we are off topic here, but moishe’s sucks. sorry. pareve baked goods loaded with margarine. it’s indefensible.
as for breads, pretty much everything they make is benchmark. they are untied to any traditions and therefore are free to make the best versions of those things but are still easily identifiable. the sufganyot for hannukah are a revelation as were the recent hamantashen for purim.
As much as I approve of tradition (you have my permission to shoot me if you ever see me voluntarily eating a blueberry bagel) I’ll take the babka at Breads any day of the week over any other babka I’ve had. Hipster babka is good babka.
Thank you so much,
Yes, the correction is on, Finest I should have asked for and what a wealth of information,
the Pizza tours send great,
I had meant the John’s of the Village is my memory of the finest,
but now I’ve got so many more to try
thank you for the help
Wg
Roberta’s in bushwick is killing it!
By the way, unless I have missed something, New York City STILL encompasses the four outer-boroughs. Some parts of Brooklyn are just as easy to get to than going from say-- Wall Street to North Harlem. When it comes to pizza, unless you are doing the ‘Sex In The City Tour’, the outers is where much happens. To my Manhattanite friends, life does go on-- on the other side of water.
Need to do some pizza research focusing on neapolitan, thicker pizza al taglio and sfincione.
Any thoughts on the latter two styles available in NYC?
Also, lodging…stay in Manhattan or elsewhere? It’s a bit of a “hit and run” Fri~Sun thing so more eating and less time spent in a cab or train would be good. JFK is our arrival airport.
Some really good summations here already.
If I were advising, and particularly if the advisee (?) already knew good pizza, I’d tell them to concentrate on the places and not the pizza.
Go to Lombardi’s. Go to John’s. Get a slice at Joe’s. Enjoy being in the places and worry less about whether it’s actually the best slice you’ve ever had.
BTW, for people willing to travel to Brooklyn it can also be worth getting on a PATH train and trying Razza in Jersey City. It’s a short walk from the Grove St. PATH station and makes great pizza. Only open for dinner and has $35 corkage/table (no matter how many bottles you bring).
But don’t go to Porta. That’s our other Neapolitian pizza place and it’s a toss up as to whether the food or the service is worse. I claim the food but many people I’ve spoken to insist it’s the service.
I grew up on pizza from Hav-a-Pizza, right above the SW corner 86th St. IRT entrance; 15 cents a slice, another 10 or 15 cents for a root beer, life was good. No doubt long gone since this was back in the late Fifties-Sixties. No argument that it was the best pizza ever, but highly typical of the time and place.
I had to laugh. I’m trying to put this together and now the guy that I’m going with also wants to drive (he has a car) to New Haven CT to check that scene out. I had to remind him that we have 2 days total.
The pizza “scene” there?
Interesting town to do so. No slice places, though…all whole pies-- at least at the “classic” NH places.
I would strongly recommend the exact opposite. Every single one of those places has effectively turned into Disney World of pizza. they are all heaped with tourists and while the service is fine, there is zero soul in any of them and you’ll feel like you’re at a pizza museum. Whatever nostalgic elements you think you’ll experience were gone years ago. The pizza is fine at all of them but better versions are available elsewhere.
Also no reservations and it does get crowded fast.
I would strongly recommend the exact opposite. I think the slices at Joe’s continue to be the ultimate slice experience in NYC. (Better than the carnival and cluster-f experience at DiFara). (That place never had “soul”.)
When I was last in the CITY, this winter, I went to Joe’s…as a destination…and insisted on going back the next day, too.
Hard to divorce the product from the place, but…at least with slices…I think the product at Joe’s is worth any “museum” effect. AT least, it’s worth the effort for the pies.
I stopped going to the other museums…years ago…like those mentioned…DiFara. BUT, a trip to Totonno’s on Coney Island has never disappointed me.
I don’t reject museums, either…because they are old or classic. I have no need to be trendy or hip…and no such ability.
Not mentioned yet but I like Lucali in Carroll Gardens. Two menu items only of pizza and calzone. It is BYO. People start lining up around 5:00 pm for their 6:00 pm opening. Cash only.
Near where I live, so I’m biased, but I also enjoy Lucali. BYO and I believe no corkage to boot.
i think i’m going next week for the first time. kinda psyched.
Yes, I usually order a pie there to go to avoid the crowds. The advantage of living a few minutes away (though I have to wait 20 minutes for them to make the pizza).
You guys are killing me. I grew up on pizza from some long gone place on Avenue L in Canarsie Brooklyn in the late 60’s and great square Sicilian from another forgotten Brooklyn source. The last memory I have of my Sicilian great grandmother is her pizza.
Enjoyed some good Jersey pies over the years including Dilorenzo’s. Now I make my own pies while longing for good East Coast slices.
Nice write-up about Lucali in the New York Times today. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/dining/pizza-lucali-mark-iacono-profile.html?_r=0. Great pictures.