TPTHMD: 11 Years of Pizzas That Have Haunted OG Pizza Writer Adam Kuban

Every year, OG pizza writer Adam Kuban (once called one of the “20 Greatest Food Bloggers of All Time” by First We Feast) publishes a list of pizzerias he’s visited during the calendar year. He’s been doing this since 2009 when he was writing for Slice, his pizza blog (since folded, sorry…pun) acquired by Ed Levine’s site Serious Eats. A few days ago, Kuban published his annual TPTHMD piece (The Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams), making it 11 (!) years of pizzas that’ve haunted the guy.

“Looked at as a whole, you could argue that at least half of these pizzerias could be featured on a “best pizzas in America” list and you’d have something better than most best-of lists out there.”

I’ve been in food writing for 15 years and I’ve read a ton of stuff by writers (not just pizza, LOL) that either makes me mad, skeptical, or… well, mad. That doesn’t happen with Adam. I trust the guy’s recs implicitly. So when he does his roundup at year’s end, I look to see if there are any places I need to hit.

In my head over the past five years, I thought that these lists first snagged my attention because of Kuban’s Louie & Ernie’s sausage pie rec, which I immediately fell in love with (if you don’t know, it’s the post-game Bronx pizza move after a Yankees afternoon win).

But the fog of pizza memory can be thick: Turns out Louie & Ernie’s isn’t among pizzerias featured on these lists from 2009 through 2019. It was written about in 2010 (“The Bronx: Louie & Ernie's Pizza for a Sausage/Onion Pie to Haunt Your Dreams”) and noted as not making the list because it wasn’t visited until after that year’s list was published.

Anyway, that first eye-rollingly good sausage pie cemented my already substantial trust in Adam’s recs. If he says a pizza haunts him, I need to meet the ghost. (The original criterion was, “not ‘the best,’ per se, just the top eight I keep thinking about and wanting more of.”)

But one thing Kuban hasn’t done is feature all of these pizza poltergeists in one place. Sure, you can look at the bottom of each piece and go back one piece at a time (‘19, ’18, ’17, ’16, ’15, ’14, ’13, ’12, ’11, ’10, ’09) and read them all—and if you’re an obsessive and you haven’t, you’ll have fun doing that—but if you just want to know where the places are so you can start hitting them…well, you can’t.

So because over the years I’ve used these lists to do my own adventuring, and I know there are others out there like me (well, at least a little as obsessed), I collected all the places into one map for ease of reference (the 2015 list had to be found in The Wayback Machine). Looked at as a whole, you could argue that at least half of these pizzerias could be featured on a “best pizzas in America” list and you’d have something better than most best-of lists out there.

Here’s what you should know if are interested in the places featured over more than a decade:

This list goes back. And I mean back. One of the haunting pies was made by Paulie Giannone in his backyard… as in Paulie Gee before he opened his first pizzeria.

It’s a little slice of pizza trend history. From Pizzeria Bianco and Prince Street Pizza to L’Industrie and Mama’s Too!, you can track the arrival and rise of many of today’s most well-respected pizzerias.

I’m not the only one who looks forward to this list. Pizza guys have told me they were bummed to know he ate at their joint and they didn’t make the list.

It’s not actually eight pizzas. Only about half the years have featured eight pies. As I understand it, there are eight because Serious Eats slideshows used to be eight slides long (how quaint!) and there are eight slices in a pie. A few years feature more than eight pies (with 12, 2018 featured the most) and there are repeats over the years. Sue the guy—what can he do, he’s haunted… didn’t you hear me? LOL

He’s featured places he hasn’t visited. “There are dreams you have after the fact and dreams born of aspiration.” Who said there’s no poetry to pizza?

It's actually pizzas from about 75 pizzerias. Fourteen places have been featured more than once. Paulie Gee's and Mack's are tied with five times, followed by Prince Street Pizza with four times, Motorino at three, and a bunch of places with two hits. Only one place has made the list twice in one year: Paulie Gee’s in 2010.

Ball and chain. Papa John’s made the list in 2010.

You can’t hit all the places. A bunch of places are closed. And one year, a reader’s pie made the list. So you’d have to find Craig "TXCraig1" Lindberg in Texas (if he still lives there) and get him to cook for you.

This map is color coded. By year. Here’s a link to it in case you just want to view it that way on your phone or download it onto your laptop so you can look easier year by year.

Me? I’ve hit all but 22 of the spots that have made the lists. Norma’s and Mack’s are burning holes in my to-do list. So check out the map and the list of places featured below to use as your own to-do list and follow @akuban and @spinningpizzathing on Instagram if you’re not already.

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2009 Maria's Pizzeria, Motorino, Paulie Gee's Backyard Oven, Veloce Pizzeria, Serious Pie, Emilia's Pizzeria, Pizzeria Bianco, Sally's Apizza

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2010 Paulie Gee's, Loui's Pizza, Motorino, Roseland Apizza, Kesté, Papa John's Pizza, Marco’s Pizza, Best Pizza, Paulie Gee's

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2011 Umberto's, Star Tavern, Adrienne's, Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza, Paulie Gee's, Roberta's Pizza Cart, Pizzetteria Brunetti, Forcella

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2012 Lombardi's Pizza Truck, Mack's Pizza, Speedy Romeo, Prince Street Pizza, Williamsburg Pizza, Federici's, Rosario's, READER PIE

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2013 Via 313, Motorino, Totonno's, Colony Grill, Tappo, Williamsburg Pizza, Tufino, Paulie Gee's

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2014 Prince Street Pizza, Casey's Pizza, Ragazza, Kinchley's Tavern, Wheated, Lazzara's, Rosario's, GG's, Paulie Gee's, Emily

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2015 Rubirosa, Via 313, Pieous, Maria's Pizza, Mack's, Lazzara’s Pizza, Colony Grill, Prince Street Pizza, Roberta’s Square Pie Pop-Up at Humboldt & Jackson, Last Dragon Pizza

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2016 Prince Street Pizza, Lillian Pizzeria, Harry's Italian Pizza Bar, Emmy Squared, Mack's Pizza, Bruno, Pugsley Pizza, Farinella Bakery Pizza

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2017 Sofia, Nick's Pizzabar, Corner Slice, Mack's, Pizza Head, Dani's, Marinara Pizza, Delmar, NY Pizza Suprema, Emily (West Village)

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2018 Louie's, NY Pizza Suprema, Emmy Squared, L&B, Mama's Too!, Beebe's, Paulie Gee's Slice Shop, L'Industrie, Scarr's, Corner Slice, Brooklyn Square, Mack's

8 Pizzas That Haunt My Dreams 2019 Upside, Sofia, Dani's, Rosie's, Mama's Too!, Norma's, King Umberto, Paulie Gee's Slice Shop, Philomena's, Razza, L'industrie

Dave Portnoy and Nino Coniglio Take "One Bite" of the East Village with Alright Frankie

The space on the corner of Avenue A and E 13th Street, once Percy’s Tavern, has been closed for two years.

Alright Frankie, everybody knows the rules: One bite of the East Village restaurant scene. That’s right, pizza’s most followed Instagram and YouTube reviewer in America (or number one troll, depending on your vantage point), “Davey Pageviews” is teaming up with Nino Coniglio, one of the city’s high-profile pizza chefs to open a pizzeria. That’s right, Alphabet City… bring on the bros because it’s going to be SantaCon 365 days a year.

“Pizza’s most followed Instagram and YouTube reviewer in America (or number one troll, depending on your vantage point), “Davey Pageviews” is teaming up with Nino Coniglio, one of the city’s high-profile pizza chefs to open a pizzeria.”

Neither party responded to initial inquiries about the rumor I’d been hearing for two months. But after posting it to Instagram with the rumored name, a like from Barstool Sports’ account and a repost by Nino Coniglio’s @BrooklynPizzaCrew account seem to confirm different parts (the partnership, location, and name) of the same rumor that I’ve heard from five sources.

The rumored name of the place is “Alright Frankie,” which Barstool already has merch for.

“El Pres,” aka David Portnoy, aka THAT Portnoy of “Everybody knows the rules” Barstool Sports Pizza Reviews and the One Bite app is teaming up with pizza personality, chef, and consultant Nino Coniglio (of Williamsburg Pizza) to open a bar pie pizzeria in the former Percy’s Tavern space on the corner of E 13th Street and Avenue A.

I can’t cite four sources who shared the news, but I can credit Michael W of @michaelwtravelsfood for the rumored name of the place... “Alright Frankie,” which Barstool already has merch for. If you don’t watch (I don’t really watch) then you know this is one of the catchphrases of the Barstool Pizza reviews.

Brooklyn Pizza Crew reposted the rumor in stories and Barstool Sports liked the post.

From what I understand, Frankie is the cameraman for the Barstool Sports reviews, and interestingly, I’ve been told Frankie’s family is behind Borelli’s Pizzeria (est. 1955), which Long Islanders know from it being near Hofstra University and the Nassau Mausoleum.

Anyway, if true, this would all mean that Portnoy will be the rare personality turned pizza restaurateur, and would rare bar pie in New York City. Interesting that the closest thing to bar pizza outside Adam Kuban’s pop-up Margot’s is Gruppo, which already has an East Village location (a tavern-cut Midwestern bar pie is also served at Chicago deep-dish SoHo joint Emmet’s).

It will also mean that the Stool President will have a place for his 1.7 million followers to make pilgrimage to give their dear leader a score on his famed 10-point scale. Ostensibly, it’d give pizza chefs a place and a way to turn the tables on El Pres or get revenge with their own reviews of his pizza.

If you’re wondering, “Why bar pie?” know that Portnoy was born in Swampscott, Massachusetts—the New England pizza scene is known for being part of the bar pie belt. Also, less “flop” as he likes to say.

Is Barstool Sports bad for pizza? Portnoy has been accused of running a site that perpetuates toxicity and misogyny, social media harassment, and of violating the 1935 National Labor Relations Act via tweet. The merits of the Barstool reviews are debated amongst restaurateurs and pizza cognoscenti. But even bad reviews have been known to bring an influx of good business, at least, for a time. Love him or hate him, there will be some in the pizza business who credit Portnoy for putting his own skin in the game.

But as one of New York City’s highest profile pizza chefs DM’d, “Not gonna lie, he’s got balls and zero fear. A critic opening his own spot. LOL. Better be good.”

 

How to Pass As a Local At Buddy's Pizza (Hint: Order the Antipasto)

The move at Buddy’s: sop up the dressing.

So here’s a pro tip related to Detroit-style pizza that I wouldn’t have known without sitting down with Wes Pikula, the Vice President of Operations for Buddy’s Pizza at the original location at 17125 Conant Street.

According to Wes, the Buddy’s antipasto salad is just as iconic a part of the restaurant experience as the pizza. There are three other salads—house, Greek, and Caesar, and you can add oven-roasted turkey, grilled chicken, or solid white albacore tuna (for $2.99 each) to them all—but the antipasto is a big part of the tradition. It’s a freshly chopped mixture of romaine hearts and iceberg lettuce topped with diced imported ham and salami, Wisconsin brick cheese, and fresh tomatoes.

“Instead of grabbing a new plate from the stack on every table, when their pizza arrives many regulars just slip slices onto the same plates they used for their salads so that the crust can soak up the zesty vinaigrette.”

It comes standard topped with Buddy’s homemade “famous vinaigrette” dressing, whose invention Wes attributed to a longtime employee named Connie Piccinato. In some versions of the Buddy’s origin story Connie also taught Gus Guerra how to make pizza. Red wine vinegar, vegetable oil, lots of Italian seasoning, and what looks like bay leaves are the only ingredients you can glean from looking at the dressing that’s being “aged” in gallon jugs.

Buddy’s antipasto salad: a freshly chopped mixture of romaine hearts and iceberg lettuce topped with diced imported ham and salami, Wisconsin brick cheese, and fresh tomatoes

When it comes to the O.G. Detroit places, secret recipes rule, but according to Wes, it’s been homemade this way at the restaurant, without additives or preservatives, for decades—even as they’ve expanded considerably.

Looking at the salad, you don’t expect much—it has the look of a typical Midwestern Italian-American salad, complete with McCormick spice profile. And yet… there’s something compulsively tasty about this simple salad studded with the same cubed cheese they use on the pies.

But enough rhapsodizing about iceberg lettuce.

Looking at the salad, you don’t expect much—it looks like a typical Midwestern Italian-American salad.

Wes notes that instead of grabbing a new plate from the stack on every table, when their pizza arrives many regulars just slip slices onto the same plates they used for their salads so that the crust can soak up the zesty vinaigrette.

Yes, it does soften that crispy Buddy’s edge but it’s a tasty move. Worth trying on a first slice. At the least, it’s a soak-the-crust move to prevent pizza bones. Not that you really are faced with that problem in a city known for its flavorful crusts.

 

Where Should I Eat Pizza Near the World Trade Center?

You really want to go to the West Village location of Joe’s for the true Joe’s experience, but if you need a slice Downtown, it’s the reliable option.

One of the side effects of obsessing over pizza is that people ask for recommendations. Frequently, they’re geographic-based in nature. Sometimes they’re from out-of-towners looking to get the most out of an upcoming trip to New York City, but they’re often from lifelong New Yorkers. This intermittent feature (Where Should I Eat Pizza…) aims to cast advice from questions that have slid into NYC Best Pizza’s DMs into a wider sphere.

“For slices really close to the World Trade Center, go to the Joe’s outpost. If you’re closer to it for some reason and in a pinch, Pranzo. For full pies, go to Adrienne’s for a square, or Kesté or Eataly for Neapolitan pies. If you have more time, walk to Scarr’s or over the bridge to DUMBO.”

