For a long time Medellin residents, when you want a Napoletian pizza in Envigado, there was only one place, Na Pizza. Well that ends now, as Na Pizza will no longer be an option in La Buena Mesa. They will be rebranding to NY by Na, which is an extension of the restaurant that they opened in Sabaneta. The team saw the success of the Sabaneta location and the success of that location, made the team reevaluate the direction of the prime location in Envigado.
The Changing Landscape of the Pizza Palate in Medellin
When one thinks of Medellin, pizza is not what you think of. While most love pizza, the offerings are not quite what many would consider quality options. Even worse are the places that use typical locations of pizza hotspots, like Brooklyn, New York, Manhattan, etc. Their performance has been less than stellar and often panned by critics. For those who don’t know what pizza is like in these locations, don’t understand what a grift it is to use those names and deliver a mediocre pizza. Na’s new NY by Na brand joins 404 House Pizza as somewhere that pizza lovers can get a true slice of east coast pizza in Colombia.
Changing Course
If you love Na’s Napoletano pizza, don’t fret, you can still get them at Na Pizza’s Mercado del Rio Express location. When I asked the ownership group of Na Pizza what drove the change his response was emblematic of the shift happening with foodies in Medellin.
“We were facing challenges in our La Buena Mesa location with brand building as well as with staffing to continue with the Napoltetano offerings. We saw the success of our Sabaneta location and decided a streamlined service with a more familiar pizza was the way to go.”
In changing course, they have been able to condense the menu and bring an undeniably unique flair to the offerings at Calle de la Buena Mesa. The decor is that of a New York subway station, minus the street musicians and a complete opposite in cleanliness. The layout is open and spacious with ample booth and table seating. The ambience has changed from a fine dining location to that of a lively hangout spot. It brings that neighborhood feel to Calle de la Buena Mesa, which is already a haven for foodies. It brings me back to living on Columbia Heights (and yes, I spelled that correctly).
Focus On Food Quality
Before the rebrand, there was a focus on ambience as well as the food, and they did both well, however it is hard to maintain that level, with employee turnover, something that plagues local restaurants. To mitigate this and to focus on the food quality, they have condensed the menu, kept the non-pizza favorites such as the wildly popular meatball sandwich and chicken parmesan sandwich and added a few new items which are sure to be among your new favorites – one being an authentic New York cheesecake, which combines local flavor with authentic elements of New York to bring a unique flavor to a “212” classic. They also added a Coney Island staple, the Zepploe to Envigado. If you don’t know what a Zeppole is, think of a beignet, only smaller. They are made from pizza dough and covered with fine powdered sugar and served warm. The zeppoles are served with arequipe or nutella, but in truth they are perfect to eat as is as well.
The star of the show is the pizza, and during this initial ramp up, the pizzas are in medium size, however when they go through the full launch, they will have 16″ pies, and for those of you scoring at home, those will be ready to do the “NYC fold” on the slices. But it takes more than that to earn the badge of authenticity, it has to be fairly firm with a bit of elasticity, have a tangy edge to the sauce and a thinner crust. Almost equally importantly it has to have a little grease from the toppings on it, and the new NY by Na passes the vibe check. I had “la carnivore” and the classic pepperoni with some friends and the pepperoni was a throwback to my time living in Brooklyn and Fascati Pizzeria was 2 blocks away on Henry St. The real treat was la carnivore, because it has the homemade sausage that Na was famous for as well as other meats that complimented the flavor incredibly. The addition of the buttered garlic sauce on the outer ring will definitely make you want to eat your pizza bones.
Value Focused Moving Forward
As we move into uncertain times globally and here in Colombia, a focus on value is a great thing for restaurants to do. This new branding and simplification allows for NY by Na to give the quality that foodies expect at a price point that leaves patrons with a sense of joy for them getting a great quality product at a very reasonable price. For example, in my visit, I had 2 pizzas, an order of zeppoles and 3 coca-colas were about $100,000cop with a tip. That fed three hungry adults and we took home pizza and (a few) zeppoles.
Ch-Ch-Changes
When David Bowie wrote Changes I’m sure he knew I’d be writing this right now, just to tell you that if you are a staunch fan of the napoletian offerings that Na has made famous in Medellin for around a decade, you don’t need to ‘face the strange’, Na Pizza Express in Merccado del Rio has the entire menu at this location. Offering the best of all worlds.
Summary
NY by Na is changing the game, and it will give a new quality restaurant option for the emerging foodie scene in Envigado and Medellin at large.
NY by Na Envigado is located at Cra 44A #31 sur – 18, Zona 2 in Envigado, for more information you can reach them by Whatsapp at +573007806791