Co. (Chelsea)

I had been wanting to try Co.‘s pizza for months now. I originally chose Co. for my Dinner Club pick but they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more and we only had five people that month. So when Todd texted me to go to dinner last week, I seized the opportunity and suggested Co.

The space doesn’t look like your typical pizzeria – it’s a lot more modern but still casual. The bar has few seats (maybe 6 or so), but there are also seats along the window which is perpendicular to the bar so the area doesn’t get overly crowded. The dining area is bigger than I expected with a couple of communal tables in the midst of individual tables for parties of 2 to 4.

Todd and I met there at 7:30 last Tuesday. We were offered seats at a communal table pretty much right away, but Todd asked that we wait for a table for two. We hadn’t seen each other since February so we had plenty to catch up about as we waited. He’s going through a divorce and has three teenage kids which means there’s no shortage of drama in his life.

Once we were seated about 15 minutes later, Todd said he wasn’t that hungry – something about losing his appetite when it’s hot outside. For better or worse, the temperature outside doesn’t curb my appetite when it comes to pizza so I insisted we get two kinds to share. They’re individual-sized pies so I also got an appetizer.

I was torn between several of the salads but eventually settled on the Watermelon Gazpacho since it’s seasonal. The soup is described as having cucumber, tomato, pickled watermelon rind, radish, and basil. It tastes pretty good – not too sweet, but it really lacks texture. Add some vodka and you can drink it as a cocktail. But we weren’t there for the gazpacho.

Now on to the star of the night. The pizza at Co. is amazing. The crust is in a class of its own. It is so good that I could have eaten the crust with no toppings – and I love toppings. It’s charred, it’s crisp and it’s soft – all at once. Todd and I didn’t get very adventurous in our selections – we chose the Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil, parmesan) and the Popeye (pecorino, gruyère, mozzarella, spinach, black pepper, garlic). They were both delicious. I was secretly hoping for leftovers but we finished off every slice.

The pizza at Co. is so good that I wanted to go there again two days later to try another variation. If Co. opened a branch on the Upper West Side, I’d probably be there on a weekly basis. I will definitely be going back there very soon – either on my own or with friends.

In the meantime, if you know of any great pizza places on the Upper West Side, please let me know. Or let’s petition Co. to open one in the neighborhood.