veloce pizzeria

although, if i could only choose one, i'd probably consider myself more of a beer gal, i do still love my wine and i'm ever hoping and trying to expand the little knowledge i have of its kind. so when a friend invited me to join in her man's, who just happens to be a sommelier, opening of a wine bar, i was all for it. as an added bonus, the bar serves up sicilian pies, which just happens to be one of my favorite kinds.


the place is unmistakeably a pizzeria, what with its red checkered tablecloths, but also reminds you that wine is a key player as well.. reflected heavily in the decor.


for starters, the frittura di herbette was an assortment of battered and fried sage, basil, parsley and onions. for once, the herbs served as the star instead of a garnish, and i definitely would deem it a success. the batter was light and crisp and when bitten, both the pungent smell and flavors hit you. they're quite addictive to pick at.

the margherita was standard, with it's tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil.. which is a good thing. the crust was a slightly chewy and its presence more apparent than other sicilians i've had before. let me explain and also, let me mention that i'm not quite sure what a "real" sicilian slice should taste like. the only one's i've had are at the local pizzerias, where sicilians are usually a piece of thick fluffy dough topped heavily with some sort of topping. crust is hardly apparent. my teeth just sink in from top to bottom of thick, fluffy dough. which i love and have come to associate with "sicilian" slices. so veloce's pizza took me slightly by surprise, but maybe it's the way it's supposed to be. there wasn't as much dough in between the crust and toppings.


mushrooms are definitely one of my favorite vegetables but to my bewilderment, i've recently been discovering that a lot of people actually loathe the pretty little things. what the... but... they're so good. sigh. there are many things i cannot fathom. funghi pie, with its sauteed oyster mushrooms, mozz and thyme was really so good. the fact that they used oyster mushrooms made a huge difference as it's a much earthier and meatier mushroom, so it in no way got lost amongst all the other ingredients. the shrooms were tender and yet still upheld their bite. i totally wanted to fight over the last slice.


sausage just goes well on pizza. i liked the salsiccia with sausage, garlic, ragu and mozz. the flavors were all there, except i wasn't too keen on how the crust got a soggy towards the center where all the juices had collected. it made for a weird crust and dough separation and the toppings kind of slid around.


it's fun that the kitchen is wide open to the restaurant so you can peep in, although i'm not sure if the chef would appreciate you in his domain. but you can definitely enjoy the graffiti adorning the walls, including that lady in the back door with newspaper strategically taped.. somewhere.


lots of wine (four bottles... i think) was enjoyed with our slices. it was nice not having to worry about choosing the wrong wine as they were brought to us by a guy who obviously knew his reds from whites, and so forth. me, i'm just lost.


but then i cracked and had to do it. i know the wine is flowing and plentiful right now, but can i get some beer, please? i think my friend agreed... look at how she's grabbing for them with the quickness. haha

ps: thanks to the folks at serious eats for featuring us on our public fare review!


veloce pizzeria: 103 1st ave, new york, ny 10003