Day 15, 2013: Covo Trattoria (W. Harlem, NYC)

DAY 15: OCTOBER 15th, 2013

LOCATION: Covo Trattoria (701 W 135th St, W. Harlem, NYC)

ORDER: 1 slice of Prosciutto Crudo

GUEST(S): Matt Shafeek

REVIEW:

West Harlem's portal to Italy.  Tucked beneath the Henry Hudson Parkway at 137th St., Covo Trattoria transforms a steel truss enforced warehouse into a surprisingly quiet Tuscan sidewalk cafe serving the most exquisite Italian pizza in the area. The pizza is cooked in a massive wood-burning brick oven with a revolving pizza stone that seems to apply the perfect amount of heat to thoroughly bake the personal sized gourmet pies with just enough charring.  I had the Prosciutto Crudo and have been thinking about it ever since.  After the pie exits the oven with melted fresh mozzarella, high quality mushrooms, and a generous layer of tomato sauce, the pizza maker adds thinly sliced prosciutto, fresh basil leaves and olive oil to appeal to and satisfy all human taste buds and then some.  Consistent with other Napoli style pies, you may want to use two hands when lifting the slice to support the soft underside and prevent any of that perfect topping concoction from escaping.  On a good day, sit outside on 12th Avenue, perhaps the least traveled street in Manhattan.  In addition to a pizzeria, Covo Trattoria features a full menu of fine wine and other Italian dishes that look very appealing as well.  There is also an upstairs lounge which I'm told can be converted into an event space or dance club.  Speaking of converted, I'm converting Covo Trattoria into one of my favorite pizzerias in the city!

PHOTOS:

MISCELLANEOUS:

1. Matt Shafeek write a novel a few years ago during November.  It was part of NaNoWriMo where you try to write 50,000 in a single month.  I did sketch writing month (September) and am currently doing Pizza Month (October) and am very tempted to hop on the Novel writing November Month as well.
2. There are a couple of different ways to approach Covo.  I prefer to go through the park from Riverside Drive.  It's cool to see the concrete, treets, highway, and train tracks meet just above Covo.

RATING:
  4.64/5

• VALUE:
   4.5/5


• AMBIENCE:
   3/3


• TASTE:
   9/10


• SERVICE:
   3/3

19.5/21 = .929 x 5 = 4.64