900 Degrees

RIP
this place is closed now — sadly I never got a chance to try or support them. i hope they don’t give up and are just re-​opening somewhere else.

Went on a weekend evening wanting to grab some wine and a bite. We ended up ordering a pizza and a salad. Salad was very forgettable, something you can make at home in a few minutes.
Just like other reviewer stated, pizza was burnt with barely any toppings. Not worth the price at all.
With so many great pizza places in West Village, I wonder how long it will take before this places closes…

I really enjoyed the concept here. However, the restaurant appears to be going through a transition between menus, and that caused some confusion among the waitstaff. Despite that, the end product — our pizzas — were excellent.
I think many of the below reviews don’t «get» this concept nor do they understand what these styles of pizza are «supposed» to be like. The restaurant celebrates the diversity of styles of pizza — and successfully replicates numerous regional pizzas. I tried the traditional Neapolitan style, the Sicilian and the standard New York pie. The restaurant is not as good as a single restaurant that puts out just one of these styles exclusively (its neighbor Keste for Neapolitan, John’s for New York, L&B for Sicilian, DeLorenzo’s for tomato pie, etc.) but as a way to explore the many ways that a chef can combine flour, water, tomato, and cheese, it’s wonderful. For a fun night, I would recommend going with a good number of friends and trying a little bit of every style.
I’ll be excited to try this restaurant again in a few months once they work out the kinks and figure out exactly what they want to be doing with their menu.

In a city full of pizza and American Chinese joints, we caved in for another pizza. Before entering we discovered that the margherita pizza received much praise from the publications posted on the window, so we ordered a pie.
The pizza appeared burnt, sloppily and sparsely topped. I thought, «Maybe this is how an authentic margherita pizza is supposed to look». The appearance could never hinder our dirty-​diner-​fat appetite anyway.
I bit into the pizza. And again. The pizza indeed tastes as it appears. Pungent tastes of burnt dough, then fresh basil, barely any cheese or sauce. I felt as if the taste of the cheese, sauce, and herbs would be good if they were combined, but I could only taste them individually in separate bites. An unfortunate failure of cooking with good ingredients. I was left with an awful taste of burnt toast and raw basil in my mouth.

Why all the hate, people?
Maybe it’s because I don’t know the other pizza places in the immediate area to compare it to. Or maybe it’s because we ordered delivery (which was super quick). In any case, the food was darn good!
The order…
Salad: baby spinach warm organic blackberry honey, mustard vinaigrette, smoked pancetta, goat cheese, candied pecans — $ 11 — very good but portion was not very big and they use a lot of dressing
Pizza: New Yorker Italian pizza sauce, 60 day aged mozzarella, chopped garlic, sliced meatball, ricotta, natural cased pepperoni, Sicilian oregano — $ 18 — great pizza option… sauce, crust, and toppings were all super fresh
All in all, plenty of food for two people (and one dog). I’d definitely hit these guys up for a take-​out order in the future.

Pro’s: Natalie the hostess was great! She was welcoming and accomodating… and recomended that we try their ‘big ball’s’ (the meatball appetizer which was awesome) the tomato pie is unlike anything ive ever had in NYC, and as a sacue lover, this is now my new go-​to.
Con’s: Went on a late sunday night which might be why the service was a bit unattentive… but there were also very few patrons there so not much of an excuse. You can also feel the 1,2,3 train shake the place every few minutes, and im talking way more than the plesant rumble that im used to. Yhe prices are also pretty high for the size of the pizza (in comparison to their main compettitors just around the block)
in conclusion… id still bring out-​of-​town guests to John’s on Bleecker, but 900’s tomato pie might quickly become a personal favorite of mine.

