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Eye-popping inflation isn’t limited to eggs.
Two former Eleven Madison Park chefs have opened a new pizza joint where a plain cheese pie will set you back $40 and a slice goes for $6.
Ceres, at 164 Mott St. in Nolita, isn’t the city’s only buzzy, pricey pizza place.
When Fini Pizza opened in Williamsburg in 2022, its $5 slices — compared with $3 to 4 at most storefront spots — was cause for alarm.
At F&F Pizzeria, which opened in Carroll Gardens in 2019 and is set to expand to Manhattan this year, a pepperoni pie goes for $35 and the clam pie is $50.
The new wallet-emptying spots tend to attract Instagram-obsessed crowds, but is Ceres’ pizza any better than the $25 pies at nearby, venerable Lombardi’s? Or for that matter, at Ray’s three uptown locations where a drippy, oily slice is just $4?
Ceres’ owners do have impressive credentials. Julian Geldmacher and Jake Serebnick previously worked as sous chef and line chef, respectively at the fabled Eleven Madison Park. Their kitchen skills show in their painstaking pizza preparation. They monitor oven temperatures constantly and swirl tomato sauce and ladle mushrooms and ‘nduja sausage with a scientist’s precision.
But transitioning from Michelin-level to cooking for the masses isn’t as easy as it seems, as one-time Del Posto head chef Mark Ladner learned when his Pasta Flyer in the Village conked out after a year.
At Ceres, the attention to detail sometimes causes service breakdowns. The other day, Serebnick popped out to tell customers waiting for the noon opening that “the dough was a little cold in our basement, so we’ll need another twenty minutes.”
Still, I enjoyed all the varieties I tried. The sourdough crusts were nicely blistered, although too crisp to comfortably allow folding for sloppy, on-the-go consumption.
But although everything tasted fine, many slices emerged from the PizzaMaster electric ovens too dry for my taste. A mushroom-and-onion-topped offering had the texture of cardboard.
The spectacular exception was the modestly named “tomato” slice, laden with rich, fresh San Marzano sauce spiraled onto the dough, and abundantly topped with freshly shaved ricotta. A squirt of spicy olive oil by the chefs lifted it out of the ordinary.
I’d call it the year’s best new slice — and it ought to be. With the optional ricotta added for $3, the total for a single slice is $8.
A $6 white slice was also quite tasty, topped with supple bits of bacon, onion and creme fraiche. The dough retained its crackling quality during a long interlude when we set it aside to tackle the basic cheese slice the moment it popped out of the oven topped with mozzarella, buttery scamorza and a touch of tomato sauce.
It was pleasant but the cheeses were indistinct from one another and the slice lacked enough moisture for the gooey, runny pleasure I crave.
Ceres can drive you bananas in other ways.
There’s no garlic, oregano, pepper or salt for you to apply yourself, as at most slice joints. Everything comes “as-is,” as customers are told if they ask.
Seating is scant only a few tiny tables and chairs at a counter that’s too narrow for a whole pie.
It’s hardly a comfortable spot to wait while Geldmacher and Serebnick tinker.
They do everything themselves which undoubtedly taxes their ability to make the product as good as they try very hard to make it — and in a reasonable amount of time.
It’s fun to watch classically trained chefs bring their skills to the Big Apple’s favorite fast food. All they need to do is to make it juicier — and faster.
Until then, look for me at Lombardi’s, where the pizza’s better and the seating’s easier.
