New Pizza in NYC: Co.

By Elizabeth S. Bennett

Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery (and no-knead bread) fame, has realized a decade-long dream of opening a restaurant dedicated to the creation of, in Lahey's words, "individual custom loaves of bread with signature toppings."

Some may call it pizza, but Lahey insists he's up to something else entirely. His obsession is bread and he puts years of slavish dough devotion to work at Co. where, as the chef-owner, he cranks out 150 to 200 of the wickedly good pies each night. Whether it's the Popeye with pecorino, gruyere, buffalo mozzarella and slightly charred fresh spinach, or the toppingless Bianca with a little sea salt and Chilean olive oil, Lahey has pumped up the volume on the pizza polemic in New York.

Even pies that sound overwrought, like the Flambe with béchamel, parmesan, mozzarella, caramelized onions and lardons are balanced and ethereal. The crunchy, chewy, blistery crust is unmistakably Sullivan Street and unmistakably delicious.

In search of a little more insight into the man, his bread and brand new restaurant we sat down with Lahey to ask him a few questions...

Why pizza and why now?
Pizza is bread and I like making bread.

How does your pizza dough differ from your Sullivan St. Bakery bread?
There's a lot more salt in the pizza dough. You need it to inhibit fermentation.

How long has this idea been in the works?
It's been in my mind for 12 years. I would have opened eight years ago had I been unfettered. Three years ago, I was being sued by my former business partner and trying to undo the damage of a knockoff business by another baker. But I also would have died if I had opened it then because I would not have gone through the bullshit of life.

How did you come up with the name for the restaurant?
I was sitting in the space on an August afternoon. It's on a street corner and I knew that I wanted the name to have something to do with the corner and I thought, "co.," the shortest abbreviation for corner. It's also the abbreviation for "company" which is like the Latin cum panis -- "with bread". I call the restaurant Company. I know some people refer to it as Co. and that's okay.

How did you select the wines on the menu?
I had one principal to limit wine selection: they to have a screw top or alternative closures to cork. It was a good filter to narrow the choices and it's easier from a service perspective. You get rid of the bullshit ceremony.

And why create an artificial limit? It's not necessary to only drink Italian wine with Italian food. Why not just have good wine with good food? It represents the globalization of wine and wine culture. Wines can come from anywhere. They're good and not too pricey.

Why don't you accept reservations?
We want it to be friendly for the solo diner. It's a restaurant for foodies on a budget.

Do you have any plans for the restaurant?

We'll try to open up for lunch within two weeks and will eventually add Sunday brunch. And the menu will evolve. It's not just a set thing that we're leaving alone. We'll be doing simple better.

Company

Location: 230 Ninth Avenue at 24th Street
Hours: Co. is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30am to 3pm and 5 to 11pm.
Reservations: Not accepted.

View the complete Co. New York listing on Savory Cities.

Photo: Squire Fox