The Question: “Out-of-town guests this weekend, we need pizza suggestions. In Manhattan, please. Thank you.”

Always: “What part of the City and what style!?”

Brass Tacks: “I think we are going to be somewhere near the World Trade Center. A slice joint is better.”

Where You Should Eat a Slice if You’re Downtown Near the World Trade Center: Manhattan’s a trickier place to get a good slice than an out-of-towner might think. There’s a lot of bad pizza in Manhattan and good slices are often nowhere near the City’s biggest tourist attractions. I once mapped out the disaster that was the slice Waste Land around the Empire State Building (to quote from P. Za Elliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Crustrock “Do I dare to eat a bad slice?), until recently Times Square and Midtown in general has been a pretty rough place to find a slice, and Downtown, well. Yeah.

There are at least two to three dozen pizzerias and places that serve pizza in the area. “Near” is a relative term, of course, but if you’re in the Financial District or near the World Trade Center and don’t mind walking anywhere rom 10 to 25 minutes for pizza you do have a few options.

FOR FULL PIES

Adrienne's Pizza Bar (54 Stone St) is on a picturesque cobblestone street that harkens old Manhatta and makes you feel like you’re on a movie set. Opened in 2004, Adrienne's has indoor and outdoor seating (great for cooperative weather). They do more than a dozen round 12-inch pies, pastas, and salads, but you're really going for the cheesy pan-cooked "old-fashioned square pizzas," red (crushed tomatoes, homemade fresh mozz, and Parmesan) or white (ricotta and freshh mozz) with your choice of toppings (sausage, pepperoni, and extra garlic makes for a great pie). Adrienne’s is cultishly loved and grudgingly good. It’s open for lunch and dinner. You just may be faced with a wait.

An old-fashioned square pizza at Adrienne’s.

Kesté Wall Street (77 Fulton St) There’s a FiDi outpost of Roberto Caporuscio’s Bleecker Street Neapolitan institution that’s also down there. Neapolitan pies means no slices, but they did introduce a “5-Dollar Pizza Popolare” early 2019, basically a cheaper version of their $9-$25 pies. If you haven’t had their Montanara, a fried Neapolitan pizza (think puffy tacos but Naples pizza style), it’s something worth trying at least once. Pretty big dining room, open lunch and dinner.

La Pizza — Eataly (101 Liberty St Floor 3) Eataly teamed up with the international Neapolitan chain Rossopomodoro for this outpost. It’s perfectly competent.

Adoro Lei (287 Hudson St) A hip little spot in Hudson Square with a clubby vibe where you can forget what time of day it is outside. This venture from entrepreneur Rick Froio, Adoro Lei’s Creative Director Michael DiBugnara, and Chef Mario Gentile does Neapolitan and New York City style pies. They’re friendly, the pies are playful, and the toppings are of good quality.

Lombardi’s (32 Spring St) As I’ve written for The Daily Meal: “Anybody interested in tracing America’s love affair with pizza to its origins will find the way to Lombardi’s. Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1897, and in 1905 he started selling tomato pies wrapped in paper. The pizzeria was run by the Lombardi family — first by Gennaro’s son, John, then his grandson, Jerry — until it closed in 1984, and was reopened 10 years later a block from the original location by Jerry and John Brescio, a childhood friend.” Research by a Chicago pizza historian has since been found to show that Filippo Milone came before Gennaro Lombardi,, but the place is still an institution.

Full Disclosure: I haven’t been to these sit-down spots and can’t say one way or another whether they’re worth the time: Il Brigante, Inatteso Pizzabar Casano, Harry's Italian, Gigino Trattoria, and Il Mattone.

FOR SLICES

Here are your options: Joe’s, Pizza Etalia (formerly Georgio's), Underground Pizza, Pranzo, Dona Bella, Da Vinci, Rosella’s, Artichoke Basille’s, La Bellezza, Skinny Pizza, Cafe Amore’s, and Little Italy. Know that anytime you have to rely on Little Italy II (a local mini-chain) for a good slice your’e in trouble (Joey Pepperoni more egregiously so). I haven’t been to Georgio’s since it became Pizza Etalia, Dona Bella is objectively horrible, and the siren call of completism hasn’t yet overpowered the scarring of eating other bad and mediocre pizza Downtown to draw me to Underground, Da VInci, or Rosella’s.

Joe’s Pizza FiDi (124 Fulton St) As I’ve written for The Daily Meal: “Since 1975, Joe’s Pizza has served fresh, hot, cheesy slices to tourists and residents alike, making it a truly iconic New York City landmark. It’s as synonymous with New York City as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Everyone has a favorite slice joint, but if the city were to have just one, this would be it. It’s made every conceivable best-of list (many of them tacked on the walls and in the windows), and for good reason. The key to Joe's success is their traditional New York City-style pizza with thin crust, great sauce, and just the right ratio of cheese, sauce, and crust (just a bit less of the first two). It took about 38 years for Joe’s to try to capitalize on its West Village success, opening an East Village location a few years ago that turns out a similar-quality product — if with slightly less demand (consider this side-by-side comparison). That was followed pretty quickly by their first location in Brooklyn (in Williamsburg), as well as one near Times Square,” and here in the FiDi starting in early 2019.

Pranzo (34 Water St) On the other side of the island from the World Trade Center (so a bit of a hike) two blocks from the East River, Pranzo is a real workingman’s sliceria. Shuttered after Sandy, Pranzo reopened in 2013, and has been run by William Hertz and John Chiodi since 1995. Its site notes Pranzo is a "Golden Slice Award Winner." If you don't know, that means Robert Sietsema said it's a good neighborhood spot on Eater. I usually use Golden Slices as telltale signs places are to be avoided (the pictures always depict slices that are "good" if we've thrown up our hands)., but Pranzo serves the quintessential serviceable slice: a little cheesy, a little saucy, balanced. A legit thin crust with crispness and a dry floury bottom. You could eat it in a jam, but you don’t want to take someone there to show off New York City pizza.

THE SKINNY: JOE’S, ADRIENNE’S, OR A LONG WALK

Good Slices Near and Fast: If you're a New Yorker and you’re down there and need a slice (you know better, tsk, tsk) or you’re there with folks from out of town and need on-the-go or even stop-and-smell-the-roses, er… tomato sauce slices, go to the Joe's outpost. No, it's not the original but the new spots are usually pretty good, it’s dependable and it's classic New York City. When you say “near” it’s about as close to the World Trade Center as you can get decent pizza. Pranzo, out of the way, is okay in a pinch, but you should be making better plans.

Slices “Nearby” Where “Near” is 30 Minutes: If you have the time and enjoy walking, go get an actual good slice and save Joe’s for the West Village original location, the true Joe’s experience. Walk over to Scarr’s. For other buzzy and well-regarded slices, you also have Manero’s and Williamsburg Pizza about the same distance away.

Good Pies Nearby: If you want something New York-ish then Adrienne’s. If getting a style of pizza you can only get in New York City doesn’t matter, Kesté or Eataly.

Full Pies “Nearby” Where “Near” is 20-40 Minutes: If time is your friend and you haven’t been, Lombardi’s (to say you’ve done it) or Adoro Lei if you want to stay in Manhattan. If you like walking, cross over to the other side of Manhattan’s narrowest stretch and walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO where you’ll find Brooklyn classics: Grimaldi’s, Juliana’s (or Juliana’s Time Out Market location), and soon, L&B Spumoni. It’s just a 40-minute walk and if you haven’t been, well, they’re checklist spots. Of course, this begs the question: Where Should I Eat Pizza in Brooklyn? But to quote Michael Ende's The Neverending Story, “That's another story and shall be told another time.”

Feel like I missed a spot? Or got something wrong? Comments are on. Or DM @NYCBestPizza.

NEED OTHER NEW YORK CITY PIZZA RECS?

The Best Pizza in NYC for Every Budget The single best slice or pie at every price point, from .99 cents to $30 (for First We Feast)

The Most Underrated Pizza in NYC From greasy slice joints in Queens to iconic red-sauce restaurants in the Bronx, it's time to shed light on the city's unsung pizza heroes. (for First We Feast)

Seeking Recommendations: What Are the Best Pizzerias in Queens?

Repeated samplings of the Freddy Prince at Paulie Gee's Slice Shop have made me realize that its inspiration, Freddy's Pizzeria in Whitestone, Queens is not among the old-school joints I've visited throughout the five boroughs. (For those not in the know, Prince Street Pizza is the other half of the inspiration behind this slice.)

If I'm going to to Freddy's, I'm going to make it worth my time and go on a self-guided Queens pizza tour. To my shame or not... I have NOT hit:
•Alfie's
•Andre's
•Carlos Pizzeria
•Gaby's
•John's
•Lucia
•Napolia Pizzeria & Restaurant
•Romeo
•Rosa 2
•Steinway Pizza
•Sunnyside
•The Original Pizza Sam
•John’s (Elmhurst)

Any of those worth seeking out immediately? Any I should be ashamed of having missed? I'm looking for more Queens recs, iconic and under-the-radar. And the urgency with which I need to seek them out.

If there are any places you don't see on the list below (which I've hit), PLEASE send them my way. Repeat, I have HIT the ones below. Looking for pies above to be vouched for and any others I haven't mentioned below.

•Amore Pizzeria
•Brother's PIzza
•Dani's House of Pizza
•Gloria Pizza
•Margherita Pizza
•Milkflower
•New Park Pizza
•Nick's Pizza
•Pizza Garden
•Rosario's
•Rosa's
•Rose & Joe's
•Sac's Place
•Tufino
•VIPizza
•Boston Pizza*
•Beebe’s*

Thanks, pizza fiends!

N.B. Adding “*” and places to list that I’ve been if they come up in comments and I forgot to include.

Long Island’s Oldest Pizzerias

I do this to myself all the time, have a project that I’m working on that sends me down a rabbit hole (pizza rabbit hole? pizza hole? black pizza hole? pizza whirpool? pizza spiral?) that’s related, tangential, not what I should be spending my time on, but too interesting to let go. In this case, I’ve been left wondering about the oldest pizzerias in Long Island. What are they?

How has this not been a topic that’s been definitively resolved? If it has, I can’t find it online. Considering the proximity to Pizza City, the number of Italian-Americans who have lived there over the decades and the strong pizza culture that exists, you’d think someone would have asked and tried to answer this question. According to the Census, of the 2,832,882 residents of Long Island living there today, 669,639 of them are Italian-American. That’s nearly 25 percent!

According to Stony Brook University’s Long Island History Journal, “By 1930, Italian immigrants had flourishing populations in Port Washington, Glen Cove, Patchogue, and many smaller, recently formed neighborhoods, like San Remo, on Riviera Drive in Kings Park, or Marconiville, a small ethnic enclave in Copiague.”

Those were good locations to start looking. And look I did, noting Long Island’s most famous spots as I went (fair to say those would be what, Umberto’s for grandma pies, Eddie’s for bar pies, Gino’s, and Little Vincent’s for the cold cheese slice?). While far from definitive, here’s a timeline of some of the area’s most well-known pizzerias and, toward the bottom of the list (let’s say the Original Umberto’s on down), a stab at naming some of the oldest. It omits all pizzerias in Brooklyn and Queens, which, while technically Long Island, don’t count for the purposes of this game—Nassau and Suffolk counties only. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with Long Island’s bestpizzerias (though a few of my favorites are there).

Funny, I grew up going to Umberto’s (grandpa John Tortorello’s favorite place) and Borrelli’s, though most frequently there for the manicotti.

If you have any suggestions for places that should be added to the list, please hit me up at pizza@best-pizza.nyc (Erica Marcus, I’m looking at you!). — 

1980 Sal’s Pizza (Sayville)
1980 Emilio’s (Commack)
1980 Carlo’s Pizza Oven (Port Jefferson)
1979 Piccolo (Bellmore)
1976 Prince Umberto (Franklin Square)
1976 Mamma Lombardi’s Restaurant (Holbrook)
1976 King Umberto (Elmont)
1974 La Scala (Commack)
1974 Aegean Pizza & Italian Restaurant (Holbrook)
1974 Ancona Pizzeria & Heroes (Valley Stream)
1971 Little Vincent’s (Ronkhonoma)
1970 Baby Moon (Westhampton Beach)**
1969 Mario’s Pizzeria (Oyster Bay)
1965 Original Umberto’s (New Hyde Park)
1965 Agnoletto (New Hyde Park)
1962 Gino’s of Long Beach (Long Beach)
1958 Pizza Supreme (Garden City)
1957 Albert’s Pizza (Copiague)*
1955 Borrelli’s (East Meadow)
1947 Sam’s Bar & Restaurant (East Hampton)
1931 Eddie’s (New Hyde Park)

*Shoutout to Porter Francis
**Credit Matthew Hyland of Emily Pizza

Can You Take Pizza on a Plane? The TSA Says, “#PieCanFly”

No hot dogs, no hamburgers, no tacos. No bagels, barbecue, fried chicken. None of those foods are currently listed on the Transportation Security Administration’s list of vital vittles approved to go through airport security. That’s not to say that burgers and the like aren’t allowed, but they aren’t officially sanctioned foods. List or not, ultimately, “The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint.” But it can only help to be on the official list. So good news cheese and crust lovers asking the question, “Can you take pizza on a plane,” according to the TSA’s National Press Secretary Matt Leas, “The TSA is pro pizza.”

If you’re curious about other foods you can take on board, include the following: baby food; formula; bread; candy; canned food; cereal; solid cheese; chocolate; coffee beans; cookies; crackers; dried fruits; fresh eggs; cooked and fresh meat, seafood, and vegetables; whole fruits and berries; nuts; pies; sandwiches, and spices.

