New York City is filled with pizza everywhere. You can find $1 slice pizza almost at every corner. But, if you are looking for a high quality, unique, and/or super delicious pizza, that is a different story. For these, you really need to look deep. Luckily, I enjoy looking for great restaurant and great food. During my research, I found this place called B Side, not to confuse with B Squared, even though they are kind of sister restaurant.
I heard that this spot, B Side, offers amazing and creative pizza. And, it was indicated “Virgin (Mary) Tested, B Side approved” on the sign right out side the restaurant. It is hard to ignore the artistic signs.
Inside is a bit small, but not too small, with around 40 seats, of that, mainly counter seats. It has only been couple of years since they opened, so the interior looked still new and very clean. The color scheme was warm, earthy tones with light brown and moss green. The entrance wall is covered with large windows, so it is nice and bright with natural lights.
Since it is a “Pizza & Wine Bar” they do have rather simple but pretty bar. Speaking of simple, I didn’t see any design that was too busy to the eye. Everything was simple but yet smooth and slick. Nothing really distracting you from your food, drink, and your company.
The simple designs they have incorporated was really interesting. They had lots of wood elements to bring out the warm, cozy feelings, from the wall, ceiling, and tables. And also, they had some metal elements, used for lighting fixture and the other half of the ceiling, creating the modern, industrial feel to it. The rest was tiles of different types and colors. But yet, all these elements were working together to create this cozy, inviting environment. I really enjoyed looking around their simple but yet sophisticated design. The design is carried into the bathroom as well, with the same tile used for the bar, but in white. They also had one of the smallest sink I have ever seen, which was functional and also increased the space inside the small bathroom.
Another thing they have that caught my eyes was their oven. They have their own oven, used to bake yummy pizzas. I heard that at the B Square location, they are not allowed to have the wood fired oven due to NYC building restriction, therefore, B Side naturally have the superior pizza.
Their pizzas are all just one size, and no slices. You get a beautifully crafted pizza pie, which is just the right size to share among two people. I was very curious about their Carbonara pizza and Killer Bee pizza, we decided to try Killer Bee this time. Killer Bee ($16) is made with tomato, mozzarella, sopressata, garlic puree, chili oil, and honey. Yes, honey. That is where the “bee” comes in. Think of this pizza as a supreme version of pepperoni pizza, with a hint of sweetness from the honey. Everything was really great about this pizza. Nice, thin crust with beautiful toppings, right off the wood-burning oven. The sopressata was of high quality, very flavorful. All the ingredients worked really well together, and the amount of honey used is just right. It gives you a hint of the taste, without getting overwhelming. This spot has become my new number one pizza place in the city!
After an amazing pizza, we also ordered one dessert to share. We asked the staff (manager?) for the recommendation and he suggested Budino, so we went with that. Budino ($7) was an Italian choclate pudding with cracked sea salt, olive oil, and whipped cream. When it arrived, you can see small amount of olive oil placed on the top of the pudding. He told us we need to mix them all well together first. So we did.
This was quite amazing and delicious! The thick pudding mixed together with soft whipped cream and liquid oil, creating this smooth, gentle mousse. It was rather small size, but after the pizza, we were glad to have a small dessert. And, what speaks the loudest here is not the portion of the food, but the quality of them.
The staff (who I assume was also the manager) was really nice and friendly, he answered all of our questions, and took a very good care of us. It was a really great lunch, and I can’t wait to go back for some more of their amazing pizza creations!
B Side Pizza & Wine Bar – 370 W 51st St., New York, NY 10019