Lucali: A new neighborhood institution
Rachel Markowitz | July 25, 2007
One could argue that truly great food is about minimalism. The same way the trendy spots rarely have signs, great food doesn’t need elaborate garnishes and over the top combinations to make it special. Henry Street’s Lucali is a perfect example.
Lucali has no menus. Once we were seated in the homey, one-room dining space, our waitress came over to ask if it was our first time at Lucali. My dining companion and I both admitted that it was. So our waitress, a tan, buxom blonde let us know that the restaurant serves pizza and calzones, and told us the evening’s toppings. Apparently Lucali’s pizza toppings change on a regular basis, which gives you the feeling that the ingredients will be fresh. But going along with the whole minimalism thing, we decide to go topping-less. We want to taste the pizza in its purest form before venturing into topping land. We were not asked if we wanted a small, medium, or large pie. Lucali’s pie is one size fits all.
It was a Thursday night, and luckily I had thought to call in advance. When I called around 4:30pm, the man who answered told me to call back around 7pm. While they usually only take reservations for parties of six or more, he said that an 8:30pm reservation for two should be fine. When I arrived at Lucali, my companion, unaware that I called in advance, sadly told me that we would have to wait 30-40 minutes to be seated. But after I told the hostess my name, we were seated in five minutes. Moral of the story: unless you dig waiting, call in advance.
Lucali is BYOB and has a $4 corking fee (not bad when you consider that many restaurants charge $25). Our waitress struggled to uncork our bottle of wine, and had to call for backup. While real red wine glasses were not provided, the little glass cups we drank from were just fine, and gave the meal a more European feel.
At last, the pizza arrived. The crust is so thin and delicate that I have heard it likened to naan bread. The cheese and tomato sauce packed that perfect New York-Italian flavor similar to the wildly popular pies at DUMBO’s Gramaldi’s and Coney Island’s Totonos. But what makes Lucali’s stand out is the lightness of their thin-crust. After my companion and I polished off the pie, I felt I could go for another.
Lucali is pizza stripped down to its most essential features. Eat a slice, listen to Philip Glass, read Raymond Carver, and be glad that food and art can so nicely intersect.
Lucali is located at 575 Henry St. Between Carroll and 1st. Cash only.
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2 Comments so far
They are a nice addition to the nabe; they make up for the loss of Cristardi’s, which used to be on President Street just behind the Clinton Apothecary.
Too bad it destroyed the interior of the lovely old candy store it took over. Yuppies go home.