Don’t worry! I haven’t stopped eating NYC pizza, I’ve just forgotten to write about it recently. But I’m back. And here we go.
Louie and Chan is a cool seasonally-inspired restaurant in Chinatown. And while the menu isn’t Chinese, there are Asian influences throughout the heavily Italian-flavored menu.
The decor was dark and cozy with a definite au current speakeasy-ish vibe in the deep red walls, dark wooden bar, vintage blown glass diner lighting and long banquettes. Apparently there is a DJed lounge beneath, serving up Chinese-inspired cocktails, but we unfortunately did not venture down below.
What was unexpected was that the menu headings were listed in Italian (i.e. Le Paste) and that wood-fired pizzas were heavily featured. Needless to say, I was delighted.
Also because, burrata. Have we discussed my obsession with trying allllll the burratas. I somehow cannot pass it up when offered. Which is pretty much always these days.
For those that don’t know, burrata is a non-aged Italian cheese, generally with a tougher mozzarella-type exterior and a softer ricotta-like interior. It’s pretty much a less-dense ball of mozzarella. Healthy. It is delightful when served with large salt crystals, which is de rigueur.
The cheese was delish, however the slab of sourdough it was served upon was a little tooooo slab-ish. Which is to say rather large and overwhelming to slice.
The pizza we had for the table was the Bacio del Diavola which they are known for: a classic Neapolitan wood-fired crust preparation, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, chilies, ‘nduja (a spicy salami) and honey.
It was divine. Spicy pork and chilies next to the cool cheese and sweet honey. Yes. I would go back for this. And this time I wouldn’t share it.
Pizza. Yum.