If the amount is less than 3.4 oz (0.42 cups), the TSA’s list includes: creamy cheese, liquid chocolate, creamy dips and spreads, gravy, honey, hummus, jam and jelly, juices, maple syrup, oils and vinegars, peanut butter, salad dressings, salsa and sauces, soups, and yogurt.

Mini bottles of alcohol (containing more than 24% but not more than70% alcohol) are also allowed but are limited in checked bags to 1.3 gallons (5 liters) per passenger. According to FAA regulation 49 CFR 175.10(a)(4), you can also take them in carry-on but they have to be unopened and they “must be able to comfortably fit into a single quart-sized bag.” That’s something that could save those you like to take the edge off a few bucks, but you might want to either memorize or print out the regulation (and again, remember, TSA discretion).

Ice cream is allowed in checked bags but not in carry-on, and live lobsters are allowed in checked bags but you need to check with your airline about carry-on. If you’ve ever wondered whether or not you can pack a certain item, the TSA encourages you to “snap a picture and tweet it to @AskTSA or send it via Facebook Messenger.” They say that their our team will respond “promptly with an answer.”

According to the TSA’s National Press Secretary Matt Leas, “The TSA is pro pizza.”

But back to what’s important. The TSA seems to have had an affinity for pizza going back at least to 2010 when they were advertising job openings at the agency on pizza boxes in the Washington metropolitan area. And as you can see on the TSA’s “What Can I Bring” pizza page and Instagram account (@TSA), whether it’s a slice or a whole pie, pizza is permitted as a carry-on item. “Carryout is now carry-on.”

Yet more proof that your #PieCanFly - That's right. Whether it's a slice or a whole pie, pizza is permitted as a carry-on item. Happy #NationalPizzaDay - Thanks to @all.decked.out for allowing us to repost.

People have been trying to get pies through security for years, but according to Bob Burns, Social Media Lead, and Public Affairs Specialist for the TSA’s Office of Public Affairs, pizza was added to the official list in April 2017. And search results for the page have been increasing ever since. “That list is formulated from things that people have asked us about,” Mr. Leas added. “People are concerned about their pizza, which, you know, makes perfect sense to me.”

Amen, Matt! But how and why did pizza make the list?

“About a year or so ago, someone sent us a picture of a pizza going through the X-ray, saying, ‘It’s just crucial that I could bring my pizza,’ so I shared that with our audience and I said, ‘This is Christmas. Bring your pizza. Your pie can fly,'” Mr. Burns explained. “It blew people’s minds. They had no idea that they could bring pizza or other solid foods on the plane.”

Mr. Burns speculates that some people who ask about pizza aren’t planning on taking it onboard, but are likely bringing it from nearby to avoid high food costs at airport food courts. But he also suggested pizza nostalgia plays a key role.

“Everyone has their favorite brands when they go back home, and a lot of times they want to bring them home with them or take it to the gate for a snack before they leave,” Mr. Burns said. “You know, every town has its two or three staple pizza joints that everyone just loves when they go back home. So that’s usually what the questions are about.”

Okay, but are there any caveats? Can pizza savers, those three-pronged plastic stands that prevent the box from sagging into the cheese as it steams, make it through security? According to Bob, “Those are fine.”

And do they have any recommendations for how best to transport pizza? For the record, Al Santillo of Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza in Elizabeth, N.J. suggests wrapping individual slices in wax paper, then plastic wrap, then stacking slices in tied-up plastic bags.

“Everyone has their favorite brands when they go back home, and a lot of times they want to bring them home with them or take it to the gate for a snack before they leave,” Mr. Burns said. “You know, every town has its two or three staple pizza joints that everyone just loves when they go back home. So that’s usually what the questions are about.”

“For your own hygienic reasons, you probably would want to have it in something, and not just try to bring a slice,” Bob said, laughing. “It could come through in the box. It could come through in plastic, plasticware, it could be wrapped in cellophane. However you prefer to pack it.”

How about styles? Are any more difficult to get through than others? Deep dish has to have at least a cup of tomato sauce on top of it, and is melted cheese is creamy cheese, well, there’s at least a cup of that too. Some comments on Instagram indicate there’s a good chance that despite official TSA rules, you run the risk of a TSA officer making what will probably feel like an arbitrary contradictory decision.

Yet more proof from travelers that your pie can fly. #PieCanFly- This is a screenshot of a tweet sent to the @AskTSA account on Twitter. Have you ever wondered whether or not you can pack a certain item? Fret no more! Now you can simply snap a picture and tweet it to @AskTSA or send it via Facebook Messenger and our team will get back to you promptly with an answer. If you're a regular follower of this account, I'm sure you can think of many situations where it would have behooved somebody to send us a picture first. And that's not all. Contact us about any TSA related issue or question you might have. We can even help you with TSA Pre✓® issues. We look forward to answering your questions, 8am-10pm ET weekdays; 9am-7pm weekends/holidays. #AskTSA #TSATravelTips

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) for its part, was an airport documented by the TSA’s feed showing pizza making it through security. But Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) was singled out as an airport with a reputation for making passengers throw out their pizza at the security checkpoint. “They said, ‘No food, no exceptions,” cmishmom noted, bemoaning the pie her husband was trying to bring her from Regina Pizzeria. And while a deep-dish pizza is featured on Instagram going through security in front of local Chicago hot dog chain Gold Coast Dogs, commenter staycee915 bemoaned a similar experience, “No fair, I had pizza taken away at Chicago Midway airport. It’s not liquid!”

What could that discretion be left to? What are the determining factors?

#TSATravelTips One of our followers sent us a picture of their pizza getting ready to go through the X-ray at Philadelphia (PHL). So in case you were wondering, pie can fly. Or you can just take it to your gate area and #nom on it. Thanks to @abbeymatre for sharing this with us!

“Pineapples are pretty controversial,” Bob noted. “It’s a pretty controversial subject on the internet. So I don’t know, that might cause an argument at the checkpoint with somebody. I can’t speak on behalf of the agency on that, but personally, I’m pro pineapple.”

It couldn’t hurt to tee up the link on your phone for the specific food you hope to bring. For the record, the officers at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) didn’t blink last year at individually plastic-wrapped slices from Deniro’s Pizzeria going through the X-ray en route to New York City. Officially though, Mr. Leas and Mr. Burns said the TSA doesn’t discriminate by regional style. When they say #PieCanFly, they mean all kinds of pizza. And the TSA declines to endorse any one style over another.

“I’m from Chicago,” Matt Leas explained, “so, I think you know where I come down on that. From an agency perspective, I can’t endorse a particular city or region as far as the best pizza. But I think we all know who makes it.” —🍕🤠

New York’s Newest Pizza Creation? Wait for Dessert

Chocolate pizza. No, not a hard chocolate disc or round of pizza dough slathered with syrup or spread with melted chocolate, but a dough made with chocolate, that rises and bakes similarly to a conventional New York City pie. It’s the newest creation of Sofia Pizza Shoppe, the pizzeria that last year, introduced New Yorkers to the $38 dollar, 12-hour risen pizza creation, the Doughdici.

In the annals of dessert pizza, the modern classic has to be the Nutella pie. Typically made at Neapolitan pizzerias and topped with bananas or strawberries, Nutella pizza still thrills tourists and the less jaded. Grimaldi’s, Rizzo’s, Adoro Lei, Sottocasa, San Matteo Pizza, Antika, Olio e Piú, Kesté, Gnocco, Song E Napule, Luzzo’s, and Sorbillo are a handful of New York spots all serving pies topped with the palm oil-hazelnut spread.

“You can say, ‘It’s boring, it’s been done,’ but cheeseburgers have been done and I’ll still eat a cheeseburger any moment of any day, okay?” Scott Wiener of Scott’s Pizza Tours counters. “Nutella on warm, freshly-baked dough tastes phenomenal and if you don’t agree then that’s your problem! All I’m saying is Nutella pizza tastes good.”

But for most pizza obsessives, Nutella pizza is nothing they haven’t seen in pizza or calzone form. This isn’t to say you can’t find anygood desserts at pizza restaurants. It just isn’t a menu category that usually inspires innovation. “If I never eat another boring-ass, Nutella-slathered pizza crust sprinkled with powdered sugar, it would still be too soon,” said Slice blog founder and Margot’s bar pizza pop-up owner Adam Kuban when asked for his take on dessert pizza.

Well, it turns out that during the months-long break Sofia’s co-owner Thomas DeGrezia took from waking up early to set the Doughdici’s 12-hour rise in motion may have afforded him a chance to recharge his creative juices because when it comes to this newest creation, the guy has nailed it.

“If I never eat another boring-ass, Nutella-slathered pizza crust sprinkled with powdered sugar, it would still be too soon.” — Adam Kuban

During a recent preview at the Sutton Place spot he co-owns with Matthew Porter, Tom dusted the chocolate dough with flour and stretched it out on the same marble surface he and his pie guys use to make the quality pies they’ve become known for among obsessives like pizza blogger Jason Feirman and Scott Wiener of Scott’s Pizza Tours, who are both in attendance. It moves, pulls, thins, and feels like your typical New York pizza dough. It’s just dark brown and exudes the deep musky sweetness of… chocolate. And when the dough hits the deck of the Marsal Pizza Oven, that smell is amplified, filling the pizzeria with a scent you’d expect at a bakery, sweet shop, or open house where the realtor strategically places cookies in the oven before you arrive.

The chocolate pizza dough moves, pulls, thins, and feels like your typical New York pizza dough.

“This is just me trying to have fun again,” Tom explains when asked where the idea came from. “I mean, that’s really what the Doughdici was, a matter of having fun. Nobody expected it to turn into what it turned into.”

The inspiration for chocolate pizza came from aspiring to do something completely different from the Doughdici and wanting to do something creative for dessert at Sofia Wine Bar, which just celebrated nine years, and which Tom also owns. “We’re nut-free at the wine bar and the pizzeria, so there won’t ever be any form of nuts on the pizzas. That was the reason why it was like, well we don’t even have the option to do Nutella, so what else could we do?”

If adding Nutella to a savory dough was tired, why not incorporate conventional dessert ingredients into the dough? Go all out?

Why not translate its savory components into sweet counterparts? A chocolate dough. Melted dark or white chocolate as the “sauce.” Sautéed strawberries, bananas, or poached peaches as the toppings. And could mozzarella also carry sweet components too? Late one night after a long day, Degrezia said he decided to just go for it.

“No one’s reinvented dessert pizza, ever,” Degrezia claims. “They just make pizza dough and throw Nutella on it, and sometimes use strawberries or bananas. Let’s reinvent the dough. Dessert pizza should be its own thing. It shouldn’t be just pizza with something sweet on it.”

The crust is super thin and crisp — a few paper plates thick.

After some experimentation he settled on a dough made with a mix of Italian cocoa and melted Baker’s chocolate. “Basically, I treated the cocoa like flour,” Tom explains. “The melted chocolate I treated like the olive oil in the traditional dough, and I adjusted the percentages of flour and olive oil to compensate for the cocoa and chocolate so that the ratios stays the same in the recipe.”

In his research, Tom said he hadn’t come across any recipes for chocolate pizza dough. Most searches result in chocolate “pizzas” made with chocolate cookie dough, straight-up chocolate (no dough), or a savory crust layered with melted chocolate. In The Great Book of Chocolate: The Chocolate Lover’s Guide with Recipes, published in 2004, David Lebovitz does include a recipe for chocolate pizza dough that he says is “for the true (probably crazy) chocolate lover.” His calls for freshly ground black pepper, Cayenne, and a cornmeal dusting to prevent sticking, practices that in any case, Degrezia eschews.

“No one’s reinvented dessert pizza, ever,” Degrezia claims. “They just make pizza dough and throw Nutella on it, and sometimes use strawberries or bananas. Let’s reinvent the dough. Dessert pizza should be its own thing. It shouldn’t be just pizza with something sweet on it.”

Regardless, the dish seems unheard of in pizzerias at large. Jason Feirman has written more than 200 pizza reviews since launching his site I Dream of Pizza in 2008, and if there’s a pizza trend that’s been out there, chances are Kuban has seen or written about it. Neither had heard of chocolate pizza, or seen it done before at a pizzeria. “Chocolate dough is a new take to be sure,” Adam Kuban added. “I’d actually be curious about that. Otherwise I hate dessert pizza.”

“When I found out that Sofia Pizza Shoppe was going to be rolling out dessert pizza, I wasn’t skeptical at all,” Jason said. “I’ve really enjoyed all of their prior experiments — including the Doughdici.”

But you would be forgiven your skepticism at the idea of a chocolate pizza. It could be a total gimmick. Only it isn’t.

Chocolate pizza will start being served in April as a dessert at Sofia Wine Bar.

The chocolate pizza comes out a few minutes earlier than a classic pie would because the cocoa and Baker’s chocolate make the dough more susceptible to burning. Except for the fact that you feel like you’re staring at something in real life that’s been inverted on Instagram, it looks like a classic New York City slice. The crust is super thin and crisp — a few paper plates thick — and the cornicione is slightly raised and airy with a mild chew that bites just like a classic isosceles. It just tastes and smells like… chocolate. The dough has that earthiness of freshly baked chocolate that you want to breath in, but isn’t sweet. There’s no sugar added to the dough other than what may be in the cocoa. Instead, the sweetness comes from the light scattering of chips that melt in the oven and mingle with a thin layer of about 10 slices of the same mozzarella used on the savory pies. A pre-bake drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey adds a hint of pepperiness, while dollops of ricotta and a scattering of confectioners’ sugar are vaguely reminiscent of a cannoli. No cannoli was ever this composed after a first bite.

