Joann Pan
“I believe our food is the best in this neighborhood because I know that quality best,” said Aidin Zekirovski of the Italian-French dishes he’ll serve at Entrez Bar & Grill when it opens in the former Pomodoro Pizzeria space tomorrow.
It’s a bold claim, but the restaurateur – who recently moved here from Copenhagen, Denmark, where he owns an Italian restaurant, Sdessanos – said he and his business partners conducted three months of market research before deciding to settle in the East Village.
Mr. Zekirovski’s online questionnaires and on-the-street interviews with neighborhood residents revealed that East Villagers were looking for “healthy and affordable” dishes in a casual setting. “We found out people who live in the neighborhood, most of which are students, they require and want something like this,” he said. “Somewhere they can hang out and socialize.” Read more…
Photos: Noah Flecks
Michael White, the oft-lauded chef-owner of three-star seafood palace Marea, fine-dining Italian spot Ai Fiori, and SoHo’s Osteria Morini, will open Nicoletta, his first pizzeria, for dinner tomorrow, and the pies will be a touch different from the ones at all those other East Village parlors. (A Midwestern touch, to be exact.)
The crust, formed in a wood-burning brick oven (imported from… Long Island) was inspired by Mr. White’s teenage years slinging dough at Domenicos in Beloit, Wis., and is said to be a bit chewier than the Neapolitan norm. Pies, said to cost an average of $21, will come in 12-inch and 16-inch varieties, and can be topped with bacon lardons, egg yolk, truffled mushrooms, and more. Shown in our slideshow: the Calabrese (fennel sausage, pepperoni, red onions, and Pecorino Romano) and the Patate (mozzarella, crushed potatoes, pann, bacon, and charred scallions). Read more…
