A pizza breakthrough at Motorino

Saturday was bright and sunny... and cold. How to spend the afternoon when being outside wasn't so appealing? How about a trip to the East Village for pizza? I've been meaning to take AV to the city's iconic pizza places, and since he was game, off we went to Motorino for a pizza experience.

I anticipated that we might face a significant wait, but turned out there was a two-top waiting for us when we arrived. We wedged in, placed our order, and sat through about a half-hour wait while activity swirled all around us. After about 25 minutes, we still hadn't received our drinks, so we asked again, and the friendly waiter, suitably apologetic, brought them right away. We really wanted them, see, 'cause they were cute little Diet Cokes in old school glass bottles. Smooth and satisfying.

Glass bottles = extra delicious

A few minutes after our drinks landed, AV's margherita pie arrived. Readers, this stuff was all it was cracked up to be: the crust was out of this world, thin under the toppings (appropriately spiced tomato sauce, pools of heavenly melted fresh mozz, a sprinkling of crackled basil) and thick, airy, and charred at the crust. AV was in raptures, and I joined him with a few modest bites.

A thing of beauty

Obligatory upskirt shot

So, it's truly too bad Motorino is so inaccessible from both of our hoods; it's certainly a go-to place if you're anywhere nearby. Or maybe it's not so bad, since it's not cheap ($14 for AV's pie), nor is it probably particularly healthy. But as four-Offset-Spatula Saturday pizza lunch destination, it's incomparable.

And thus begins the grand NYC iconic pizza tour. Where should we go next, readers? Di Fara? Artichoke? Let me know.

Motorino
349 East 12th Street, at First Avenue
212-777-2644