“While I’m not sure that these pies will turn out to be the next cronut or rainbow bagel, I do believe they set a new precedent for how great dessert pizza can be,” said Jason Feirman.

The chocolate pizza comes out a few minutes earlier than a classic pie would.

Would this be the kind of pie you’d want to get a reheat of sitting in a display? No. Would any pizza fiend want a dessert slice over a conventional one? It probably wouldn’t scratch the itch. But as a dessert goes, it turns out that chocolate pizza is pretty killer.

You would be forgiven your skepticism at the idea of a chocolate pizza. It could be a total gimmick. Only it isn’t.

For now, the plan is for the chocolate pizza to start being served during the first week of April as a dessert at Sofia Wine Bar after the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. They plan to offer a list of toppings guests can choose four or five from to customize their pies. Degrezia doesn’t have plans to offer it at the pizzeria. He does have the itch to try it as a semi-savory pie, a chocolate crust topped with pulled chocolate pork. It may sound crazy, but if the chocolate ribs served as an appetizer at the preview party are any indication, it very well may work.

Does Degrezia worry that this may open things up to dessert pizzas made with doughs flavored with mint, strawberry, or caramel? It may be a little too early to call him the Dominique Ansel of the pizza world, but he isn’t quite closing the door either.

“Listen, if it’s not good people aren’t going to buy it,” Degrezia counters. “For me, chocolate is the obsession right now when it comes to dessert pizza. But I mean, Thin Mints work. So who knows? If somebody does a strawberry dough that’s really good? Man, why not?”

— 

Sofia Wine Bar
242 E 50th St #A,
New York, NY 10022 
Phone: (212) 888-8660
sofiawinebar.com
Subway: E, F, M (53rd St)

200 Essential Pizzerias From Pizza: A Slice Of Heaven

If you’re serious about pizza, chances are, at one point, you picked up Ed Levine’s Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. It was probably the first, or at least, one of the first  serious books about the best pizzas in America. I’ve read my yellow Post-it-filled copy cover to cover at least three times (the binding is giving out).

Some of its information is dated, natural since it was published in 2005. By the time I got there, Maffei in Chelsea was a shadow of what it must have once been. Is New Haven’s Brü Room really bar pizza or just New Haven-style pizza being served in a bar? Would anybody call Todd English’s pizza “consistently good” anymore? Still, while legions of pizzerias Neapolitan, VPN, and otherwise have opened in the decade since, its reporting on old-school places mostly stands the test of time.

While I have and enjoy Daniel Young’s guide Where to Eat Pizza, which lists more than 1,700 pizzerias around the world (full disclosure: I’m one of the 1,000 experts quoted), there’s only so much context and history that can fit in a tome that dense. I usually crave a more background on the places.

I’m the kind of guy who creates spreadsheets and Google Maps of places “to do.” I have one such sheet for George Motz’s must-eat burgers from Hamburger America so I can check its famous burgers off my list (who are we kidding, I check before I go). But sheets can be a pain, and sometimes, I just wish I had a list I could search in Google.

“Some of the the book’s information is dated but the reporting on the old-school places mostly stands the test of time.”

Ed excerpted many of the write-ups from the book on Serious Eats years ago (you can find them using Serious Eats’ tag, Pizza: A Slice of Heaven), and you can  still find that reporting online. But I’ve never found a full list of the places Slice of Heaven featured.

So it is that minus three pages of the world’s VPN pizzerias (80) that existed in 2005 (how that number has grown), I’m listing every pizzeria Ed or one of his guest essayists singled out. The pizzerias are cross-referenced a few times, so it can be confusing to count, but by my estimate there are about 213 pizzerias. Let’s call it 200. At last count, including the 46 pizzerias that have since closed, I’ve been to 56, just about half the remaining places in the book.

I hit more every year, and so turn to the book less to supplement my personal to-do list formed by the best pizza lists I read (and have written). But I have still used it occasionally as a supplemental checklist. And I’ve met enough other pizza fanatics like me who might just find this a helpful way to check off some of the country’s (and the world’s) most destination-worthy places for themselves.

So here they are!

— 🍕🤠

NORTHEAST PIZZA
NEW YORK PIZZA
MANHATTAN PIZZA: DOWNTOWN (South of 42nd Street)
Da Ciro, 229 Lexington Ave, NY (Now Closed)
Famous Ben’s Pizza, 177 Spring St, NY
Gonzo, 140 W 13th St, NY (Now Closed)
Joe’s Pizza, 7 Carmine St, NY
John’s Pizzeria of Bleecker St, 278 Bleecker St, NY
La Pizza Fresca, 31 E 20th St, NY
Lazzara’s Pizza, 221 W 38th St #2, NY
Lombardi’s, 32 Spring St, NY
Maffei Pizza, 688 6th Ave, NY (Now Closed)
Mezzogiorno, 2791 Broadway, NY
Otto, One 5th Ave, NY
Pizza Suprema, 413 8th Ave, NY
Ray’s Pizza, 27 Prince St, NY (Now Closed)
Stromboli Pizzeria, 112 University Pl, NY (Now Closed)

MANHATTAN PIZZA: UPTOWN (North of 42nd Street)
Angelo’s Pizza, 1043 2nd Ave, NY
Angelo’s Coal Oven Pizzeria, 117 W 57th St, NY
Brio Forno, 137 E 61st St, NY (Now Closed)
Celeste, 502 Amsterdam Ave, NY
John’s of Times Square, 260 W 44th St, NY
John’s Pizzeria, 408 E 64th St, NY (Now Closed)
Mimi’s Pizzeria, 1248 Lexington Ave, NY (Now Closed)
Naples 45, 200 Park Ave, NY
Nick’s Pizza, 1814 2nd Ave, NY
Patsy’s, 61 W 74th St, NY
Patsy’s, 1312 Second Ave, NY
Patsy’s, 206 E 60th St, NY
Patsy’s, 509 3rd Ave, NY (Now Closed)
Patsy’s, 318 W 23rd St, NY (Now Closed)
Patsy’s, 67 University Pl, NY
Patsy’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, 2287-92 1st Ave, NY
Sal and Carmine’s, 2671 Broadway, NY
Sullivan Street Bakery, 536 W 47th St, NY
T & R Pizza, 411 Amsterdam Ave, NY (Now Closed)

Manhattan Pizza Minichains
Angelo’s
Patsy’s

New York Designer Pizza
Fred’s at Barney’s, 660 Madison Ave, NY
Giorgio’s, 1343 Second Ave, NY (Now Closed)
Joanne’s, 1067 Northern Blvd, Roslyn, NY

New York Airport Pizza
Figs, Terminal B, LaGuardia Ext, Queens, NY

BRONX PIZZA
Louie and Ernie’s, 1300 Crosby Ave, NY
Mario’s, 2342 Arthur Ave, NY
Patricia’s, 1080 Morris Park Ave, NY
Patricia’s Pizza of Tremont, 3883 E Tremont Ave, NY (Moved)
PJ Brady’s, 3201 Philip Ave, NY
Tosca Cafe, 4038 E Tremont Ave, NY

WESTCHESTER PIZZA
Sal’s Pizzeria, 316 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck, NY

BROOKLYN PIZZA
Caserta Vecchia, 221 Smith St, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, NY (Now Closed)
Di Fara Pizza, 1424 Avenue J, Midwood, Brooklyn, NY
Franny’s, 348 Flatbush Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY (Moved, Now Closed)
Grimaldi’s, 1 Front St, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY (Moved)
House of Pizza and Calzone, 132 Union St, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY
L & B Spumoni Gardens, 2725 86th St, Gravesend, Brooklyn, NY
Sam’s Restaurant, 238 Court St, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, NY
Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitano, 1524 Neptune Ave, Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

QUEENS PIZZA
Bella Via, 47-46 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, Queens, NY
Forno Italia, 43-19 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, Queens, NY
Manetta’s, 10-76 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, Queens, NY
New Park Pizzeria, 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd, Queens, NY
Nick’s Pizza, 108-26 Ascan Ave, Forest Hills, Queens, NY
Rizzo’s, 3013 Steinway St, Astoria, Queens, NY
Rose & Joe’s Italian Bakery, 2240 31st St, Astoria, Queens, NY
Thirty One, 22-48 31st St., Astoria, Queens, NY (Now Closed)
T & J’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, 136-88 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, Queens, NY (Now Closed)

STATEN ISLAND PIZZA
Denino’s, 524 Port Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY
Joe & Pat’s, 1758 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY
Nunzio’s, 2155 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island, NY

LONG ISLAND PIZZA 
Gino’s of Long Beach, 16 W Park Ave, Long Beach, NY
King Umberto, 1343 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, NY
La Vera, 2085 Hillside Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY (Now Closed)
Nick’s Pizza, 272 Sunrise Hwy, Rockville Centre, NY
Salvatore’s Coal Oven Pizza, 124 Shore Rd, Port Washington, NY
Sam’s Bar & Restaurant, 36 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY
Umberto’s of New Hyde Park, 633 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY

WHERE TO BUY GRANDMA PIZZA
Grandma Pizza: Nassau County
Carlino’s, 204 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, NY (Now Closed)
Cinelli’s, 1195 Hempstead Turnpike, Franklin Square, NY
Cugini’s, 432 Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, NY
Da Angelo, 815 Willis Ave, Albertson, NY
Gino’s of Long Beach, 16 W Park Ave, Long Beach, NY
King Umberto, 1343 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, NY
Pasta-eria, 440 S Oyster Bay Rd, Hicksville, NY
Umbertino’s, New Hyde Park, Garden City, Hicksville, NY (Now Closed)
Village Pizzeria, 169 Tulip Ave, Floral Park, NY
Vinnie’s of Mulberry Street, 287 N Broadway, Jericho, NY
Grandma Pizza: Suffolk County
Emilio’s, 2201 Jericho Turnpike, Commack, NY
Mamma Lombardi’s, 400 Furrows Rd, Holbrook, NY
Our Little Italy, 636 Union Blvd, West Islip, NY
Villa Michelangelo, Eastport-Manorville Road, Manorville, NY (Now Closed)
Grandma Pizza: Queens County
Carlo’s Pizza, 74-02 Metropolitan Ave, Middle Village, NY
Gino’s, 158-46 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach, NY
Grandma Pizza: Brooklyn
Papa’s Pizza, 8312 5th Ave, Bay Ridge, NY (Now Closed)

NEW JERSEY PIZZA
Grimaldi’s, 411 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ (Moved)
TRENTON PIZZA
DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, 530 Hudson St, Trenton, NJ (Now Closed)
DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, 147 Sloan Ave, Hamilton, NJ (Moved from 1007 Hamilton Ave, Trenton)
DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, 2350 NJ-33, Robbinsville, NJ
Papa’s Tomato Pies, 19 Robbinsville Allentown Rd, Robbinsville, NJ (Error: Listed as Papa’s Championship Pies, 931 Chambers St, Trenton)
Vic’s, 60 Main St, Bradley Beach, NJ

BOSTON PIZZA
Campo De Fiori, 1350 Massachusetts Ave # A, Cambridge, MA (Now Closed)
Emma’s, 40 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA (Now Closed)
Pizza Oggi, 8 Perkins St, Jamaica Plain, MA (Now Closed)
Pizzeria Regina, 11 1/2 Thacher St, Boston, MA

CONNECTICUT PIZZA
Alforno, 1654 Boston Post Rd, Old Saybrook, CT
Mystic Pizza, 56 W Main St, Mystic, CT
New Haven Pizza
Amato’s Apizza and Restaurant, 858 State St, New Haven (Now Closed)
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, 157 Wooster St, New Haven, CT
Modern Apizza, 874 State St, New Haven, CT
Sally’s Apizza, 237 Wooster St, New Haven, CT

RHODE ISLAND PIZZA
Al Forno, 577 S Water St, Providence, RI

MID-ATLANTIC PIZZA
PHILADELPHIA PIZZA
Lombardi’s Original Pizza, 132 S 18th St (Now Closed)
Marra’s, 1734 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Pietro’s, 1714 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA
Regina Margherita Pizzeria, 516 Lincoln Ave, Bellevue, PA (Now Closed)
Rizzo’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, 21 E Glenside Ave, Glenside, PA (Now Closed)
Tacconelli’s, 450 S Lenola Rd, Maple Shade Township, PA (Now Closed)
Tacconelli’s, 2604 E Somerset St, Philadelphia, PA

D.C. PIZZA
2 Amys, 3715 Macomb St NW, Washington, D.C.
Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M St NW, Washington, D.C.