The last stop on our impromptu pizza tour, 900 Degrees was ideally suited for the enthusiast. Indeed, it is a common stop on official pizza tours in the city, and it is referred to passionately.
A quick study of the menu tells you that the folks here are not messing around. They have Roman-​style pizza, Tomato pies, Sicilian pies, Neapolitan-​style pizza, and even American-​style pizza. A true bounty. In fact, this was much more pizza than our sizable group could hope to handle. We opted for a Margherita pizza, a plain tomato pie, and the Gemignani Roman-​style pizza.
Marghertia. Limited to a production of 73 pies per day, this pizza is clearly their darling. It has won the World Pizza Cup (who knew there was such a thing?), and the ingredients are of the utmost highest quality possible: San Felice flour, San Marzano (D.O.P. grade) tomatoes, etc. It all sums up to a rather nice Margherita. It is elegant and tasty. I was most impressed with the balance of ingredients and flavors. This was rather well done.
Tomato pie. Easily the best of the three. This was my favorite, and it tasted amazing. The sauce was robust and hearty in flavor. It really sang, and it looked beautiful on top of the pizza, covering the aged mozzarella base underneath. Even their sausage was good, showing their careful attention to the toppings as well.
Gemignani. My first foray into Roman-​style pizza. Tripartite in nature, it is a very long pie consisting of three separate pies meant to be eaten in a progression. It was interesting, but it really wasn’t my thing. I quickly ate the first portion (cherry tomatoes, black olives, basil, and garlic) for completeness, but I really didn’t want to dwell on this end of the pizza. The middle was better (sopressata, arugula, parmigiano), but ultimately I wanted to hang out on the deep end (fig, prosciutto, balsamic reduction, and gorgonzola). The high quality vinegar from Modena made that portion of the pizza taste rather good. Ultimately though, I wanted my sauce, and lots of it. I also wanted more texture in my crust like I found in that lovely tomato pie. It’s not their fault though. They were true to this style; it simply didn’t suit me though.
Overall, with a judicious selection of pies and toppings according to your tastes, you will have a remarkably good pizza dining experience. Rest assured, you are in capable hands. Recommend.
4.25 stars

Note: I went with a big group, so sampled a TON of pies!
We tried two of the Napoletana pies, the Margherita (which they only make 73 per day and was the pizza cup winner in 2007) and the Spacca Napoli. The Margherita had about 6 triangle slices, so perfect if you wanted a personal pie for yourself, or to share with a friend with an appetizer. The pie was $ 18, and I have to say, had a really delicious, sweet tomato sauce. I also tried the Spacca Napoli ($ 16) which didn’t have sauce, but rather buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. This too was good, but of the two pies, I liked the Margherita more, which is almost surprising since I usually adore white pies.
One pizza I was amazed with was the Pizza Romana. This pizza is about 2.5 feet long, and 27 small square slices. The pizza is then divided into thirds, with different toppings on each of the sections. The goal is to have the three pizza sections act like an appetizer, salad and entrée. We tried the Bennici for $ 35, and while I’m not sure if we ate it in the right order, we started with the section that had pesto, caramelized onion, robiola cheese, roasted tomatoes and mozzarella. While I loved the flavor of the onions, this section of the pie was the least favorite of mine — I was not a big fan of the robiola cheese. The next section — ricotta, garlic, prosciutto crudo, piquante peppers and arugula — was my favorite. I love the combination of the spicy peppers with the mozzarella. At this point, we were eating so much pizza that I think we all failed to admit how awesome this section of the pie was. The last section had sauce, pepperoni, sausage and mozzarella and was your pretty standard pizza. Great, but not the most memorable combination. This huge pizza could easily feed 4 people, so if you are looking to go out with a group of friend and not break the bank, you may want to try this pie.
The next pizza we sampled was the 900 ($ 20). This was my favorite — fire roasted pulled pork in tamarind, habanero and serrano peppers, citrus & tomato, topped with a fresh agave nectar cactus salsa and queso fresco. Those peppers certainly had a kick to it! The pulled pork was delicious, and while this never would be a combination that I’d put together, it was actually pretty good.
We also tried the vodka pie ($ 13), which had penne and pancetta on it. Honestly, this was probably my least favorite pie. Every other pie was above average, so the fact that this wasn’t that unique, just made it easier to forget.
I like truffles, so we also sampled the pancetta porcini ($ 21) with wild mushrooms, ricotta, porcini, smoked pancetta, sea salt, smoked scamorza and truffle oil. If you like truffles, you’ll like this pie. The truffle flavor was not overwhelming but you could definitely taste it.
The last pie I tried was the Cal Italia, and winner of the Food Networks pizza champions challenge ($ 19). This pie had asiago, mozzarella, gorgonzola, sweet fig preserve from croatia, prosciutto di parma, parmigiano and balsamic reduction. At this point, I was so incredibly full that I can honestly tell you I do not remember was this tasted like. I remember it was good, but I remember more that I was thankful that I didn’t have pants on (I was in a dress).
At the end, tiramisu was served, compliments of the chef, in a beautiful mason jar. This dessert could easily be split between 3 – 4 people. I had a few spoonfuls and it was good. I’m not a big tiramisu fan, so I probably wouldn’t order again, but as far as tiramisu goes, it was delicious — so much so that we kept saying we were done with it, and kept going back for more.
If you like pepperoni pizza or plain cheese — don’t go to 900 Degrees. If you like interesting combinations on your pie and being adventurous when it comes to ‘za, head to 900 Degrees. I recommend the pancetta porcini, the 900 and any of the Pizza Romanas. Also, I’d advise going in a big group. This way you’ll be able to try so many pies without breaking the bank. Between the 13 of us, it ended up only being $ 20 a person (we didn’t order drinks).

