Marta

Located: 29 E. 29th St., Call: 212-651-3800, NoMad, Manhattan
Danny Meyer and chef Nick Anderer—from Maialino—have knuckled down to offer the best take on cracker-thin, Roman-style pizza this side of Rome. Marta, at the newly reopened Martha Washington Hotel in NoMad, has been welcomed with wild enthusiasm—so expect to wait for a table, reservation or no. You could do far worse than to while away time in Veronica—the adjacent, plush bar named for screen siren Veronica Lake, who worked here as a barmaid in the early 1960s after she hit the skids. Back then the Martha Washington, built in 1903, was a women-only residence and probably not so grand as it is now. Marta is vast and high-ceilinged, like an old-timey bank. An open kitchen features two wood-burning ovens and an industrious team of cooks and pizzaioli. Pizza-topping prejudices notwithstanding, the salsiccia—mozzarella, pork sausage, crimini mushrooms, tomato sauce—was the hands-down winner at a recent sampling. Reasonable people will opt for a healthy salad to start; but if you're with a group get a bucket of crunchy fried chicken to share, along with good, affordable half liters of house wine.