BALTIMORE PIZZA
Egyptian Pizza, 542 E Belvedere Ave, Baltimore, MD (Now Closed)
Matthew’s Pizzeria, 3131 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD

PIZZA IN THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST
ATLANTA PIZZA
Everybody’s Pizza, 1593 N Decatur Rd, Atlanta, GA (Now Closed)
Fellini’s, 2809 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA
Fritti, 309 North Highland Ave Northeast, Atlanta, GA

CHARLOTTE PIZZA
Luisa’s Brick Oven, 1730 Abbey Pl, Charlotte, NC

DALLAS PIZZA
Antonio Ristorante, 4985 Addison Cir, Addison, TX
Ancodoro & Pomodoro, 100 Crescent Ct #140, Dallas, TX (Now Closed)
Campisi’s, 1520 Elm Street, Suite 111, Dallas, TX
Fireside Pies, 2820 North Henderson Ave, Dallas, TX
Taverna, 3312 Knox Street, Dallas, TX (Moved from 3210 Armstrong Ave)

HOUSTON PIZZA
Da Marco, 1520 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX

AUSTIN PIZZA
Vespaio, 1610 South Congress Ave, Austin, TX (Listed as 1620 South Congress)

MIAMI PIZZA
Pizza Rustica, 863 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL
Spris Pizzeria, 731 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL

MEMPHIS PIZZA
Coletta’s Restaurant, 1063 S. Parkway East, TN

NEW ORLEANS PIZZA
Ciro’s Côté Sud, 7918 Maple St, New Orleans, LA
R & O, 216 Metairie-Hammond Hwy, Metairie, LA
Reginelli’s Pizzeria, 5961 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA (Moved from 741 State St)

SANTA FE PIZZA
El Primo, 234 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe, NM (Now Closed)
Il Vicino, 321 W San Francisco St, Santa Fe, NM

MIDWEST PIZZA
Geraci’s, 2266 Warrensville Center Rd, University Heights, OH
Imo’s, 4479 Forest Park Ave, St. Louis, MO
Mama Santa’s, 12301 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland, OH
Sven and Ole’s, 9 West Wisconsin St, Grand Marais, MN
Valentino’s, 3535 Holdrege St #100, Lincoln, NE

CHICAGO PIZZA
Barcello’s, 3576 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL (Moved from 1647 N Milwaukee Ave)
Gino’s East, 162 E Superior St, Chicago, IL (Listed as 633 N. Wells St)
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, 6649 North Lincoln Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL (Listed as 439 N Wells St)
Marcello’s Father & Son, 2475 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Uno’s, 29 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL
Vito & Nick’s, 8433 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL

MILWAUKEE PIZZA
Ann’s Italian Restaurant, 5969 S 108th Pl, Hales Corners, WI
Il Ritrovo, 515 S 8th St, Sheboygan, WI
Louise’s Trattoria, 801 N Jefferson St, Brookfield, WI
Trattoria di Carlo, 8469 S Howell Ave, Oak Creek, WI

OMAHA PIZZA
Big Fed’s Pizza Garden, 1101 S 119th St, Omaha, NE
Godfather’s Pizza, Multiple locations
La Casa Pizzeria, 4432 Leavenworth St, Omaha, NE
Lansky’s Pizza, 4601 S 50th St #200, Omaha, NE
Sgt. Peffer Restaurant,1501 N Saddle Creek Rd, Omaha, NE
Zio’s, 7834 Dodge St, Omaha, NE

CALIFORNIA AND WEST COAST PIZZA
CALIFORNIA PIZZA
A16, 2355 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA
Alto Palato, 755 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, L.A., CA (Now Closed)
Angelini Osteria, 7313 Beverly Blvd, L.A., CA
Antica Pizzeria,13455 Maxella Ave, Marina Del Rey, CA (Now Closed)
Bistro Don Giovanni’s, 4110 Howard Ln, Napa, CA
Caioti Pizza Café, 4346 Tujunga Ave, Studio City, L.A., CA
Firewood, 4248 18th St, San Francisco, CA
Grimaldi’s, 4000 N. Scottsdale Rd Ste. 105, Scottsdale, AZ
Manzanita, 336 Healdsburg, Ave, Healdsburg, CA (Now Closed)
Miceli’s Pizza Parlor, 1646 N Las Palmas Ave, L.A., CA
Nizza La Bella, 825 San Pablo Ave, Albany, NY (Now Closed)
Pauline’s, 260 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA
Pizzetta 211, 211 23rd Ave, San Francisco, CA
Postrio, 545 Post St, San Francisco, CA (Now Closed)
RNM, 598 Haight St, San Francisco, CA (Now Closed)
The Cafe At Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA
Tommaso’s, 1042 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA

PORTLAND PIZZA
Café Castagna, 1758 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR
Hot Lips Pizza, 721 NW 9th Ave #150, Portland, OR
Scholls Public House, 24485 SW Scholls Ferry Rd, Hillsboro, OR (Now Closed)

SEATTLE PIZZA
Pagliacci Pizza, 550 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA
Piecora’s, 1401 E Madison St, Seattle, WA (Now Closed)
Tutta Bella, 4918 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA

HAWAII PIZZA
Antonio’s New York Pizzeria, 4210 Waialae Ave, Ste 109B, Honolulu, HI (Now Closed)

BAR PIZZA
The Reservoir Tavern, 92 Parsippany Blvd, Boonton, NJ
Santarpio’s, 111 Chelsea St, East Boston, MA
Vito & Nick’s, 8433 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL
Brü Rm. At Bar,  254 Crown St, New Haven, CT
Eddie’s Pizza, 2048 Hillside Ave, New Hyde Park, NY
Colony Grill, 172 Myrtle Ave, Stamford, CT
Denino’s, 524 Port Richmond Ave, Staten Island, NY

PIZZA IN ITALY
PIZZA IN NAPLES
Antica Pizzeria Brandi, Salita S. Anna di Palazzo, 1/2, 80132 Napoli NA, Italy
Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, Via Port’Alba, 18, 80134 Napoli NA, Italy
Ciro a Mergelia, Via Mergellina, 21, 80122 Napoli NA, Italy
Da Ettore Ristorante e Pizzeria, Via Santa Lucia, 56, 80132 Napoli NA, Italy
Da Michele, Via Cesare Sersale, 1, 80139 Napoli NA, Italy
D’Auria, Via Simone Martini, 83, 80128 Napoli NA, Italy
Di Matteo, Via dei Tribunali, 94, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy
Gorizia, Via Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 29-31, 80127 Napoli NA, Italy
Il Pizzaiolo del Presidente, Via dei Tribunali, 120, 80138 Napoli NA, Italy
L’Europeo di Mattozzi, Via Marchese Campodisola, 4, 80133 Napoli NA, Italy
Lombardi a Santa Chiara, Via Benedetto Croce, 59, 80100 Napoli NA, Italy
Pizza e Contorni, Via Giulio Cesare, 27, 80125 Napoli NA, Italy
Pizzeria Cafasso, Via Giulio Cesare, 156, 80125 Napoli NA, Italy
Trianon, Via Pietro Colletta, 44/46, 80139 Napoli NA, Italy

PIZZA IN ROME
Acchiappafantasmi, Via dei Cappellari, 66, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (Now Closed)
Antico Forno Marco Roscioli, Via dei Chiavari, 34, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Da Baffetto, Via del Governo Vecchio, 114, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Dal Paino, 34a-, Via di Parione, 35, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (Now Closed)
Il Forno di Campo de’ Fiori, Vicolo del Gallo, 14, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Ristorante Pizzeria Da Sabatino, Piazza S. Ignazio, 169, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

LIGURIA FOCACCIA AND PIZZA
Bedin, Piazza Dante, 56r, 16121 Genova GE, Italy
Panificio Dama, Via Palestro 34, 16038 Santa Margherita Ligure
Panificio-Pasticceria Moltedo, Via XX Settembre, 2/4, 16036 Recco GE, Italy
Panificio Rocco Rizzi, 126, Via della Repubblica, Camogli

PIZZA IN FRANCE
PARIS PIZZA
Amici Miei, 44 Rue Saint-Sabin, 75011 Paris, France
Da Mimmo, 39 Boulevard de Magenta, 75010 Paris, France
La Scuderia del Mulino, 106 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France

PIZZA IN THE SOUTHWEST OF FRANCE
Chez Etienne, 43 Rue Lorette, Marseille 13002, France
La Pizza Cresci, 3 Quai Saint-Pierre, 06400 Cannes, France
La Pizza Cresci Nice, 34 Rue Massena, 06000 Nice, France
Le Safari, 1 Cours Saleya, 06300 Nice, France
Le Vesuvio, 69 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Pizzeria Au Feu de Bois, 10, Rue d’Aubagne, Marseille, France (Now Closed)

MONTREAL PIZZA
La Piazzetta, 4097 St Denis St, Montreal, QC H2W 2M7, Canada
Pizzedelic, 1250 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal, QC H2J, Canada
Pizzeria Napolitana, 189 Rue Dante, Montréal, QC H2S 1K1, Canada

KEEPERS OF THE FLAME
Pizzeria Bianco, 623 E Adams St, Phoenix, AZ
Una Pizza Napoletana, 210 11th St, San Francisco, CA (Moved from 349 E 12th St, New York, NY)
Di Fara Pizza, 1424 Avenue J, Midwood, Brooklyn, NY
Nick’s Pizza, 108-26 Ascan Ave, Forest Hills, Queens, NY
Sally’s Apizza, 237 Wooster St, New Haven, CT
Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitano, 1524 Neptune Ave, Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY

Get a used copy:
Pizza: A Slice of Heaven, Ed Levine, Universe Publishing, 2005

Bocce Club Pizza to Open New Downtown Buffalo Location

Bocce Club Pizza is probably the most iconic pizzeria in Buffalo. Some folks might debate that and call out La Nova. It’d be a clean fight—above the belt. Regardless, The Buffalo News reported some big Bocce-related news. Food Editor Andrew Galarneau notes that owner Jim Pacciotti is reopening on the corner of Clinton and Adams where Bocce once served Buffalo for half a century.

Bocce got its start on Hickory Street in 1946 after Dino Pacciotti returned from World War II. The business was a members-only bocce ball court. (“You needed a membership to come in,” his son Jim Pacciotti told me. “You had your card, you played some bocce, and had a meal.”) Dino, a bartender, bought Bocce and decided to start making pizza. “The other bartenders thought he was crazy,” Jim told me last year, “but he found a Blodgett oven in the basement and started experimenting with a recipe.”

The Hickory location closed in 1958. “People were skipping out on mass for pizza and liquor and the priest wasn’t happy about it,”  Jim told me. They opened a new location on Clinton Street the same year, and followed that in 1959, with a new location on Bailey in the town of Amherst on the outskirts of the city. The Bailey location, owned by Jim, has gone on to become one of the most beloved pizzerias in Western New York, but the Clinton Street spot closed in 2011 after its operator, Rudy Sacco died. By all accounts, Rudy must have been quite the character. Jim told me Rudy, his cousin, used to carry two guns.

Jim Pacciotti is reopening Bocce Club Pizza on the corner of Clinton and Adams where Bocce once served Buffalo for half a century.

Pacciotti told The News that he bought the building at 630 Clinton Street five years ago. “I’m using the bones of the building, which are good,” he was reported saying. “There’s lots of work to do.”

The idea that a new Bocce will be opening in an original Bocce location a five-minute drive east of downtown Buffalo is another sign that the city is on the rise. But by all indications, it still may be some time before it opens. When I talked with Jim in February 2017, he told me they were hoping to open a downtown location in July or August. This is that same location, and the goal now is three to nine months.

Whenever it opens, it will be a significant date to add to a list of other important milestones in Bocce’s history. — 🍕🤠

1942 Dino Pacciotti goes off to war.
1945 When he gets back, Dino works part-time for Bocce Club and gets a job at General Mills as an accountant.
1946 Dino Pacciotti and his sister Melvina Sacco purchase the Bocce Club and start developing pizza.
1955 Dino Pacciotti takes a risk and quits a job at General Mills to work full-time at Bocce
1958 The Hickory Street Bocce closes and the Clinton Bocce opens.
1959 The Bailey Avenue Bocce location opens.
1959 The Bailey Avenue Bocce location opens.
1978 Dino Pacciotti dies. The Pacciotti family continues to run the Bailey location. The Sacco family runs the Clinton Street spot.
1983 The Bailey store remodels with wood front
1988 The Pacciotti family opens a Bocce location on Hopkins Road.
1996 Bocce Club Pizza turns 50 years old.
2009 Bocce celebrates 50 years on Bailey Avenue with a new stucco facade.

Bocce Club Pizza (Downtown)
630 Clinton Street
bocceclubpizza.com

All the Pizza Places in the East Village

How many pizzerias are there in the East Village? If you Google “East Village Pizza” the results are fragmented into the several pages we’ve all become familiar with and not quite been satisfied by (Google, why do some places always seem to be missing?). Then you have Yelp, whose results are paid for, er… just patently absurd (Lombardi’s and Prince Street Pizza are both in Nolita, and not so fast, &pizza). Using Houston to 14th Streets as the south-north boundaries and the East River to the Bowery as the east-west limits, doing a block by block survey on Google images and street maps, the answer seems to be 38.

That number is a little fuzzy. A few places (Emily and Joe & Pat’s) haven’t opened yet and a few places aren’t technically pizzerias but do serve pizza. That 38 also doesn’t include Domino’s, which is its own animal. Pie by the Pound and Artichoke technically aren’t in the East Village. The former is on the other side of the hood’s western boundary (4th Avenue). And since Artichoke moved to its new location across 14th Street, it joins the jumble of neighborhoods (Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Square, and Stuyvesant Town) north of the East Village and Alphabet City.

How many pizzerias are there in the East Village?

Forgoing all questions of quality, this total should be pretty close. Are there any missing? Are there any omitted East Village restaurants serving pizza? Check out the list and the map below and please shout if something obvious hasn’t been included.

EAST VILLAGE PIZZA
Solo Pizza NYC
Gruppo Thin Crust
Tramonti Pizza
F & M Slice Pizza
Baker’s Pizza
East Village Pizza
Motorino
Proto’s Pizza
Nicoletta
Martina
Joe’s Pizza
99 Pizza
99 Cents Fresh Pizza
Luzzo’s La Pizza Napoletana
Muzzarella Pizza
Lavagna
2 Bros Pizza
Gotham Pizza
Three of Cups
Little Gio’s Pizza
Lil’ Frankie’s
Vinny Vincenz Pizza
Bruno Pizza
Numero 28 Pizzeria
Baker’s Pizza
Johnny Favorites Pizzeria
Yankee Pizza
Iggy’s
Stromboli Pizza
Two Boots
FDR 99¢ Slice Pizza
Double Zero
Ray’s Pizza & Bagel Cafe
Eleven B
Emily
Gnocco
Loverboy
Joe & Pat’s

— 🍕🤠

What Is the Catalan “Pizza” Called Coca?

