New York is well known for being the home of the greatest pizza in the world.  This is true to the point that many people actually believe pizza was invented in New York.  This is completely false, as pizza originated in Naples through many forms until it reached the form of the “tomato pie”, which was vastly improved with the addition of cheese around the late 19th century.  In the last 10-15 years, New York has become flush with Neopolitan pizzerias, serving simple fresh and light wood-fired pizzas.  Hakeem introduced me to Keste around three years ago, and it has been one of my favorite pizzas in New York (sorry Famous Rays).

On my last trip there, I went with Hakeem, Chamique, and two of their friends in the entertainment industry (nobody you would know, they’re both producers/behind the scenes people).  I decided to order the pizza Margherita, the pizza designed by baker Raffaelo Esposito for the visit of Queen Margherita of Savoy.  She was quite fond of his pizza reminiscent of the colours of the Italian flag (basil = green, cheese = white, tomatoes = red).  According to Neopolitans, there are only two real pizzas, pizza Margherita, and pizza marinara (tomato sauce and bread, no cheese).  Obviously, I always err on the side of pizza margherita.

My initial problems with Keste was that their base was not strong enough to support the heavy sauce and cheese, which is the same problem I always have when I try making pizza at home.  What many restaurants do is pre-cook the bread so that it is somewhat firm before having to soak up all the moisture from the tomatoes.  Keste doesn’t appear to do this, but they have improved the quality of the crust that it can support whatever toppings added. The ingredients are all fantastic - fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and the very tasty crust.  The only complaint still would be the danger of weak pizza physics.

I swapped a slice with Hakeem’s friend who works at CBS (yes, that CBS).  He ordered the pizza funghi, unaware of the unorthodoxy of his order.  The mushrooms were pretty good, but not anything amazing.  As soon as I lifted the pizza, all the cheese, sauce and tomatoes came off.  So, pizza construction doesn’t hold up to anything much beyond just tomato and cheese.

Keste is one of my favorite high end pizzerias in New York.  While the pizza construction is not the greatest, it is a problem that I have experienced at almost every Neopolitan pizzeria.  At least Keste does not err on the side of overcooking the dough/burning the pizza, which is much worse than just having the toppings fall off.  So, go to Keste, but don’t get anything beyond the pizza Margherita, unless you like eating tomato-y bread and having a plate full of toppings.  Vegans can get the pizza marinara, but otherwise they don’t accommodate your inability to eat cheese.  At least you’re being authentic by eating the marinara!  For celiacs, there are three dedicated gluten-free pizzas which are only available on Monday and Tuesday.  I don’t know how they resolve the potential for gluten cross-contamination by using the same oven, so that would be a warning.  Overall, Keste is great, and does a pretty good job to cater to vegetarians and celiacs, so for that I’ll give them four cheese sandwiches.

Keste
271 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014-4102 
(212) 243-1500