There are very few questions to which this is the right answer.
rubirosa is in close proximity and is worthy of a visit.
Made me chuckle ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
That was the worst of our week, we had a great time apart from that.
Alain
Except there is no sbarro in the short hills mall! (But I 100% agree with your sentiment!)
maybe it called “$barro” there…?
Unless it is The Bronx Little Italy, Zero Otto Nove makes some great wood fired pizzas.
Surprised no updates on this post. Looks like we’ll hit Don Antonio and perhaps a slice at Joe’s.
After several visits over a decent time period, I’m going to state that Lucali in Carol Gardens is the best for me right now. And there’s no reason why it should be that good, but it is. The style of the pie is kind of in between a proper Neopolitan and a more classic NY pie. The menu is pizza and calzone only, sometimes there are random veggies and meatballs. And the calzone is arguably even better than the pizza.
Lucali has been my favorite for a number of years. I don’t even like calzones and I’m crazy about theirs. And it’s BYOT&C!
Must have confused it with Jersey Gardens to which there IS a Sbarro.
Tourists traps exists in every major city and New York’s Little Italy is one of the biggest in the city. Now, the Bronx version, Arthur Avenue is the exception. Still a place where passionate small shops produce artisan level Italian foods, for the most part. One still needs to wade carefully. I do not remember ever hearing of a decent recommendation coming out of the lower east side version in all the years I have lived in New York. The outer boroughs always did it better. Zero Otto Nove does it amazingly well even if they are not Italians. ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
Since I first posted here in March of 2015, I will make some changes. I will remove DiFaras from my list since its over-done a bit and add Ribalta’s on 12th and Broadway is amazing and authentic. A little bit of Naples in the City.
Must get to:
Ribalta’s
Totonnos Coney Island
must avoids (too touristy and not really good any more):
Grimaldis
Lombardi’s
ho-hums:
Roberta’s
Otto Enoteca - expected more
Off beaten path:
Staten Island:
Giove’s- An original margarita
Sals brick oven- very good margarita style pie
Brookyn:
Davincis for square. Wait for fresh pie to come out.
Nino’s Bay Ridge- for the worlds single best Grandmas Pie, just ask Dan H. See below
Europa on 20th and 65- A hybrid Naples/NY pie worthy of the trip.
Bronx:
Zero Otto Nove- sublime margarita with olives
Full Moon Pizza- great NY pie
Want something different? try Artichoke Basille’s pizza for the artichoke pie.
Still to try:
Lucali’s
Keste
You had me at Nino’s. This is just a typical looking Brooklyn pizza place in any old Brooklyn neighborhood; with one exception, one of the best slices around. Time for a revisit my pizza brother. ![[whistle.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/87d24eb81ec6dc01d84f3d6c19fa9a357e90218e.gif "whistle"){kind=small}
Or maybe Totonno’s, or may 0-8-9, or maybe…
A couple of these are shrines (in particular, Di Fara) and I’m not waiting 2 hours. The nice part about Roberta’s is that it is open all day, and in warm weather they have a backyard.
I guess I’m spoiled out here in San Francisco with the Napoletana pies; I thought the slice at Joes was good but that’s about it.
I’ve heard from many that Staten Island has some great “down and dirty” pizza joints. So I got some recommendations from reliable sources (my parents) and went to Joe and Pat’s last weekend. Very thin and crispy crust. They called it neapolitan but it was very different from Roberta’s or Pasquale Jones. The sauce was great. I’d almost call it pizza matzoh. Very different from what I’m used to and totally enjoyable. As an aside, the place is pretty much of a dump…exactly what I expected. We went on a Sunday at noon and there weren’t many people there. Walked in and my 13 year old said “it smells like old people” which wasn’t a ringing endorsement…but the pizza was worth it. Now I have to try Denino’s and Lee’s Tavern in SI.
Quick note: Rubirosa is owned by the son of the Joe and Pat’s owner and it’s the same style of pizza.
FWIW, had pizza from Keste a few months ago. Truly awful. I can’t believe it’s even in the conversation of best pizza’s in NYC.
I’ll throw another West Village contender into the hat: Pizzeria Brunetti. Delicious pies.
What’s the general consensus on Pizza Hearts Emily? Now that they opened in the WV too, been wanting to try the square “Detroit” pie.
the square pie there is excellent, but the burger is insanity.
MC those staten pies sound like sallys/frank new haven style, which i think is terrible and they also call it napoletana, but it’s not a proper neopolitan pie a la the other places. unlike other styles of pizza, neopolitan is very specific.
I think you’re right…when I was leaving Joe and Pat’s I asked the owner what style the pizza was and he said napoletana with a thick accent so I just assumed he meant neapolitan. I would agree that this style of pizza is more in the new haven style. I wouldn’t say that I find the NH style to be terrible but I definitely agree that the Roberta’s/PJ style is much more to my liking.
I call it a hybrid Naples-NY pie.
Not a fan of Joe and Pats myself, nor Lees Tavern which has a cracker type dough. You will find Deninio’s pretty much like Joe and Pats, just a bit thicker. Nobody doing a real Neapolitan pie on the Island.
Here is the yardstick I use to measure my Neapolitan pies, Da Michele in Naples. The BEST.
Had some delicious pizza at Tramonti in the East Village over the weekend. They use some of the most authentic/imported/tasty tomatoes and sauces from their hometown and the Fior di Latte mozzarella, another Tramonti specialty, is a step up from the regular mozzarella in most pizza.
The pasta dishes are delicious, too!
easily the best news i’ve heard this year
NOICE!