Pulino's

Occasion: Pre-opera (Partenope) dinner with Melissa, Tony and Alicia
Location: Pulino's on Bowery and E Houston (pulinosny.com)
Edibles: gamberi (shrimp) pizza; salsiccia (sausage and broccoli rabe) pizza; fazzoletti (a crêpe-like creation stuffed with cheese and lamb ragu); asparagus with ramps, rhubarb and black pepper ricotta; a skillet of sausage and peppers - all eaten family-style

Musings: When I first walked in, I had the strongest sense of déjà vu. The backlit bar, the white tile, the pillars, the converted warehouse feel - all of it a dead ringer for Schiller's (which, as far as I know, is unaffiliated). It was pretty crowded and hectic, even though dinner service didn't officially begin for another 20 minutes, at 6:00. Speaking of which, a little suggestion: start earlier.

If you're going to identify yourself primarily as a pizzeria - and a gourmet, pricey one at that - your pizza's got to be outstanding. I found Pulino's to have good-quality toppings, but the crust definitely needs work. The relatively small pie was extremely soggy in the middle; if you try to pick up a slice, it just flops over and falls apart in your hand.

I thought the asparagus dish had too many components that didn't quite come together. The fazzoletti was decent but nothing exciting. The sausage and peppers I liked, but it came to the table sort of room temperature and I would have liked it hotter.

Pulino's is pretty new and, in my opinion, still working out a lot of kinks. This place has gotten a lot of press and will draw flocks of New York's fickle foodies for the next few weeks. My rec would be to wait until the furor dies down and see if they've really got the goods to stay open long term.

Executive chef Nate Appleman, of "The Next Iron Chef" fame, pictured with Alicia and Mel.