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August 13, 2009

Streetlevel: Saraghina on Halsey

saranghia_081309.jpg
There are at least two kinds of pizza: the quick-and-easy variety that is little more than a delivery system for cheese and carbohydrates, and the carefully crafted version that elevates fast food to art (well, it was art before it was fast food, but the point remains). This summer a new pizza restaurant opened at 435 Halsey Street in Bed-Stuy, and the positive reviews indicate that it is a master of this second variety of pizza. Massimiliano Nanni and Edoardo Mantelli, the owners of Saraghina, in addition to their simple list of six pizzas, offer a constantly changing menu of salads, antipasti, pastas, sea food, and whatever else they decide to conjure. And the simple elegance of their menu reflects the atmosphere they have created: the restaurant, with whitewashed walls and recycled materials, was stitched together from a former store, garage, and garden, creating a charming and relaxing country-chic space. GMAP
So Much More Than a Slice [NY Times]
Saraghina Serves a Mighty Fine Pie [Tasting Table]
Restaurant Openings: Sarahina [NY Mag]




Posted by jscheff at 2:00 PM | Comments (29)
Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Streetlevel

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Comments

Well, well, well. It's still a delivery system for carbs but anyway, a very tasty one! The food here is great, and the atmosphere is even better.

Posted by: mopar at August 13, 2009 2:06 PM

And that's Ernesto at the pizza oven.

The pizza's are great but the pasta dishes (one, maybe two) and the two fish dishes would make you think you were eating in Venice. The flavors are extraordinary.

The salads are great too. I eat a fair amount of octopus at a few Greek places in Philly but none of them compare to this. Also, for dessert, try the cheese plate.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 2:09 PM

This place is really good!

Posted by: dirty_hipster at August 13, 2009 2:11 PM

DIBS

Here is some more info on that new place opening up in your nabe:

http://eater.com/archives/2009/08/eater_inside_sarajames.php

looks pretty nice

Posted by: dirty_hipster at August 13, 2009 2:14 PM

This place is delicious. And so convenient to the B26!

Posted by: zinka at August 13, 2009 2:19 PM

Dave look its our place Sarah's vagina!

Posted by: brickoven at August 13, 2009 2:26 PM

Come share a bottle of luscious, succulent rose with me there, BO. We can tell each other vagina jokes until one of us just can't stand it anymore.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 2:30 PM

They're a lil stingy with the bufala mozz though!! :-\

Posted by: dirty_hipster at August 13, 2009 2:32 PM

love, love, love saraghina! great addition to the neighborhood and byob!!

Posted by: StuyIvy at August 13, 2009 2:32 PM

There is one minor problem though and I'm going to bring it to their attention the next time. If you order salads before your main course, especially if the main course is pizza, it oftentimes come before you are finished with your salads.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 2:37 PM

Rose? why am I not surprised

Posted by: brickoven at August 13, 2009 2:37 PM

I thought the Rose wine would be more appropriate to our discussion. If you're man enough for a full bodied Amarone then we can do that.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 2:42 PM

BO setting foot on Bed Stuy, Crown Heights or even Clinton Hill, I'll need to see it to believe it

Posted by: more4less at August 13, 2009 2:48 PM

Wonderful place! And I can walk there. Priceless!

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 13, 2009 2:51 PM

I absolutely love this place. I think the food is actually special as opposed to just really good. Like instead of the specials being something that's gonna go bad in the freezer, they may have actually painstakingly searched for the best of what's in season at the market and carefully prepared something beautiful. LOVE IT.

Posted by: Tdeezy at August 13, 2009 3:14 PM

so, then is Saraghina's the Franny's of BedStuy?

