After weeks of looking longingly into the window at 1120 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, the day finally came. N.Y.& C. finally opened their doors last night, giving the good people of Santa Monica the option to choose between New York style pizza and Chicago style pizza, along with a variety of other hometown type appetizers, sandwiches, and calzones.
N.Y. & C. was started by the guys behind another popular Santa Monica hangout, South. The owners, Adam Milstein, Philip Boyd, Robyn Landrum, and Chris Shanley, all hail from either New York or Chicago, and apparently returned to their roots to research the perfect recipe for both styles of pizza. N.Y. & C. also features a nice selection of beer taps, wine (served in stemless wine glasses, I like stemless wine glasses) an old school Ms. Pac Man table top game, and like 6 or so lcd screens each playing something different. I’m pretty sure one of the tv’s was showing chariot races live from Yonkers. That could have been the Guinness, but I don’t think so.
The decor is split 50/50 between New York and Chicago. The tables, booths, and walls on one half of the restaurant are decorated with photos of New York, Subway signs, and Yankees jerseys, while the other half is designed with photos of Chicago along with a White Sox and Cubs jersey.
Congrats to the N.Y.& C. guys for pulling off what will obviously be a huge success. I tried the Chicago deep dish pizza (pictured below) and it was beyond awesome. We boxed up the last two pieces and then ate them as soon we got home 10 minutes later. We’ll be back really soon to check out the New York style pizza (spy-pictured below). When you stop by, say hi to Sam, who told me that he and his buddies were starting this place when I saw him at Floyd’s Barbershop a couple months ago. You should get to know Sam because he is a Santa Monica celebrity (I think he works at every bar in Santa Monica.. at least Sonny McLean’s, South, and now N.Y. & C. I also think I saw him in a Mastercard commercial.)
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