Posto Thin Crust Pizza (New York, N.Y.)

It's hard to believe it's only been about 4 years since I discovered my favorite pizza restaurant.

During a January 2009 trip to New York, my friend who was living in Manhattan at the time took our group to his favorite Gramercy neighborhood pizza joint for lunch. Chris and I immediately fell for Posto Thin Crust Pizza with its cracker-like charred crust and fresh, flavorful toppings. We've made it a tradition ever since that our first meal upon arriving in New York is eaten at Posto.

Our longtime favorite is the Salsiccia Dolce (Italian for "sweet sausage"), made with sweet Italian sausage, beautifully sweetened caramelized onion and generous sprinkle of fresh basil ribbons. Along with the usual slices of fresh mozzarella and Posto's perfectly textured tomato sauce, it's the stuff of our pizza dreams.

Recently, for the sake of variety, we ventured out from our usual pie and sampled two others. On the basis of the online comments, we got the popular Shroomtown featuring thick hearty slices of portobello, shiitake and button mushrooms. What makes their mushroom pie particularly enticing is its scent: the unmistakable fragrance of white truffle oil.

We also got the Parma, an adventurous combination of intensely smoky thick pieces of "millionaire" bacon with crispy prosciutto, arugula, green apples and a balsamic reduction. The pie delivers a well-balanced mix of meaty, smoky, sweet, sour and bitter flavors, plus a kick of spicy for good measure. While I imagine we'll remain faithful to our good friend the Salciccia Dolce, we also liked both of these pies very much.

Like many New York restaurants, Posto is a small space, so if you're headed there in the evening, you may have to wait for a table (it never seems as busy at lunchtime, although it can fill up then too). Cool your heels at the bar with one of three rotating selections of draft beer or enjoy one of the couple dozen international selections of wine available by the glass or bottle. Once your seated expect service that is friendly and efficient.

Posto, it turns out is part of a chain, along with its progenitor Gruppo in the East Village, Spunto in the West Village and Vezzo in Murray Hill, all of which have identical (as far as I can tell) menus.

Posto Thin Crust Pizza, 310 Second Avenue (at 18th Street), New York, N.Y. (Gramercy). (212) 716-1200.