Midtown Lunch

Got an email from Lunch’er “Elizabeth” on Tuesday telling me about a brand new pizza place called Previti that opened Monday on 41st btw. Park+Lex.

“Hi there, avid follower of the blog. Have a new place for you to check out. It’s called Previti, just opened on 41st and Lex. Get the artichoke slice — delicious!”

Now, when you say “artichoke slice”, are you talking slice of pizza with artichokes on top? Or are you talking a deliciously gross, spinach and “artichoke” dip topped slice- ala Artichoke in the East Village? Turns out it’s a little from column A, and a little from column B.

Their artichoke pizza comes topped with a truffled spinach and cream sauce thing that they make in house every day. It also has real artichoke hearts (bonus!) unlike Artichoke in the East Village. It’s basically the best of both worlds. You can get it as a regular slice, or as a square slice.

Normally I like regular, but the square called out to me for some reason yesterday… and boy am I glad it did. So freakin tasty! And at $3.50 a slice, it’s kind of a bargain for Midtown pizza (especially considering it had artichoke hearts on it.) The square crust, which they refer to as their “foccacia” slice, sopped up all the juices and oils making it pretty delicious.

Figured I also had to try their “regular” slice, which at $2.50 is also a bargain considering it has fresh mozzarella (and shredded mozzarella), plus fresh basil, and freshly grated parmesan on top. (What!?) The crust at the end was too crunchy for me, but it’s a small price to pay… and also might have to do with freshness. Yesterday was only their third day in business, and they still need to work out the kinks of reheating times, etc.

Normally I wouldn’t be enticed by pre-made sandwiches sitting behind a glass case… but there was something about these, with their mounds of toppings that also called out to me (this food did a lot of calling out.) We tried the meatball, which also came with fresh mozzarella… and was damn tasty. Unlike most pizza places in Midtown which use stale Italian hero rolls (and just toast them in the oven), Previti makes their own bread from the same dough as the pizza giving the sandwiches a borderline calzone taste (after they get heated up in the pizza oven). It’s a little pricey at $8, but I really enjoyed the meatball sandwich.

They have a bunch of different kinds of sandwiches, plus daily specials- including a Thursday roast beef sandwich with garlic butter and potato chips (in the sandwich!?!) that they’re particularly proud of. (Well would you look at what today is!?!)

So where the hell did these guys come from? Apparently the owners also own Delmonico’s (the generic deli across the street), but the chef came directly from Amish Market East- where he’s been making the same pizza and sandwiches for years (and before that he was doing the same for Garden of Eden down in Union Square, where he apparently gained a cult following.) So if you were a fan of the pizza and sandwiches at the 2nd Ave. Amish Market, you’ll want to start going here.

I feel like there are two kinds of pizza eaters in this city: the pizza aficionados and the rest of us. The aficionados can talk about the subtleties of crust, tip sag, and char until the cows come home. They find it hard to single out a great pizzeria in Manhattan, don’t mind shelling out $20 for a Neapolitan pie, and obviously DiFara’s is their Mecca. I ain’t smart enough for all that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Motorino and Company just as much as the next guy… and a trip to DiFara’s is on my things I have to do before I die list. But I don’t know why those places are so much better than John’s on Bleecker, or Joe’s on Bleecker, or whatever. What I’m trying to say is this… I don’t know how Previti’s would stack up against the rest of the pizza in the city (I’m guessing they probably wouldn’t), but the bar in Midtown is far lower. And if you use fresh mozzarella and fresh parmesan and fresh basil on your “regular” slice, plus truffle oil and artichoke hearts on your artichoke pizza, you’re a winner in my book. They still haven’t worked out all the kinks in their service, but once they do I think Previti’s will end up being one of the best pizza options in Midtown.

Previti Pizza, 122 East 41st (btw. Lex+Park), 212-557-4992