Marta

Danny Meyer's newest darling Marta has been getting a lot of press lately.  The wait time for dinner reaches epic proportions so I decided to stop in on an off hour... about 4:55 PM on a Monday. Just about any restaurant in Manhattan would be dead at this hour but Marta was easily over 50% capacity.



Possibly it was the guests of the Martha Washington Hotel eating an early supper or maybe just the fact that pizza is good just about any time of day.



I took a seat at the bar overlooking the open kitchen...perfect for watching all those pizzas get churned out...


...not to mention the grilled meat on the open grill to the left.  Just be warned it becomes an incredibly hot seat.  The pizza is menu is divided into two categories Rosso & Bianche.  This is perfect for those people who love a good pie but loathe that tomato sauce.


I always start with the basics my first time at a new pizza joint although I went a slight step above here with the Margherita Di Bufala .


This pizza is similar to Di Fara's in that they add fresh basil on top and a drizzle of olive oil right at the end.  The similaties end there however where DiFara's is more of a classic pie this is done in the rustic tradition of a Roman pizzeria with an ultra thin, crackly crust that gives no bend at all. Just try to fold this pizza in half...you'll just hear one loud crack.



I'm  huge fan of the cracker crust...it was easily the best part of the pizza for me.  While all of the other ingredients were fresh and tasty it wasn't anything outstanding that would warrent a long wait in line.  However it is a damn good pie.


One of the most amazing things I noticed during my meal wasn't only the well appointed beer list Marta had but how many poeple in the resturant were all drinking the same thing.  Westbrook Gose was sitting at almost every table. This style of beer was virtually extinct three years ago so to see so many people enjoying it was really awesome.  Big props to Danny Meyer for continuing to have such a progressive beer list at all of his establishments. 

29 East 29th St. btw. Madison and Park Avenue
New York, NY10016

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