When the Adrià brothers are involved, you never know what bite to expect next. But when it comes to one upcoming project of these two world famous modernist chefs, a food hall in the Hudson Yards, there are hints. Albert told Eater they plan it to be their “homage to the Spanish cuisine” and that there would be “three restaurants and smaller places to taste Spanish specialties, mostly tapas.” In addition to tapas and jamon bars, and a tortilla stand, some pizzaphiles may have been intrigued to hear Adrià say it will also serve coca, “the mostly unknown Spanish pizza, which we intend to put on the world’s food map.”

So what is coca?

Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret, Colman Andrews, Collier Books, 1997

According to my former colleague Colman Andrews’ book Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret, coca (the plural is coques) is basically a Catalan pizza — a flat base made of a simple bread dough usually in the shape of an oval and covered with a wide variety of sweet and/or savory toppings. The name supposedly comes from coquere (Latin for to cook), though food site, The Culture Trip speculates that ‘coca’ can “be traced to the Dutch word kok meaning cake or baked good.”

Pizza is an interesting comparison considering coca often only features one topping, “just onions, say, or just anchovies,” and has some decidedly non-pizza like qualities. Consider:

☻ Cheese and herbs are rarely added
☻ The oval shape
☻ Coques are typically served at room temperature

If you look at photos of coca online, they can look square or rectangular like grandma pizza, or long and oval-shaped—more like Roman pizza al taglio.

Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret, Colman Andrews, Collier Books, 1997

According to Catalan Cuisine, the basic coca recipe is coca de pinyons (pine nuts).

“Though sugar and pine nuts are called for as topping, a wide range of other items may be substituted. This particular version, which may be served warm or at room temperature and which should be slightly chewy in texture, is usually eaten for breakfast or as a sort of mid-morning snack — sometimes with a modest glass of cava (Catalan ‘champagne’) or sweet wine of one variety or another.”

Coca (the plural is coques) is basically a Catalan pizza — a flat base made of a simple bread dough usually in the shape of an oval and covered with a wide variety of sweet and/or savory toppings.

Substitutions for sugar and pine nuts include lightly sautéed, thinly sliced onions or peppers (red or green), thinly sliced raw zucchini or tomatoes, botifarra sausage, anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped olives (both black and green), par-cooked bacon, Swiss chard or a mix of chard and spinach (cooked, drained, and chopped), and raw, wild mushrooms. ”But to remain authentically Catalan,” Andrews writes, “don’t mix too many of them together on any one coca.”

That is unless you come across coca am recapte. “Recapte” means provisions, and coca am recapte means coca “with everything.” It’s the coca that “breaks the rules.” Catalans make it to use up leftovers, and the only guiding principle seems to be that they be colorful. That seems to translate to a mix of red peppers (“They rarely eat green ones,” Colman told me) and/or tomatoes with one or more green vegetables, and at least one kind of meat or fish (sardines, anchovies, herring, ham, sausage, and pork loin, for instance).

Catalan Cuisine also mentions a duck and olive coca popular in the Roussillon (the southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales) called a “turnover coca,” which it compares to a calzone, and a Saint John’s Day Coca “that’s sweet, egg-enriched, lighter and thicker than most varieties, traditionally served on the eve of Saint John’s Day, June 23.” Colman calls it “Good breakfast material any day of the year.”

We’ll have to wait to see how the Adrià brothers execute their plan to put coca on the world’s food map. In the meanwhile, here’s something to consider after experimenting with a recipe from Catalan Cuisine. The moment you tell someone you’re thinking of making Spanish pizza, they’re going to ask you to explain what it is. Here’s how that conversation is going to go:

“What’s Catalan pizza?”
“Coca am recapte? It’s kind of like a cross between grandma pizza and Roman pizza al taglio. It’s an oval-shaped flat base made of a simple bread and covered with a variety of sweet and/or savory toppings.”
“So… no cheese?”
“No cheese. No sauce.”
“. . .”

And then you’re going to get a look that says something like, “Seriously?”

Is it pizza if it doesn’t have cheese? Grated manchego takes care of that question.

I reached out to Colman to clarify a few things, and he said he was sure some people have put cheese on coques. So here’s a suggestion based on the fact that the recipe below makes enough dough for two coques, each big enough to fill a cookie sheet: make one the traditional way, and one with cheese and sauce. To stay on theme, consider a grated manchego (about a half pound for one coca), and maybe just go light on the sauce (about one cup).

The other thing you can do — given that coca am recapte is the coca that’s pretty much anything you want it to be — is to channel another Spanish bread tradition: pa amb tomàquet. Take two large tomatoes and pulse them in a food processor or blender with three or four garlic cloves and kosher salt until the tomatoes are pulpy and spread that over the dough before dressing it with the sautéed vegetables.

Coca a Recapte (“With Everything”)
Colman says they don’t really use green peppers in Spain, but like he says, when it comes to coca a recapte, anything goes. Speaking of which, you’ll see photos of whole sausages or big hunks of sausage laid on top. He suggests thinly slicing it instead. As for the shape, he says, “the traditional shape is indeed oval, sometimes really elongated (in bakers’ windows there are sometimes long ovals measuring at least a couple of feet in length), but there are also square and round versions.” The original recipe suggests stretching the dough out a half-foot wide, about 2 feet long, and ½ inch thick.

Ingredients
1 package dry yeast (¼ oz)
4½ cups flour
2½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup water
12 tbsp olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 small zucchini, unpeeled, sliced paper thin
1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced paper thin
1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 orange pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced paper thin
2 cups wild mushrooms, sliced (or any sliced mushrooms)
½ pound botifarra sausage, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in 8 tsp warm water.

   1. In a stand mixer bowl, add yeast mixture to flour, 2 tsp salt, water, and 3 tbsp olive oil. Mix using a dough hook, kneading for a total of 5 minutes on low.

   2. Place dough in a large bowl and brush surface with 1 tbsp olive oil. Let rise 1 hour.

   3. Preheat oven to 450°F.

   4. Punch dough down. Divide in half to make two coques.

   5. Use 2 tbsp olive oil to grease a baking sheet. Layer zucchini and eggplant slices in pan, brush tops with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven before they start to brown and reserve.

   6. Warm a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sauté vegetables 5 minutes, then remove from pan and drain of any liquid.

   7. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to saucepan, add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté 5-10 minutes. Reserve.

   8. Either wait for the baking sheet to reach room temperature, or use 2 tbsp olive oil to grease another baking sheet.

   9. Use your fingers to press out and flatten the dough into a flat oval in the pan so that it touches the center of each side.

   10. Brush surface of the coca liberally with 2 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

   11. Spread sautéed vegetables over the top of the coca.

   12. Arrange botiffara slices on top of the vegetables.

   13. Place coca in the oven 10-15 minutes (or until golden-brown). Repeat with other dough round if you’re making a second

   14. Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

— 🍕🤠

Get your copy:
Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret, Colman Andrews, Collier Books, 1997

The 10 Commandments of Pizza

It’s a wonder what you can find when you crack open a book.

I keep a modest pizza reference library. And I’ve probably read half of the books cover to cover. I find something fun or learn something whenever researching some aspect of pizza I’m currently writing about (or eating). So it was while perusing the some 90 recipes in Tony Gemignani’s Pizza Bible, that I came across his 10 Commandments of Pizza.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tony, he’s a 12-time World Pizza Champion and chef-owner of more restaurants than I can ever keep track of. Count among them Tony’s Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco), Capo’s (San Francisco), Pizza Rock (Vegas, Sacramento), Little Tony’s (Vegas), Tony’s Coal Fire (San Francisco), and Slice House (San Francisco, Las Vegas), which you can read more about in this interview with Tony from early 2017.

The Pizza Bible doesn’t feature a recipe for every regional American pizza style, but it does cover New York, New Jersey, New Haven, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and California (not to mention regional Italian pies and those from other parts of the world). And tucked in there between cleaning your pizza stone and Tony’s master dough on page 39 are Tony’s “10 Commandments of Pizza.”

“Hey, it’s the pizza bible, right?” Tony asks. “So here are my sacred laws.”

1. Thou shalt use a scale to weigh ingredients.
2. Thou shalt not rush the rise.
3. Thou shalt use two pizza stones or steels rather than one.
4. Thou shalt not put cold sauce on pizza dough.
5. Thou shalt not put cold dough in a hot oven.
6. Thou shalt not overtop thy pizza.
7. Thou shalt not make a pizza larger than thy pizza peel or stone.
8. Thou shalt return thy pizza to the same spot after rotating it.
9. Thou shalt slice thy pizza before adding finishing ingredients.
10. Thou shalt brush thy stones to clean them after each pizza.

“Most of the commandments make pretty obvious sense. Baking is a bit of an art and science so, of course, you need a scale (#1), and you can’t rush the dough or it won’t rise properly (#2). But a few others beg asking ‘why?'”

I asked Tony how these rules about pizza came together and if there was a mentor who was instrumental in teaching him the truths behind them. He noted pizzaiolo Graziano Bertuzzo, who he studied with in Italy, and said he learned these keys over the years while working. They finally came together while writing the book with Susie Heller and Steve Siegelman.

Tony has elaborated on at least two of the commandments on his own site, commenting on the best brush for cleaning a pizza stone (#10), and reiterating that #8 is correct, “Thou shalt return thy pizza to the same spot after rotating it.”  For the record, he says a Weber grill brush will work fine, but advises, “Just don’t apply too much pressure or you will scrape stone off. A light brushing should be applied and if you have serious toppings that fell off and burnt into the stone then a light scraping works well with a flat bencher (metal dough scraper) or typically the other side of the Weber brush that has a straight edge. You just have to scrape straight when doing this. The brass brush style like the Weber …. works better after it’s broken in. They break in better on the BBQ.”

And most of the commandments make pretty obvious sense. Baking is a bit of an art and science so, of course, you need a scale (#1), and you can’t rush the dough or it won’t rise properly (#2). But a few others beg asking “why?”

Take number three, for example, “Thou shalt use two pizza stones or steels rather than one.” Why and how?

“When cooking in your restaurant the proper way to cook is to cook a pizza in the same spot for the majority of the time then move your pizza to a hot spot to finish if needed,” Tony explained to me. “When cooking in a home oven you typically buy one stone (which comes in a single pack) and cook on one surface. The problem for home cooks is that a lot of the time your bottom is undercooked and not crispy. Having two pieces of real estate in your home oven is a necessity.”

Tony said he’d even come up with a double baking steel set that he sells at Giovanni’s for home bakers. He noted that it also allows you to make multiple pizzas at one time (though you’d think that would eliminate having the finishing hotspot) and added that “The recovery time is much faster this way and the temperature on your stones or steels is faster. Great for more pizzas.”

How about pizza commandment #4: “Thou shalt not put cold sauce on pizza dough”?

The average New York City slice shop seems to use room-temperature sauce, but the famed Mark Iacano at Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn’s Lucali ladles a warm sauce onto his pies before they go into the oven (he also rolls out the dough with a wine bottle).

“Cold sauce can cause gumlines (undercooked dough) so room temp sauce on Neapolitan and New York pies helps with a better pizza and better bake,” Tony said. “Warm sauce, like I mention for my Detroit or Chicago pies, makes for an excellent pizza that has much more stability and flavor. This sauce isn’t cooked very long so the fresh tomato flavor is still there.”

Think when it’s done a pizza is just sliced without a second thought? At least according to Tony, think again. I asked him about pizza commandment #9 “Thou shalt slice thy pizza before adding finishing ingredients.” What kind of finishing ingredients and why?

“When it comes to pizza, it’s all about the finishing ingredients,” Tony told me. “Most home chefs think that everything goes on before the pizza when cooked. You will have a stronger, better looking and more flavorful pizza when adding more toppings after. Peppadews, banana peppers, hot coppa, prosciutto, arugula, Kalamata olives, goat cheese, Parmigiano, mortadella, fromage blanc, escarole, Piave, reductions, oils, oregano… so many! But cut your pizza first then add the finishing ingredients. You’ll have a much better looking pizza and it’ll be less messy too.” — 🍕🤠

Get your copy:
The Pizza Bible, Tony Gemignani with Susie Heller and Steve Siegelman, Ten Speed Press, 2014

10 Best Pizzas of 2017

One hundred and eleven places — by my count, that’s how many I hit during 2017, mostly in New York’s five boroughs and Buffalo (where I was doing research on the best wings, beef on weck, and pizza), but also in New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas (Dallas and San Antonio). And while eating pizza once every three-and-a-half days will probably keep the dues paid as far as maintaining my pizza cowboy bona fides, it has made it challenging to narrow down a list of just the top 10.

So I’ll make it a little easier by not including for consideration the 33 places I’ve previously visited, some of which I hit several times in 2017. That leaves 78 places to whittle down. It was still tough, one reason being the dozens of Buffalo pizzerias I visited. They totally skewed this list by taking half its spots. One of them would undoubtedly have been king of the hill if it hadn’t been for one truly inimitable pie. (In fact, Buffalo pizza deserves its own best-of list, so look for it in June in my upcoming book “Buffalo Everything”!)

