I’ll be taking a trip to New York City soon, and I’m hoping to sample some of the city’s famous pizza. Actually, I’m hoping to eat at as many different pizza places as I can, and then draw my own conclusions as to the Best Pie in Town. (Diets don’t count when you’re on vacation, right?) So, got any recommendations?
In addition to the name of the restaurant, it’d be helpful if you could give at least a rough discription of where it’s located, because I know some of the pizza parlors have similar names. Also, whether they serve pizza by the slice (is that the norm?) or only whole pies would be useful for planning purposes.
Mike’s Pizza. Right off the corner of Webster Avenue and Bedford Park Boulevard in the Fordham/Grand Concourse area of the Bronx.
But don’t go at night.
Are you driving up through Jersey? The best pizza I ever had in my life was at Frank’s Pizza & Restaurant, 2909 Washington Rd # 30, Parlin, NJ, just south of the Amboys off the Garden State Parkway. Close to New York, but I wouldn’t want to walk it.
personally, as far as slices go, my favorite is Anna Maria’s on Bedford Ave (right outside the subway station)…greasiest pizza in town! For a damn good calzone, try Ray’s at the corner of St Marks and 3 Av.
Let’s see, he had two storefronts a stones’ throw away from each other, and I don’t remember which one he closed… one is (or was) right at 3rd Street and 6th Ave, where the West 4th Street subway station (A/E/F/V/B/D) is. The other was (or is) just a notch south/downtown from there, on Carmine Street just slightly west of where Carmine hits 6th Ave.
[Zagats indicates the second location is the one still open.
Do you mean the original “Ray’s” or “Original” Ray’s? A little overRAYted either way, really.
The oldest pizzeria in NYC, perhaps in America, is Lombardi’s Pizza, 32 Spring St, New York, NY. Haven’t been there yet, but if you’re making the pizza equivalent of a religious pilgrimage, this is an obligatory stop.
I have to suggest traveling to New Haven to visit Sally’s and Pepe’s on Wooster Street, if you’re interested in seriously good pizza. (It’s only a couple of hours from Manhattan via the New Haven line of Metro-North.)
You’re not eating, you’re doing research, so go wild. And for breakfast, I’d probably make it my goal to do similar research on bagels. Supposedly, NYC bagels are the best in the world. I haven’t had the opportunity to test this for myself, but I’m sure I’d enjoy finding out.
Oh, yeah. As a Dallasite who has had business take him to NYC, I can attest, bagels there are an art. It’s just not the same out here.
The closest I’ve found in our area is a small chain called “Benny’s Bagels”, when you get there first thing in the morning as they’re coming out of the oven … mmmm … Unfortunately Benny’s has gone really down hill in the last few years and most of the franchises have closed. And I haven’t had reason to go to NYC for a good ten years now.
As to the actual topic at hand, NY Pizza … well, it’s not my thing, really, so I’d better just leave it at that.
You probably won’t find the best pizza in NYC in Manhattan. There is no way that anyone could possibly try pizza from all NYC establishments within a reasonable time frame. But the NYC resident pizza lovers I know always point to a place in one of the other 4 boroughs. If you allow the entire NYC area to be considered, my opinion is that Northern New Jersey produces the best pizza in the world. Of course, I live there so I’m biased. But even pizza lovers who have moved out of NYC and into Jersey tend to agree, for the most part. I’ve been all over NYC and tried a bunch of places. In general, nothing beats NJ pizza, although I’ve heard great things about Pepe’s in New Haven.
Benny Tudino’s in Hoboken is pretty good.
Best in NYC generally considered to be Lombardi’s (if you want to wait an hour) or John’s Pizza by Times Square. Pattsy’s on University is good too but it’s a little garlicy.
And I haven’t had reason to go to NYC for a good ten years now.