Critical Mass: Co.

The debate over Jim Lahey's new pizza joint, Co., continues. Our own Sarah DiGregorio reviewed it earlier this month and found things "hit or miss." This week, the Daily News' Danyelle Freeman, Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton, and Frank Bruni (in his Times blog) all gave their thoughts on Co. Most note the great care taken with the crust, but opinions of what's on top of that crust vary. A Critical Mass roundup is after the jump. "If you care about crust, you should go. Period. But the care, clearly lavished on the crust, has been dealt out stingily to the hit-or-miss toppings, and the prices seesaw from very fair to immoderate."
-Sarah DiGregorio, The Village Voice

"Unfortunately, pizza isn't just crust. And it isn't just sauce. And it isn't just toppings. It's the quality of these things and their ratio that make a great pizza...People care about toppings, too. Where's the sauce? And where's the flavor, especially in the Margherita pizza -- the true measure of any good pizza place? The Popeye pizza sounds like a good idea, but it's really just baby spinach leaves on excellent toast."
-Danyelle Freeman, NY Daily News

"its Popeye pizza, with a bevy of crisp-edged, singed (in a good way) spinach leaves on top, is one of the most memorable things I've eaten in months."
-Frank Bruni on the Times' Diner's Journal blog

"Company, the most un-Google-able eatery of the century, is less a pizzeria, more a bread restaurant that allows pizza to be made with its dough...The margherita ($13) is sublime: It features the brightest, tangiest tomatoes I've ever encountered on a pie. The buffalo mozzarella is fresh and creamy, with no signs of having been scorched by the heat."
-Ryan Sutton, Bloomberg.com