Taste Pizza Bar

Located on the second floor of an old brick building on Times Square, Taste may not be the easiest place to find, but once you arrive there'll be no doubt you're in the right place. Seating as many as 175, Taste sprawls through two rooms, with the dining area separated from the even larger lounge. An added bonus for night owls is its 2 a.m. closing time. Although first-rate 10-inch pies are Taste’s raison d’etre, chef-owner Dale Daniel offers diners a wide variety of starters, soups, salads and grilled sandwiches. The admirable toppings on the 20-odd pies present combinations that should please picky pizza mavens. Most of the pies cost $13 or less — the upscale outlier is the “Ocean 21” ($21), with lobster, scallops, and shrimp. As in most pizza parlors, you can also build your own pie with toppings that range from artichokes to Gorgonzola to zucchini. And kudos to the sommelier for selecting bottles from solid but relatively obscure small vineyards and for establishing a no-nonsense pricing system. Beer is reasonably priced as well at$3-$5 and several of the cocktails come in small ($6-$7) as well as large sizes.