While the pizza momentum in New York has been building for years now, the quality pies have mostly been Neapolitan in nature: cripsy, yes, but also puffy and slightly chewy. Enter Marta, Danny Meyer’s latest venture with Maialino chef Nick Anderer, where the pizza is Roman, the staff is good-looking and the drinks are (way) above average.
Polpettine di Pollo, chicken meatballs, black olives, ricotta, pizza bread:
Rich but light at the same time. So much umami. And I loved the salty olives.
Nebrodini Arrostiti, wood-fired mushrooms, mustard greens, thyme, lemon:
I wanted to order this because I wanted to make it at home. I’m not sure I’ll be able to. So meaty, but with a bite from lemon. Really good.
Stracciatella, house-made stracciatella, basil and olio verde:
In. Sane. That cheese, hand-stretched, was so creamy and sweet, it was like the milkshake of cheese. Pair that with the simple tomato sauce and the crackling crust, and it’s hard to say this wasn’t the best pizza I’ve ever had.
Margherita with mushrooms:
Also super. But no Stracciatella.
Salsiccia, pork sausage, crimini mushrooms and pecorino:
Like a meat-lovers with only one meat. So satisfying. So mouthwatering. So good.
Mercato, autumn greens, bechamel, lemon, grana padano.
Such a nice contrast to the other pies. A really good crust (see those cracks!) and a silky bechamel underneath, then just-soft-enough greens on top and a nice shaving of lemon and cheese. Bravo!
Our menu:
Our cast. Celebrating the birthday of Boo:
Kelli and yours truly:
We sat in the auxiliary bar area, not the hipster front area, but we were really happy about that; it meant we had comfortable chairs and the volume was soft enough we could talk: 
Thank you, Marta. Can’t wait to come back.
The 411 on Marta: 29 E. 29th St., Manhattan. 212-651-3800, martamanhattan.com.