Before listing the top 10, here are a dozen pies that deserve honorable mention. Leonardi’s Pizzeria for a straight-up delicious parking lot meal-worthy cup-and-char pizza; Emilio’s of Morris Park for their chicken vodka slice; Rosario’s of Astoria, which I was turned on to by and visited with Adam Kuban; VIPizza in Bayside, Queens, for its exemplary Sicilian; The Parlor in Dobb’s Ferry, N.Y., for its bone marrow, everything bagel, and lemon pizzas; Lou Malnati’s, whose Toro pop-up made me grudgingly admit there may be room for love in my heart for this style of pizza; Delorenzo’s in Robbinsville for its tomato pie; Pizza Town USA in Elmwood Park, N.J., for its super thin plain cheese slice; Johnny’s Pizzeria in Sunset Park, Queens, for its old-school New York City slice; Vic’s in NoHo, for one of the most right-under-my-nose good pizzas in recent memory; Federici’s of Freehold, N.J., for its storied bar pizzas (hat tip to Adam again for this rec); and Anthony Falco’s Thin ‘n’ Crispy bar pizza served at a packed pop-up at Hair of the Dog on the Lower East Side.

I could go on. But with that…

Razor-thin slices of creminis, and micro-pockets of sausage grease bubbling.

#10 Martina Pizzeria (East Village, NY): Pork-Fennel Sausage and Mushroom Pizza
I keep expecting more positive reviews of Nick Anderer and Danny Meyer’s Roman-inspired pizzeria, wondering, “Have I just been blinded because it’s reliable, family-friendly, and blocks from home? Because it’s been one of the easiest places to pizza-spelunk, even with a newborn.” That’s not it. The pies are good. I know because I’ve tried every pizza on the menu (something I rarely do) during the five visits I’ve made (four more than I usually make to new places in one year). Nick says it’s the same dough as at Marta (which underwhelmed me), but it looks more like a bar pie to me. And the ratios and textures seem more in harmony. Maybe because they’re slightly smaller and the cheese and sauce go farther out to the edge. The leopard-spotting you get on Neapolitan pies is on the undercarriage but there’s a crunch to this crust, which in places is just about an eighth of an inch thick. There’s a burnt-edge rim, swirls of fresh cheese, razor-thin slices of creminis, and micro-pockets of sausage grease bubbling out of the three or four sausage nubbins per slice. The chicken meatballs… hold on, I’m raving about chicken meatballs? Yes. They’re moist and flavorful in a zesty sauce. The Martina mista salad, the fior di latte soft serve drizzled with olive oil… this has become the pizzeria I crave in my neighborhood.

Slices of ⅛-inch thick potatoes almost lent an Indian profile to this pie at Inferno.

#9 Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana (Darnestown, MD): Wood-Oven Roasted Potatoes
Full disclosure, I was invited down to Maryland by chef-owner Tony Conte (former executive chef at D.C.’s Oval Room and executive sous at Manhattan’s Jean-Georges), who presented a pizza tasting menu at his six-seat counter. Nuanced, delicate, bold, bright… dishes like citrus-marinated olives with warm prosciutto; burrata in heirloom carrot caponata with chili caramel that was on the verge of being a dessert; and gently roasted beets with persimmon dressing, cherry “olives,” and pecans made it difficult to save room for the pies. I just gorged. On the D.O.C Marinara’s SUPER bright San Marzanos garlic confit, olive oil, and oregano, pleased by the lip-tingling bite from the hot pepper that made it feel like a fra diavolo crawled up on the pizza. On the smoked prosciutto pie where a variety of textures and flavors assembled an unusual harmony – fior di latte, ricotta, with lemon-braised fennel leading. But the roasted potato pie was the memory-burner. Topped with roasted onions, smoked mozzarella, and seven to eight slices of ⅛-inch thick potatoes that almost lent an Indian profile to a pie whose three-flour crust is among the best neo-Neapolitans you’ll find around — just when you think it might get too doughy, you get a nice bitter char. I’d swing through Darnestown on the way to D.C. any day.

A really nice range of flavors and textures on a pistachio pie at Il Forno in San Antonio, Texas.

#8 Il Forno (San Antonio, TX): Pistachio, EVOO, Garlic, Orange, Calabrese, Red Onion, Pesto 
This is said without condescension: Pizza has come a long way in Texas since I started visiting in 1998. San Antonio’s Il Forno is one of the better Neapolitan-ish pies you’ll find across the country — you could put this pizza up against any others in this genre made in New York City. At Il Forno, they assemble inventive but not over-the-top flavor combinations and make a fantastic chile oil using Chinese peppers. I love what Michael Sohocki is doing at this unassuming roadside neo-Neapolitan pizzeria.

A blue cheese and wing sauce base, chicken fingers, steak, fried onions, mozzarella, and provolone.

#7 Santora’s (Buffalo, NY): Stinger Pizza 
Buffalo’s oldest pizzeria was founded by Fioravanti Santora, who started selling pizza by the slice out of his homemade ice cream shop in 1927, a dozen years after arriving from Naples, Italy. By my research, Santora’s is the sixth oldest pizzeria in America. But it doesn’t get much love, even in Buffalo. This surprised me given how hard I fell for Santora’s stinger pie when visiting the Transit Road location in Depew. The white-pocked undercarriage is poofier than most of Buffalo’s pizzas, but browned, its crust rim lined blackened and a slight “trim” attached where the cheese had melted. That crust was topped with blue cheese and wing sauce base, a generous mix of chicken fingers, steak, fried onions, and a blend of mozzarella and provolone. There was a crispy-crackly bite. And a hot melted string of cheese stretched cartoon-like as you bit and pulled. So why doesn’t Santora’s get the love? I have a theory. It’s in the book!

Margherita Pizza, one of the most underrated pizzerias in New York City.

#6 Margherita Pizza (Jamaica, NY): Plain Cheese Slice
Since 2015, Amore in Flushing was my favorite sloppy slice in the city. That changed in 2017, when my friend GutterGourmet turned me on to Margherita, a 15-minute walk from the LIRR Jamaica hub. It immediately earned a spot on my list of New York City’s most underrated pizzas for First We Feast. As noted: “This narrow, brightly lit slice spot is a silent killer — a pizza ninja among under-appreciated pizzerias. Sicilian-born Stefano DiBenedetto and childhood friend Frank Gioeliand opened this neighborhood icon in 1966. It’s not much to look at — there’s a nondescript green awning you’d miss if not for the blinking globes in the window — but once you walk up to the long counter bereft of stools and ask for a slice, you’re in pizza heaven. They come hot, they come quick, and you’re guaranteed a cheese pull for $2.75 every time. This isn’t about balance, it’s about indulgence. Margherita is a napkin-blotter’s pizza grease nightmare: we’re talking oil-dripping-down-your-wrist good. There’s twice as much cheese as crust.” Makes me wish I was there right now.

There’s even cup-and-char on the cornicione.

#5 Deniro’s Pizzeria (Buffalo, NY): Pepperoni
Deniro’s was a dark horse rec, friend of a friend. I couldn’t find anything about it online. “I hear it’s for real,” I was told by a credible source. For real indeed. It’s a tiny pizzeria in a small strip mall on George Urban Blvd., around the corner from the Dick Road Duff’s in Depew. This pie is a monster. With so much pepperoni there’s even cup-and-char on the cornicione. Most slices don’t have less than 12 pepperoni slices and some have more than 20. Bursts of spicy pepper and roni edge crackle with every bite, cheese pulls midway through the slice, plenty of cheese but open ridges where you can see the sauce is evenly applied. It’s bendy with a very soft undercarriage and little crunch except along the cornicione, crisp and dark at the very edge, and golden brown and delicious. I ate it in the parking lot because I had to take photos right away, but I can’t imagine how you’d do otherwise regardless.

Nothing about this pie will appeal to a pizza purist who holds balance dear.

#4 Lock City Pizza (Lockport, NY): Pepperoni
I would never have found this beaut without the expertise of Buffalo pizza blogger SexySlices. Nothing about this pie should appeal to a pizza purist who holds balance, nuance, and structural integrity dear — there’s not even proper cup-and-char and it’s distributed wildly and inconsistently. It’s like a combination Buffalo-based amalgam of a few different styles. There’s Bocce trim, a coal oven-esque dry crust, and a cornmeal bottom. There’s twice, maybe even three times as much cheese as undercarriage, and at least as much sauce as dough. Somehow there’s still a chew-pull to the undercarriage. The sauce is ridiculous (sweet, acidic, spicy) and pepperoni distribution is like the last grasp of matter trying to escape a pizza black hole. One slice will have four pieces, and others, 12. There are even pepperoni leaflets, stacks up to seven slices. It’s nearly a salt bomb, but it’s really, really good.

La Nova Pizza is constant-craving pizza.

#3 La Nova Pizza (Buffalo, NY): Pepperoni With a Sesame Crust
The crusts on a fresh La Nova pie are a revelation, particularly the sesame, generously scattered an inch-and-a-half from the edge. The seeds toast in the cheese and pepperoni oil —they turn wonderfully nutty and slightly crunchy. It’s a nice contrast to the sweet sauce and uneven slices of charred pepperoni that’s generously, if unevenly scattered. There’s a faint shimmer of grease on the cornicione and an oil-scarred edge. I’ve been hearing about La Nova and Bocce Club for years, always as beloved places with local pull, but never really as national pizza pilgrimages. I’d put both on a rotation of pizzerias across the country I’d regularly crave.

A cup-and-char pie waiting to be sliced at Bocce Club Pizza in Buffalo, N.Y.

#2 Bocce Club Pizza (Buffalo, NY): Pepperoni
Fresh from the oven, your 18-inch Bocce Club pie is sliced on a wood block with a two-handled blade, cheese, and toppings flowing over the edge of the crust. Imagine a New York slice with a soft crust, focaccia undercarriage, and bites toward the end where you finally find a crunch where the cheese has crisped over the mostly invisible cornicione. It’s still difficult to imagine this pizza’s inherent excess without tasting it and it’s not for purists (who needs ’em?). There’s no structural integrity — no surprise, given there’s three times the cheese and twice the sauce of a New York City slice. Thick rounds of pepperoni with pronounced ridges are thoroughly charred and filled with shallow grease pools. There’s a scattering of herbs and you get a cheese pull with every bite.

If you were a pizza fanatic looking for the next new thing: the DoughDici at Sofia was it.

#1 Sofia Pizza Shoppe (New York, NY): Doughdici
Back in April, I called this New York’s most inventive pizza in years. I stand by that. Some may quibble with exalting the length of the cold-ferment, and the price (which earned it The New York Times’ headline, “The Rise of the $38 Pizza, Exclusive and Elusive”), but if you’ve had it, it’s hard to argue the resulting airiness from the 12-hour rise isn’t something special. (Even many skeptics have been swayed.) To recap my take on this pie: “The result is an ever-so-slight oil crisp-brown and golden undercarriage, a frico, Detroit-esque crust slightly chewy and salty from the cheese, but without the Motor City overflow. And because cheese lines the pan and is added to the dough as it grows, the frico seems built into the dough. There’s an “L-crust” edge that sinks about a quarter-inch out with the deepest part of the corner stretching an inch toward the center. The dough has dark brown patches, thick and chewy at the edge, soft and airy inside. There are similarities to focaccia, but there’s more lift and moisture, which makes sense given most recipes for focaccia require a rise of just an hour and a half to two hours, and the edge is unlike any focaccia you’ve likely had. While it’s gently dressed, this garlic knot-esque Sicilian pizza soufflé is pretty cheesy and saucy. And it’s light. You can eat several slices without that gut-bomb effect. It’s pretty spectacular.”

So there you have it, my top 10 pies from 2017. One week into 2018, I’m only at one pizzeria and counting. Better up my game. — 🍕🤠

The Lost Pizza Files: Pizza Writing From The Archives (2009-2010)

It can be fun (though sometimes cringe-inducing) to read things you’ve written years ago. So it’s been a bit of a blast to have stumbled across a cache of pizza writing from almost a decade ago. I’d thought that these 20 posts, originally published on AlwaysHungryNY, had been lost for good. They never got repurposed (save this one on the cold cheese slice) when we launched The Daily Meal, and despite early assurances by a former colleague, the original site was allowed to disappear. I don’t know why it took me this long to try to find them on the Wayback Machine — it certainly would have been a helpful thing to have thought of during numerous pizza caption-writing occasions over the years — but here they are now, nonetheless, and without all the weird stylization of an arbitrary stylebook (#nogrudgeshere).

New Haven’s Best Apizza, Pie By Pie

Frank Pepe’s Yonkers location just recently opened so in honor of New Haven-style pizza coming to New York, we’re sharing our recent experience of trying New Haven’s three most well-known pizzerias on one day during a pizza club outing organized by pizza blogger, Jason Feirman of I Dream of Pizza.

FRANK PEPE’S (est. 1925, coal-fired brick oven)

Top, a slice from a Tomato Pie with Shrimp. From left, Tomato Pie with Mozzarella and Fresh Roasted Red Peppers, Large Clam Pie, and “The Original Tomato Pie with Mozzarella.”

The expedition began at Frank Pepe’s. As a barometer we retried The Original Tomato Pie with Mozzarella. It’s closer in style to a John’s of Bleecker cheese pie, but thinner, with less cheese. Clam Pie? Fantastic as ever. A Tomato Pie with Mozzarella and Fresh Roasted Red Peppers was inoffensive and unspectacular.

While less epic than lobster, the dark horse is the Tomato Pie with Shrimp. Juicy. Supple. What is it with Pepe’s seafood toppings? Damn, they’re fresh. First-timers: forget everything else, it’s about White Clam Pie with Bacon, and Tomato Pie with Shrimp. The next power move? White pie, clam, bacon, and shrimp.

SALLY’S APIZZA (est. 1938, coal-fired brick oven)

Top, Plain Tomato Sauce with Parmesan. From left, Medium Onion & Bacon, Medium Mozzarella, Medium White Zucchini Pie With Tomatoes and Onions.