Amazing pizza. Definitely one of the best I’ve ever had. The menu is complicated, especially at 1 in the morning when the drunk (but very enthusiastic and fun) waiter is trying to explain which pizza is still available. The Margherita is the best. Thinking about it makes me want to go buy a pie and eat it by myself.

I went with a few friends to this new establishment mainly to try the «73» Margarita pies that are made a day. I put this in quotations because I went rather late and on a Friday and they still had Margaritas. If that is their best pizza, wouldn’t there be none?
But I digress, the ambiance is great, the pizza quite delicious. I would say it’s probably the second best pizza I’ve had in New York. Even though those that dined with me stated it was the best, I will defend DiFara’s tooth and nail until I taste otherwise. I thought the crust was too thick.
If you’re in the West Village, I suggest you make the trek out, it’s worth it.

Pizza overload. There are way too many permutations and combinations of pizza on 900 Degrees’ menu, which made me inclined to think that they probably don’t do any one type particularly well, and, for the most part, I was right. This place strikes me as gimmicky, California Pizza Kitchen-​esque, and best suited to tourists. The host was really nice, but our waiter was woefully unknowledgeable. Two of us ordered glasses of Primitivo and were presented with white wine. Seriously?! We decided to split one salad and two pizzas among three people. I think they ought to rename the wild arugula salad (which sounded the most appealing with fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic reduction, apple bacon, and cherry tomatoes) the «73 Wild Arugula Salad» because they had run out of them by 8:30 on a weekday evening. We opted instead for the mixed greens and apples salad with apple Caesar dressing, Calabrese peppers, «deluxe» croûton, apples, and Piave cheese, which was ok. They served two types of bread – a crispy, thin type, and a warm focaccia that was both greasy and topped with a sticky, sweet honey. For pizzas, we decided on the original tomato pie with sixty day-​aged mozzarella base, fresh pinched sausage, Neapolitan oregano (!), Evoo, and sea salt. This pizza was the better of the two we tried, with a tasty sauce (which is on top of the cheese in this style), nicely spiced sausage, and decent crust, but it doesn’t rank up there with the best pizzas I’ve had in Manhattan. We also tried one of the Wood Fired «American» style pizzas – the Pizza Campari with crushed red pepper, mozzarella, pancetta, goat cheese, escarole, sweet piquante peppers, blood orange, and Campari reduction. I was intrigued by this pizza because of the blood orange topping, but sadly, I couldn’t taste any blood orange; instead, the toppings had a sickly sweet coating reminiscent of the focaccia. 900 Degrees strikes me as the kind of place that would fare better in a Midwestern college town or Florida. I’ll stick to many of its competitors.

