table manifestly for two; we overheard one of the servers asking the pizzaiolo how to pronounce the name of a pie; and they cleared one of our plates away while we were still eating, crust in hand. On the upside, Donatella herself patrolled the dining room (in mufti and without makeup, lending an air of earnestness to the occasion) before huddling down in a corner for a bowl of pasta. She should have had the pizza.

We knew we could count on Howard for the margherita report --- excellent, he smiled --- so we chose the carita (anchovies, garlic, and olives) and the diavola (tomatoes, mozzarella, spicy salami, pecorino, and chili oil). Both pies displayed a deft hand with the paddle, showing nice char and hints of crispiness while maintaining a delicate chewiness.

Unsurprisingly, the carita packed a wallop of salt; some bites, in fact, were a bit too salty due to the uneven distribution of the toppings. The diavola had a similar problem --- they clumped all of the basil right in the center, leaving nothing to cut the heat of the salami and chili oil on the rest of the pie. Still, these are tasty pizzas, excellently cooked, smartly conceived, and some small tweaks away from entering our regular rotation.