Posted by: WonTon at August 13, 2009 3:16 PM

Tdeezy...I was amazed at how the monkfish was prepared. Also, you know the salmon is fresh because it's cooked medium rare/rare...wonderful. The spaghetti with blue fish ragu was one of the best pastas I've ever had.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 3:18 PM

i really didn't think it was that great. went twice with 2 different sets of friends and we all left with it's an ok vibe. i wasn't thrilled.

happy to have options in 'hood but can't say i will be frequenting the place.

sorry - to go against the grain.

Posted by: bkny at August 13, 2009 3:26 PM

It is astonishing to have a restaurant with such high quality food so close to our house. The pizzas are indeed superb, but the specials are excellent and of a quality I would expect to find in a much more expensive place.
Living in Bed Stuy these past five years my wife and me have become great cooks, such is the lack of good restaurant food. With Saraghina we will at least be able to take a night off once in a while.
Now more like this please, and maybe somewhere that sells coffee you can drink.

Posted by: jamesdoran at August 13, 2009 3:42 PM

The pizza is very good although deceptively dense (you know, like many of brownstoner's patrons)...

The cheese plate, however, sucked (all low quality mass market junk) and was priced ridiculously.

Posted by: Narcissus at August 13, 2009 3:55 PM

Narcissus...was that the $20 cheese plate?? They've changed it recently and it's now $10 which is definitely not ridiculously priced.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 3:58 PM

DIBS... I haven't had the monkfish but the salmon was perfect. I had a hibiscus flower salad the other day that just made my day. When you get food prepared with such beauty (the flower was bright yellow, fresh and wonderful), great aroma, taste.. walking distance from my house?? SOLD.
...Also i'm a total lurker, felt kind of self conscious taking liberties calling you DIBS... hope that's okay!

Posted by: Tdeezy at August 13, 2009 4:04 PM

I'll answer to just about anything, tdeezy. If you see a 50 something white Asshat with grey hair and clear rim glasses sitting at the front bar, it's me.

I'd like to invite you over to the Open Thread but perhaps you should start with today's "Sex and The Other City" thread and see the writing skills of all the regulars, then venture into the OT.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 13, 2009 4:11 PM

Tdeezy, come over to the dark side (OT). You're always welcome. And Dave aka DIBS is an awesome guy. He is as good of an addition to the neighborhood as Saraghina.

Posted by: Kensingtonian at August 13, 2009 4:31 PM

Actually, pizza is better than Franny's. DIBS, we couldn't agree with you more about the octopus--we travel to Greece nearly every summer to visit family and this is the only eatery in NYC that can really compare on the octopus front. No slimy insect-like mini-octopus here, but the delicious thick, grilled legs of the real McCoy.

We will be there tonight at 6 if anyone stops by come say hello.

Posted by: housebywe at August 13, 2009 4:52 PM

"... this is the only eatery in NYC that can really compare on the octopus front"

LOL!

Posted by: jangles at August 13, 2009 6:09 PM

Are you people crazy??

Posted by: jangles at August 13, 2009 6:11 PM

Yup, this place is indeed the real deal. As the NY Times article pointed out, it is about so much more than the pizza. My wife and I had baked clams, a grilled octopus salad, and a shaved fennel salad to go with our prosciutto and mushroom pizza, and nothing disappointed. The BYOB policy is great, and prices are very reasonable for everything. I will echo one foible that davinbedstuy pointed out -- it's true, you should take your time ordering, have some salads, appetizers first, and then order your pizza when you're done -- else the pizza is likely to come out first. No biggie though. Great place.

Posted by: bultrey at August 14, 2009 11:32 AM

I live around the corner from here and this place is a welcome addition. The atmosphere is great, but the food isn't quite there. It's off to a great start, but I think they need to work out some kinks. My pizza was pretty watery. I don't think they drained the bufala mozzarella, thus the whole pizza was soggy. I also tried the octopus salad. Sorry, but the ingredients were uninspired and the octopus too chewy. They should try the one at Convivium Osteria to see how to get it right. Overall, I would go back because I think they are on the right track.

Posted by: grilledsardine at August 14, 2009 12:17 PM

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