555TEN | The Perfect Slice

Though Midtown West is renowned for its Michelin-starred restaurants and cocktail bars, sometimes all you want is a simple (or at least artisanal or wood-fired) pizza. Fortunately, the 555TEN luxury rentals are just a short walk from three of the best pie shops in NYC. Here’s where to grab a slice of the action.

La Vela Dining & Bar |558 11th Avenue
Owner Antonio Mauro, a native of Naples, and his chef serve up all the classics with an authentic Southern Italian pedigree—from lasagna with lashings of bechamel sauce to profiteroles stuffed with fresh cream and glossed with molten chocolate. You can also whet your appetite with the likes of baked clams in Italian breadcrumbs. But their most popular dish, naturally, is their brick-oven pizza. Keep it simple with a Margherita or indulge with the Carretiera topped with sausage and broccoli rabe.

Capizzi |547 9th Avenue
If the wood-fired ovens, homey atmosphere, and tables laden with antipasti don’t tell you you’re in Italian heaven, surely the rich aroma of Capizzi’s pizzas will. Taking a leaf out of his “Nonna’s” (cook)book, Joseph Calcagno has created one of the finest family-owned Italian restaurants in Manhattan, just down the road from the 555TEN rentals. Napolitano pizzas are loaded with combos like hot Italian sausage and fennel, or asparagus, truffle oil, and roasted pine nuts. And the wood used to lend that oaky, hickory-smoked taste to the pizzas? That’s imported from Italy every week. You should try to save room for tiramisu, but we won’t blame you if you can’t.

Kiabacca Bar |639 10th Avenue
Turns out “kiabacca” has quite a few meanings, but the one we’re running with is “a positive feeling that someone or something gives you.” The Kiabacca Red Sangria or Spicy Manhattan will get you off to a good start before the specialty pizzas come into play. The house-made crushed tomato sauce gives these pies their trademark juiciness—we’d suggest a Return of the Big Mike with soppressata, cherry peppers, and roasted garlic & caramelized onion jam. Or go topical and tuck into a Hamilton pie—the shrimp and andouille sausage are enough to make anyone burst into song.

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