Okay, so you are having one of those nights where you know you’re starving, but no restaurants care that you might gnaw off someone’s arm out of pure desperation. Making our way all around the West Village, we happened upon a glowing utopia called 900 Degrees.
As soon as we entered, we were treated like royalty. It happened to be opening night, but I will take royal treatment however I can get it!
So here’s what you have to know. The pizza is fantastic! But, I will get back to that shortly.
We stared with Deep Fried String Beans and the Baby Spinach Salad. I pride myself in being a meat-​eater, but I have to admit (albeit sheepishly) that this was a damn fine salad. The string beans were good, but I had trouble getting over the fact that a crispy green veggie was now greased up and soggy. On to the main event…
Back to the pizza. I mean, the restaurant is called 900 Degrees. Clearly, they pride themselves on the 900 degree, wood-​burning oven where the magic happens. And, I was not let down! We had a Pizza Romana Bennici with Ricotta, Garlic, Prosciutto Crudo, Piquante Peppers, Arugula, Piave. I had to cheat to get the full ingredient list, but what you need to know is that the dough was chewy and delicious. A perfectly cooked pizza, packed with flavors that worked together to inspire your mouth to consume bite after bite. I was sort of thrown off by the arugula, so I would order this pizza next time without the greens.
Being the hungry little kids that we are, we also ordered a Tomato Pie. It went so fast that I am not sure I saw much more than a flash of goodness before my eyes. Oh, my friends, but we were not done there!
The grand finale was the Tagliatelle, covered with a mushroom cream sauce with pancetta and truffle oil. This one was delicious, but so rich that it was hard to eat too much. I managed to polish it off, anyway.
We happened upon a new pizza restaurant in the West Village. Now I have a new go-​to option for my pizza cravings in the West Village.

900 Degrees is a great place to go if you’re with people who love pizza but aren’t sure what type of pizza they are feelin’ at the moment. They have Pizza Napoletana, Pizza Romana, Tomato pies, Pizza Americana and Sicilians, plus pasta and salads and sides in case you’re not in the mood for pizza but are dragged anyway.
The service is impeccable. My server was sweet, adorable and checked in on us often, offering suggestions and making sure our food was great. He even made sure beverages were up to par, even replacing my friend’s seltzer with lemon and lime when she didn’t like the original one but was too passive-​aggressive to ask to replace it.
We ordered a Margherita Napoletana (only 73 are made per day) and the di Fabio Pizza Romana, plus Swiss Chard with Chorizo, Gigante
White Beans, Lemon and the Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Brown Butter.
The Di Fabio pizza was beautiful. It’s over 2 feet long and sectioned off into 3 sections, one for antipasti, one for entrée, and the last for dessert. The crust is very thin and tasty indeed, perfectly salty and lightly crisp.
The antipasti part consists of prosciutto, arugula, & parmigiano and it is everything you would want for a starter pizza, salty and slightly fatty and porky, with the arugula’s bitterness cutting through the fat.
The entrée part consisted of Ricotta and sausage, although the online menu states white cream sauce and meatball. No matter, it was creamy and spicy all the same.
The dessert part was the star of the pizza though, with Gorgonzola,
Candied Pecans, Nutella, Fresh Apples and honey. Sweet but salty as well, plus crunch from the candied pecans and a little bit of tart from the apples.
The Margherita was very good, with a excellent chew and char for the crust, plus it had good flavor. The mozzarella was of high quality, as were the tomatoes, although I think there was a touch too much sauce on it. No matter, it didn’t make it soggy or impair anything, just a personal preference.
The vegetables were surprisingly very excellent and not an afterthought — cooked well, the browned butter (which makes everything better) added a rich, nutty note to the roasted sprouts, and the lardons of bacon are always welcome. The chard was cooked well and the chorizo was nice and spicy, the gigante beans creamy.
I would like to pay another visit just to try out the other types of pizza, and maybe a pasta.

3.5 stars. Why anyone would open yet another pizza place in this neighborhood is a mystery the owners may well take to the grave. John’s, Joe’s, Numero 28, etc etc etc. But, they did, and it’s an upscale looking place decorated with lots of reds and blacks and prices starting with 2’s.
I went with my crazy roommate on what may well have been the nicest night ever for outdoor dining, and we started off with some cool, refreshing tap water. The ice cubes though were the annoying flat kind that hit you in the teeth as you try in vain not to swallow them. We got 2 pizzas, one with pulled pork and the other with italian sausage and some highfalutin mozzerella, and also a giant meatball. In keeping with the «upscale» theme, they were also kind enough to provide some free bread, which looked like fluffy focaccia covered in olive oil. I say looked like because I’m fairly sure it was in reality covered with dissolved splenda.
The pizzas arrived, and we both agreed they were good but not great. As promised, they had been blasted with some fire so the bottom was black, but it was thicker than you’d ordinarily get so the inside was still pretty doughy. I think I’d rather have it cooked longer on lower heat, but then they would have to change the name and get a new awning out front. That said, especially the plain with sausage was tasty. The sauce was quite good, and as luck would have it the meatball was also floating in a pool of said sauce. The meatball also was not dry at all, but again, just a liiittle bit too sweet, as was the pulled pork pizza.
Speaking of new awnings, the current one says «900° degrees», which I would read as «900 degrees degrees». It’s either the symbol or the word, let’s just pick one and be done with it ok?