The line outside Pepe’s is bad, but the wait inside the lovingly dingy Sally’s Apizza once you’re seated is worse. It’s not the machine that is Pepe’s. Once inside, there was an hour wait before anything reached the table save an enticing smell.

Sally’s cheese pie is thicker than Pepe’s—there’s more sauce and cheese (they reach the crust’s height). But the slice still has structural integrity— no flop. Both crust and cheese have significant leopard-spotting, but the edges veer close to being burnt. White Zucchini Pie With Tomatoes and Onions? A misorder.

As the waiter said, “If you want clam pie, go to Frank Pepe’s.” It’s not the thing to get here. If you’re interested in toppings get the Onion and Bacon pie— it’s Sally’s second best.

Sally’s top honors go to the Plain Tomato Sauce with Parmesan. It’s one of those situations where there’s nothing to hide. If the crust or the sauce stinks, failure is abject and obvious. While other pies in New Haven rely on toppings, here things are simple and good. There’s just sauce: sweet, garlicky and a little salty, and at the perfect ratio to crust. Not a sauce-drenched crust, but enough to ensure each bite goes down wet and easy. The next power move at Sally’s? Hot Cherry Peppers.

MODERN APIZZA (est. 1934, gas-heated brick oven)

Top, Medium Italian Bomb. Bottom left, Half-Mozzarella Apizza, Half-Mushroom. Right, Mozzarella Apizza with Pepperoni.

Ask several New Havenites about pizza and it’s likely they’ll say they eschew Pepe’s and Sally’s in favor of Modern Apizza. To that we say, “You clearly have line rage from waiting at the other two places.” Yes, lines at Pepe’s and Sally’s are annoying. But Modern isn’t a solution. The atmosphere is great: wood paneling, friendly servers, clean feeling. But it’s about the pizza, and if Sally’s was the example of simplicity, these pies are overloaded and can’t hold up to their toppings. There’s absolutely no structural integrity— total hold-up-the-slice-and-watch-it-flop situation.

Modern’s Mozzarella Apizza is a waste of time. The bottom is soggy. The edges are burnt. The Pepperoni Pie features cheese that resembles the kind that melts over onto the pan and gets bubbly and hard. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not quite right either. Not to say that reconstitution should be the bar by which pizza should ultimately be judged, but it should be noted that after a few hours, Modern’s pizza totally expires. Whereas you can take leftover Pepe’s with you for later or freeze it and bring it back quite well in the toaster, with Modern it’s hard to believe the pizza had been fresh just hours before.

If you do end up at Modern, many claim the move is the Italian Bomb: Bacon, Sausage, Pepperoni, Garlic, Mushroom, Onion and Pepper. Again, structurally unsound. But, the idea goes, if you’re a meat-lover and your pie can’t even hold up to cheese, get some tasty toppings, and do your best fold job or knife and fork it. Still, we’ll inevitably return for: the American Cheese Pie, the Crabmeat Pie, and Clams Casino Pie.

Undercarriages from left to right: Frank Pepe, Sally’s, and Modern.

After repeated visits, we’ve reached some conclusions. First of all, to I Dream of Pizza, (Jason’s three-part series: Frank Pepe’s, Sally’s, Modern) we’d say with a wink, New York City is not “the pizza capital of the world,” technically that’s Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

In all seriousness, those who say New Haven’s pizza is better than New York City’s are wrong. Claims that New York’s classic pies are so far above New Haven’s are also wrong—“case in point, clam pie”:http://www.alwayshungryny.com/thought-for-food/entry/alwaystraveling-frank-pepes-clam-pizza-new-haven-ct/. Pepe’s is better than any rendition in New York City. Period. New York City has plenty of bad pizza, plenty of hyped pizza (Franny’s, La Pizza Fresca, and Co.).

At the end of the day, we’d take the experience of waiting and eating Pepe’s clam pie or Sally’s Plain Tomato Sauce with Parmesan over the experience of eating at Grimaldi’s (“eh”) and say they’re just as worthwhile as the experience of Di Fara (which isn’t always on point). After all, as good as the best of these are, none hold a candle to Da Michele anyway.

“The Spot": The Original Frank Pepe's Location

One of the fifty-odd trained pizzaiolos, at his craft at Frank Pepe’s “The Spot” in New Haven.

You’ve heard the clamor: the line, The Guardian’s declaration that it’s the best place in the world to eat pizza, and claims about them having the world’s best clam pie. The following recent five-pizza pie-by-pie meal is to honor the scheduled November 2nd opening in Yonkers (1955 Central Avenue) of New York’s first Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana.

If you have been to Pepe’s in New Haven, Connecticut, you know how to make a visit go smoothly (let someone else wait on line while you visit Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop nearby for cannoli cake). If you’re a pizza-lover and you haven’t been — the commotion, the huge ovens, the slicing methods, and the 10-foot long pizza peels are truly sites to behold.

If you don’t get there by 11:30am (noon the latest) it’s doubtful that you’ll be eating during the first seating, in which case you may as well wait for the 4pm (2pm Sunday) opening of the adjacent original 1925 Frank Pepe’s location, now called “The Spot.” You may have to wait for someone to pull out of the guarded parking lot for a space but hey, you’ll be there for the first seating.

What’s so great about Pepe’s? Basically, the crust (and we’re talking mainly about the Clam Pie whose crust is slightly thinner than the sauced pies) is light and thin, the salty-sweet tomato sauce, the proper amount of cheese. Regarding the clam pie, it’s almost a mortal sin to do it, but you can freeze it, reheat it in a crappy toaster oven and it still tastes amazing and fresh. Now that’s something.

One off-the-menu item that’s not as well known at Pepe’s is the “Chai” pie, a cheese-first pie that has the sauce ladled on top, “so you taste the sauce first,” explained the pizzaiolo above. Of all the pizzas in this Pie-by-Pie, it’s hard to argue against the Clam with Bacon, and the Chai pie being the best.

On a side note, you can rent The Spot. Mondays through Fridays during lunch, 50 people can do three hours, all you can eat pizza and all you can drink wine and beer for $750, plus tax and tip. For dinner, Monday through Thursday, it’s $1,500 (plus tax and tip). If I get married I’m having my reception there.

Large Clam Pie (never with mozzarella), $25.30. World’s. Best. Clam. Pie.

Large Original Tomato Pie with Mozzarella, $15.10.

Lobstah Feast Friday at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook

One thing that offers solace to hungry, rain-dampened people is a dry, friendly pub serving damn fine bar pizza and fresh Maine lobster. We forgave Rocky Sullivan’s for setting their TVs on another Mets loss instead of the Yanks’ extra inning, walk-off homerun victory because of its new affiliation with Susan Povich and Ralph Gorman of the Red Hook Lobster Pound. Rocky’s will host the Pound’s Lobstah Feast every Friday through the end of the year. Starting at 6pm, $23 gets you corn, coleslaw or potato salad, a 1½-lb lobster and dessert, first come first serve.

Last Friday was the inaugural feast. The Pound teamed up with Rocky’s for several reasons, “Our business is in Red Hook, we live and work in Red Hook. Rocky’s has always been a great pub and their deck is unbelievable.” She added that the owners “are real great people, honest, full of integrity.”

We grabbed the only open table at 8pm. There was a twenty-minute wait for everyone who followed. Jonah Crab claws with homemade cocktail sauce ($14) kicked off the meal. The meat was cold, sweet and fresh. You couldn’t ask for more.

Rocky Sullivan’s brick oven bar pizza is made by Rachel Fitzgerald. She has only been making pies for a year, but this Dublin native has her technique down. Pies have a super thin crust, on point seasoning and great cheese to sauce ratio— there’s enough sauce to appreciate its flavor and mouthfeel in each bite. It harkens to the New York pizza memories of your youth.

Currently, the Pound gets corn from the greenmarkets at Union Square and Borough Hall— it was a tad mushy. They’re looking for a Maine source. Both potato salad and coleslaw had good texture, seasoning and weren’t too creamy. But the main event was the lobster. It did not disappoint. The tail meat was gorgeous. Tender, juicy and sweet. It comes with claw crackers, bibs, and handwipes— good thing, the meat is so good you want to wear it. There’s also melted butter, but the sweet to salt flavor of the succulent meat is such that butter is unnecessary.

The Pound claims they season their boiling water with mirepoix and spices, “nothing fancy.” What juice doesn’t end up all over your hands and running down your arms pools with the tomalley at the bottom of your container. The lobster’s freshness must account for the flavor because that liquor is drink-worthy.

Jonah Crab claw meat and lobster tail were combined with the pizza for a perfect bite. Dessert was a fudgey brownie from Baked. At night’s end, the Pound had served 135 fresh lobsters, all of which had left Maine just the afternoon before. “We are a mobile lobster machine,” said Susan. “We do all the cooking ourselves, outside in the courtyard, like a real lobster boil.”

There will be more reasons to attend Friday feasts during the months ahead. “We’re working on Fall recipes, bisques, pot pies, meatloaf,” Susan said. “Honestly the best lobster is in October, November, and December. It’s the peak catch for sweetness and meat per lobster. We want to keep New Yorkers eating lobster through the fishing season.”

We’ll be back.

1933 Rollback and Pizza-Eating Contest at Patsy’s Pizzeria

Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem at 118th an 1st Avenue (Patsy’s Way).

“Try drinking a grape soda,” advised Ray Cabrera, 57, a lunch companion at Patsy’s Pizzeria during their 76th anniversary celebration in Harlem, “it keeps the weight off your chest.”

Ray should know the best way to eat pizza at Patsy’s— he has been doing it since he was 17. Today, he and his friend Tommie Kirk were taking a break from work to enjoy their lunch during the rollback to 1930’s prices, which Frank Brija, the owner of Patsy’s described as their way of “giving back to the community,” after being in the neighborhood for 76 years. Also on the docket later was a pizza-eating contest and the unveiling of a new street sign depicting the block on 1st Avenue as “Patsy’s Way.”

Doors were scheduled to open at 11am but the long line of crying children, bloggers, hungry locals and patrons doused in Aqua Blue didn’t start getting let in until almost a half hour later. Then Israel Miranda, the dapper, suit-wearing doorman started asking the security guard to send in parties of people, “Sexy, five,” he teased. “Sexy, two!”

Sexy?

“I keep telling him, ‘Today I’m Mr. Garcia,’” explained the guard.

Inside, lunch with Tommie and Ray was on my dime. At these prices, it might have been possible to buy lunch for the entire restaurant without breaking $150. The waitress explained that each person was allowed to order one appetizer, one Primi Piatti, one Secondi Piatti, one pizza and one dessert. The menu noted that there were “No Subsitutions. No Take-Out or Doggy Bags,” allowed. It ruined a lot of plans devised by people on line to “roll in, order five pies and two of everything to go.”

From top left, clockwise: Patsy’s Original Coal Oven Pizza, Cheese Slice upskirt, Vongole Fresche, Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala, Chicken Parmigiana, and Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage.

The bill totaled $3.75. Three people managed to eat and drink: a Coca-Cola (10¢), a Grape Soda (10¢), an Organic House Salad (30¢), Vongole Fresche (45¢), Pollo ala Parmigiana (85¢), the Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala (70¢), a Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage (75¢), and an Original Coal Oven Pizza (60¢). With a $10 tip, we still escaped under $15, well under the $70.90 bill it would have cost without tip. This reporter downed his first pie at Pasty’s by himself. There was good sauce to cheese ratio and the crust was exceptionally thin. “You have to eat it within the first two minutes,” advised Tommie, “it gets floppy fast.”

It would have been good advice to the participants in the pizza-eating contest that took place soon afterwards outside. But there wasn’t much time for advice. Six contestants (three teams of two) faced off to see who could eat the most pizza in 12 minutes. The Fire Department, the Police Department and EMS were cheered on while an official timekeeper, and a real judge (ret.), Leslie Crocker Snyder (a Democrat running for District Attorney) watched over them. The winner of the contest would bestow Patsy’s $2,500 scholarship to Derrick Cox, 15, who had been brought to the attention of Patsy’s by Deputy Inspector Eddie Caban of the 25th precinct, after a summer of hard work in an internship at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

The fire department took the early lead and kept it through the entire twelve minutes. Al Serino of Ladder 43 looked like a pro, folding slices over, eating two at a time, even dunking them in one of the two pitchers of water each eater was given.

“Don’t be afraid to get chubby!” shouted a woman watching from the crowd in the street. Down the stretch with a minute left, Al of the FDNY was a full pie ahead of everyone else, having eaten three pies. He didn’t even bother to eat from the second to last pie. He just sipped water. But when the tossed boxes were examined, the Fire Department was disqualified for not eating their crusts. “They were stuffing the crumbs underneath,” explained Mr. Brija.

After 36 slices and three and a half pies, the contest was tied between the Police Department and EMS. A runoff was declared. One member of each team would face off to see who could eat one pie the quickest.

Carlos Jimenez of the 26th Battalion FDNY EMS took an early lead and looked like the champion but Officer Angel Lopez of the 25th Precinct wasn’t to be outdone. The contest actually came down to who could swallow the last bite, and it was Carlos who raised his arms in glory. “Next year, Sanitation!” shouted two sanitation workers, flexing their muscles as they watched the celebration.

Derrick Cox and his mother, Alicia, a single mom watched the event, smiling. “It’s a blessing,” she said. “I’m very grateful to be involved with Patsy’s. I’m very proud of Derrick. He works hard. He’s an example of what a good son should be.”

As the line outside Patsy’s continued to grow and the contestants waddled away, Ray’s advice might have been well-used. Everyone, it seems, could have used a little grape soda.