Tenute Rubino > Wine of Apulia > Ovest pizzoteca: Italian Style in NYC

Ovest – Pizzoteca

Pizza is one of the best-known Italian foods in the world. Wherever you go you can now find a pizzeria where you can experience the allure of eating Italian food. Eating in an Italian restaurant is unequivocally classy and elegant and this is reflected in the success of the Italian catering industry in the most exclusive quarters in the world.

Italian ex pats are professional in their trades, especially when it comes to cuisine. Their cuisine is characterized by numerous foods which enjoy the Dop trademark – they are unique, excellent and unequaled – unfortunately many foods are marketed as authentically Italian when they are not. This is frequently the case with pizza, which is now made everywhere in different ways – sometimes indecent ways indeed, which try to imitate true Italian-ness. Pizza is a simple food but when the right ingredients are used and it is baked in a wood-fired oven at the right temperature, it can be mouthwatering and it can capture you from the first bite.

There’s an area in New York, west of the Chelsea district in Manhattan, where the combination of Italian pizza and America has one of its highest achievement. Until recently this area was marginal, less appreciated and not frequented by many people, but today it is bustling thanks to the opening of new shops, art galleries and offices. Among the first to breathe new life into the image of the area, just over a year ago, was Pizzoteca Ovest, whose name combines the reference to its West side location (Ovest means West in Italian) with the variety of its culinary offer: pizzeria, paninoteca - Italian for panini bar and enoteca - Italian for wine shop - all in one.

Ovest is a brand new eating place, a popular destination for a multitude of "beautiful people" who work in fashion, design and art. It’s the latest of a string of restaurants opened by Michele Iuliano, who is originally from Naples and who has been successful in New York thanks to the quality of his pizza and from the word of mouth of his customers. It’s a triumph of good taste that brought him to the East Village first and now to the West Village. Ovest is located in a converted old garage. The interior, designed by Italian architect Matias Sagar, is a mix of modern and old-style architecture and it highlights the typical New York bricks.

What makes Ovest special is the excellent quality of the ingredients used in the pizza: tomatoes, flour, mozzarella cheese and fresh vegetables are delivered to Ovest’s kitchen on a weekly basis directly from Italy, which ensures freshness and first-class quality.

The same degree of creativity and respect goes into the pizza at Ovest as the other dishes on the menu. Like any self-respecting pizza maker, Iuliano also has his closely guarded secrets, which are based on an obsessive attention to detail, the natural rising of the dough (his own personal recipe) and careful cooking methods.

The pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven, according to proper Neapolitan tradition, which drastically reduces cooking time and gives pizza a crispier crust while leaving the rest of the base softer. Also, the short cooking time does not allow the crust to get too dry, preserving the elasticity of the dough and the full flavor of the ingredients.

The mix of the high-quality ingredients that are used as toppings reflects the Neapolitan tradition, but you will also find some interesting new combinations. In addition to the traditional Italian pizzas such as Margherita, Quattro Stagioni, Marinara, Quattro Formaggi, Ortolana and Diavola, the menu also boasts some of Iuliano’s own creations - his delicious Panini, baguettes, focaccia and ciabatta breads. These are true delicacies based on the variety of the traditional Italian produce, from cheeses to meats, from preserves to vegetables. Italian specialties like pasta and salads are also on offer.

The Wine list and The Aperitivo

Drinking wine with pizza is very popular in the US. They know this at Ovest and therefore it is not surprising that pizza is frequently served with excellent wine there. This would be an unusual combination for an Italian, but it is very common in North America. Even though it is a small pizzeria, Ovest boasts a wine list composed of over forty Italian wines: you will find bubbly, white, red and rosé wines that come from the regions of Italian that historically have made wine such as Veneto, Piedmont and Tuscany, but also from emerging territories like Puglia and Sicily.

While drinking wine with pizza has been an American habit for some time now, what is becoming fashionable at Ovest is drinking wine separate from a meal; this is a traditional Italian habit known as aperitif. Just as in Italian bars, aperitif is served with a wide selection of finger foods: piadine,slices of pizza and small panini. The drinks range from the classic Italian cocktails Negroni, Americano and Spritz to goblets of Italian wines, selected by quality and territory.

A special evening of wine tasting is scheduled for April 27. Organized on the initiative of Tenute Rubino, one of the most prestigious wineries of Salento in the Puglia region, it will be a tribute to the wines made in Salento: the Susumaniello, the Primitivo and the Malvasia Bianca.

The outstanding quality and the wine making tradition of Puglia will be championed by excellent red and white wines: from the legendary Torre Testa, a pure Susumaniello, a gem of this Salento wine maker, a true top-of-the-range wine, to the cool, brilliant Giancola white, an unrivaled fragrant, flavor-rich white Malvasia. Afterwards, you will be able to taste another soft and elegant red wine, the Punta Aquila, a sublime, spicy and mineral pure Primitivo. In closing, a hint of sweet with the Aleatico from Tenute Rubino, a balanced dessert wine with good acidity, an ideal companion to end a true Italian meal. Here are the details of the Aperitivo menu of the evening.

Wine pairing
Torre Testa, GT Salento (pure Susumaniello);
Giancòla, IGT Salento (pure Malvasia bianca);
Punta Aquila, IGT Salento (pure Primitivo);
Aleatico, IGT puglia (pure Aleatico).

Menu
Melanzane alla campagnola
Affettati e formaggi misti
Orecchiette con cime di rapa
Focaccine cipolla, olive nere e pomodoro
Frittelle d’acciughe
Frittelle di Ricotta
Spaghetti alla zappatore
Frittata di Spaghetti
Fruste ripiene di mozzarella salsiccia e Broccoli rape
Melanzane a Fungheti
Insalata di patate
Peperonata
Friselle al pomodoro ed olio extra vergine
Orechiette al pesto di Rucola e Peperoncino
Parmigiana di Carciofi
Pizze

Ovest Pizzoteca by Luzzo
513 W. 27th Street, btw 10th & 11th avenue
New York, NY 10001
p. 212 967 4392 | f. 212 967 4099
www.ovestnyc.com - info@ovestnyc.com