INTRO
The WV is saturated with artisanal and utility pizza options. 900º fills a niche by offering multiple pizza styles.
SEATING /​ORDERING
Our first table flipped over because of an imbalance in it’s footing. It was also awkwardly wedged near the foyer and side windows. No problem, we moved to sit at the pizza-​making bar. What a nice treat to casually chat with your pizzaiolos while seeing them craft your pie… or so I thought. The oven’s heat quickly turned our seating section into a sauna. The counter space was narrow and I couldn’t help but feel our proximity to the pizzas and raw ingredients compromised their sanitary requirements. Loose flour also made a few appearances in the splash zone. I also watched in horror as the person manning the Napoletana oven caught a pizza on fire… more on that later.
We ordered 2 pies on this visit.
1. The Margherita to get a pulse check on their Neapolitan skills. Especially since they advertise it’s award winning abilities.
2. The Diavola from the «Americana» section because just up the road Donatella’s offers a stellar Diavola on a neapolitan crust.
I veered away from the Roman style, since I haven’t had enough experience to offer a solid comparison. The Tomato Pies and Pizza Siciliana piqued my interest, but there is only so much room for one visit.
WHY IS THAT PIZZA ON FIRE?
Within 10 minutes of sitting at the pizza bar I bared witness to a margherita leaving a trail of flames in their oven. My delicious free bread felt heavy in my stomach. What happened? The pizzailo was nervously rotating the pie for an even bake and over tilted the pie mid-​turn, causing the sauce and melted cheese to landslide towards the burning embers. They immediately caught fire and burned off on the stone base, leaving a large black scorched trail. It happened so quickly that the flames raced up to the pie and burned the rear quarter before it was fished out. It reminded me of all those hollywood movies where a gas trail is ignited by some evil character.
THE PIZZA
Margherita–
«Luckily that wasn’t our margherita…», I thought staring upon the burnt remains being sent to an early grave.
Well, luckily and unluckily because the next margherita WAS ours. No our pie didn’t catch fire, but it did get a bit undercooked by slightly rattled hands. It also carried with it a harsh bitter bite from the burnt remains of it’s yeasty fallen brother. Note: Clean burned areas before reusing a surface. It tastes as terrible as it looks.
Beyond the char and undercook, the sauce and cheese were quality. I’m not sure of their basil variety, but it had a great peppery and herbal bite to compliment the sauce and balance the moz.
Overall the ingredients didn’t fuse together in a transcendental way, but this may have been a shortfall of their preparation and execution and not reflect the sourced materials. A $ 16 margherita should be flawless. Half a block away is a $ 12 unwaveringly great margherita.
Diavola–
I chuckled when I saw this fat little pizza hit my plate. It genuinely looked like a premium frozen pizza (a la Freschetta and DiGiorno). But once I tucked in, the fresh pillowy nature of a well crafted crust revealed itself.
The Diavola was the star of the evening. Our second pizzaioli knocked this one out of the park. The spicy heat of the chili oil and the salt of the cured meats were evenly distributed and balanced out the thick yeasty crust. The texture was perfectly pillowy and supple. I would order this one again if I were to return.
THE VERDICT
So what would bring me back to yet another new pizza shop in a pizza town? Two things: Quality and Price.
I believe 900º delivers on the quality, minus the occasional mishaps. But it is overpriced. A quick survey of nearby artisanal pizza shops puts some of 900º offerings at a 25% markup. Is it 25% better? Good question.

