L'asso

L'asso Restaurant Review:

Occupying a small corner of NoLIta, L’asso’s tiny, no-frills but rustically charming digs are insufficient to accommodate the locals and nearby-NYU undergrads who flock in for the brick-oven pizzas and pastas. The brightly lit-by-day, dim-by-night dining area is hung with modern art pieces and lined with closely spaced wooden tables and chairs. Freshly made pies are served in three different sizes. The Tartufo Affumicato pizza, with portobello pesto, mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, rosemary and truffle oil, is unique and robustly flavored, as is the Prophet Pistachio pizza with homemade basil pesto, smoked mozzarella, pistachios, arugula and Parmesan. If pasta is the preference, the linguine mare, with sautéed shrimp and calamari in a white wine sauce, has both zing and zest with just the right amount of garlic. The mostly Italian wine list has a few good (and affordable) selections sourced from the tip to the top of the boot.