Down a stairwell on the Lower East Side is this unassuming, straightforward choice from Michael Ayoub where the pizzas, 29 pie selections, are made with tomatoes flown in from Italy and herbs grown in Ayoub's own greenhouse. Master Pizzaiola, Nicola Bertolotti, covers what Ayoub calls "three generations of pizza." We like the black truffle pie and loved the one made with homemade sausage and fennel. And who knew so many wines went well with the classic margherita? There's 85 choices including 18 by the glass. Nice extras on the menu include antipasti and a cherry- flavored cotton candy spun from an old- fashioned machine. All in all a good departure from the pretension that has started to invade this neighbourhood.

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