I was a little nervous when I heard this place was opening in an already pizza-​packed neighborhood. The block has John’s for coal-​oven pies, Keste for Neapilitan, Bleecker Street and Joe’s for slices, Pizza Roma for squares, zpizza for California style, Spunto for thin crunchy crust and Numero 28 for Roman/​Neapolitan. Yes, that’s all between 6^th and 7^th Ave!
With all those styles available, I wondered what 900 Degrees would do that wasn’t already being done on the same block. I’m delighted to report that my fears have been eliminated. The pizza at 900 Degrees is absolutely wonderful. I’ve been by three times since it opened a week ago and every pie I try is exciting in a different way. And don’t think you can pass judgment on just one pizza, there are several styles available under one roof thanks to three different ovens (wood-​fired brick, gas fueled deck and electric brick ovens) and the menu lets you know exactly where your pizza is going to bake. I love the educational aspect!
My favorite so far is the tomato pie. It has a lovely sauce that’s just sweet enough and bits of fresh oregano sprinkled about that really kick it into high gear. I’m extremely impressed by the crust, which is both springy and airy while still maintaining a nice bite. It’s a complete package!
900 Degrees is a great addition to the Bleecker Street pizza community and I look forward to eating my way through their menu.

This place is noisy. They play terrible, awful music and they play it much too loud. I’m talking rap and 60s and 70s electric guitar rock. I really don’t need 85 decibels of Roger Daltry telling me that I «won’t be fooled again» while trying to enjoy my meal. I went on a beautiful spring afternoon when they had the doors wide open, so every few seconds you heard a bus or truck go by and every few minutes you heard a train rumble underneath. Not a place to go for a relaxing meal.
The food: The Margherita pizza is very good, but it is far from excellent and not in any competition to be the best. To its credit the crust begins as being thin, hot and crisp, but by the time you are up to your last few slices, its cool and soggy, and that was while I was rushing to finish.
There was only one other table of customers when I went in the early afternoon and the service was very good.
Finally, $ 16.00 for a 12″ pizza with very little to it seems a bit much. I think they are charging for its supposed reputation as an award winning pizza. Oh, get this: They only make 73 Margherita pizzas a day. Not because that is the amount of dough or some other ingredient they can obtain every day, it’s because of the chef’s superstition: Something to do with numerology and the day he won his best pizza award. Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me, especially if you’re the 74^th customer of the day.
Will I go again and try something else? Sure. Will I go out of my way for it? Well. a few blocks. Will I walk out if I’m assaulted with that terrible music next time? Yup!

You heard it here first, NYC. Tony Gemignani is the best. You’ll see. Audrey left SF to take care of the rest (in NYC)
So don’t be surprised when Tony is taking the prize, like he did in Sicily.
Ray’s it’s not, a pie like no other
they may even make those NYC boyz… cry for their mother.
It won’t be long before the reviews are out — it will be indeed all about
the new «Bee’s Knees» — 900 Degrees.

We saw that they had opened their doors on Friday and decided to pop in on Saturday night. Hans, the owner welcomed us in even though it was supposed to be friends and family only.
The food was outstanding, the service was great and the fact that we were included on friend and family night made it that much better.
The staff and mgmt were genuinely happy to have us there and they all seem excited about the new venture.
I wish them the best and look forward to many more good meals there.
The Margarita pizza and the New Yorker were both delicious.

There are exactly 3 food items in New York City that make me smile and jump up and down like a kid in a candy store:
— choco-​bacon from 675
— Jacques Torres wicked hot cocoa
— Sunita martinis
its time to add a fourth.
In a section of town where Bleecker Street Pizza, John’s, Joe’s, and Spunto are within 2 blocks, I was a bit hesitant of this place and its survival skills. Then I walked in. over, and over, and over… in a week.
Wood fired, out within ten minutes — easily — and it blows away the Big Four of WeVill mentioned above.
blows. away. You read that right.
You get the fluffy yet blackened crust that approaches perfection that is almost impossible to find in Manhattan. I’ve had damn near everything on the menu, and nothing is short of phenomenal. Even the salads have a pizazz that can match the Spunto apple salad.
I’m still smiling thinking about this. I’m wiping drool from my mouth… Screw it, I’m going back for a second lunch, my fat ass be damned.
900 degrees– The best thing SF has done for NYC since giving us Jane K.