NYC Pizzeria Mel's Announces Summer Series Featuring Michelin-Star Chefs

What could be better than a summer-themed pizza from Mel's cooked by a Michelin-starred chef? How about a whole series of pizzas from four of them? Well, that's exactly what's happening this July and August, as Mel's namesake Melissa Rodriguez is bringing together four of her friends and colleagues, who just happen to be some of the biggest names in New York City dining, for a run of limited-time pizzas. Located in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, Mel's is one of three follow-ups to Rodriguez's acclaimed work at upscale Italian restaurant Del Posto. While her stint there earned her a Michelin star of her own, Mel's is a more casual spot that embraces fun and experimentation, and its new lineup of pizzas embraces an eclectic mix of ingredients and styles from the best New York City has to offer.

Christened the "F.O.M.O." series, for Friends of Mel's Oven, in a press release sent to Tasting Table, each pizza will be rotated through the menu for a multi-week stay from now until Labor Day. The first summer pizza, available now until July 21, is from Chef Daniel Boulud, famous for his eponymous restaurant Daniel, where Rodriguez worked as a sous chef. His pizza is inspired by his seafood restaurant Le Pavillon and features an oyster chowder sauce, topped with oysters, potatoes, leeks, and hazelnuts, all built on top of a parsley-seaweed crust. And that's just the start of the summer goodness.

Following up Chef Boulud's seafood pie is a slightly more traditional, but no less delicious-sounding offering from Gabriel Kreuther, who runs a self-named French restaurant in New York's W.R. Grace Building. Available from July 22 to August 4, it will have cured anchovies and dry-cured black olives, green bell pepper, red onion, and ricotta. That will lead to a pizza from worldwide culinary star Jean-Georges Vongerichten called "The Sunflower," which embraces summer flavors with a Sungold tomato sauce, summer squash and squash blossoms, and mozzarella and ricotta cheese and will be available from August 5 until August 18. The last, but no less exciting creation is from Junghyun Park, the South Korean chef who owns Atoboy and Atomix. On the menu from August 19 until September 1, his "K-Mediterranean Pizza" is a sardine-kimchi pizza topped with fried sardines, pork belly, kimchi, and fresh arugula.

All these specialty pizzas will be available at Mel's for both lunch and dinner, alongside all of the normal offerings. And if you loved your pizza so much you want a permanent keepsake, Mel's has a limited-edition F.O.M.O. series tee-shirts available for sale. For New Yorkers and visitors who want to enjoy a laid-back summer with food from some of New York's most famous chefs, Mel's is the place to be.