New York City: Pullino`s R.I.P.

(Drivebycuriosity) - Pullino`s has closed its doors. It seems the popular pizza place at Manhattan`s East Houston Street is a casualty of the gentrification. Owner Keith McNally, one of the leading entrepreneurs of New York`s restaurant scene (Balthazar, Minetta Tavern, Pastis, Schiller´s and more), wants to open there a French restaurant called Cherche Midi. It`s all business.

I will miss Pullino`s. Their pizza didn`t quite come up to my European experiences. American pizza has nothing to do with the Italian original, which was invented in Napoli (Naples). But I enjoyed the ambiance there. The library of bottles on the walls gave the place a special aura. In the evening hours the restaurant was crowded with cool people. And if you had a solitary brunch there you found a lot of magazines. 

I remember especially the morning after the blizzard of Christmas December 25th 2010. Manhattan was covered with 20 inches of fresh snow, many streets were filled up, almost every place was closed, but Pullino`s  was a friendly and warm oasis in a polar dessert and served brunch. Priceless.

R.I.P. Pullino`s