Pizza, it's been said, is all about the crust.

So when one of the great bread geniuses of our time (Jim Lahey, head baker at Sullivan Street Bakery) goes on a pizza pilgrimage, tinkers for months to create the perfect crust and opens a pizzeria, we'll be the first in line.

Charging head first into the hotly contested New York pizza scene is Co. Pizzeria (pronounced "Company"), Lahey's new crust/sauce/cheese temple in Chelsea, definitively opening Friday after two years of delay.

Early intel from our internal pizza team is that the crust is falling right in the zone of goodness between crispy and chewy. As for toppings, you're not going to see anything crazy—just fresh buffalo mozzarella from Italy, homemade tomato sauce and a few curveballs to be unveiled by Jim on Friday.

From what we're seeing, Co. is set to be the newest member of the pizza big leagues (joining the current axis of cheese—Di Fara's, Franny's and Una Pizza Napoletana) and the next big pizza scene—it's going to be crowded, crazy and smell fantastic.

So you'll want to stake your claim to the circular table right by the kitchen (optimal aroma zone) or settle in at one of the two communal tables and get down to business.

And by business we mean pizza.