(Photo: Kenneth Chen)

If ever a doughy denizen of New York’s slice-joint scene needed an image consultant, it would be the calzone, a.k.a. pizza’s overweight, underachieving kid brother. Enter Mario Batali. Although New York is a baked-calzone town, at Otto, Batali deep-fries his version (Mondays only) to golden perfection. Filled with just the right amount of heavenly ricotta and top-notch prosciutto cotto, and showered with grated pecorino and chilies, it makes an uncharacteristically grand entrance. Now, if only someone would tackle the garlic knot.
Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, One Fifth Avenue, 212-995-9559

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• Archive: “Best of New York Weekly”
• Articles by Rob Patronite
• Table of Contents: Jun 30, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!