Scott’s Pizza Tours
Yesterday, I was very privileged to be a participant on the maiden voyage of Scott’s Pizza Tours. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say right up front that Scott Wiener is my friend and I want his tours to succeed beyond his wildest dreams. That being said, I had a fantastic (fantastic!!) time on the trip. As I lover of pizza (which is how Scott and I became friends, of course), I can say that it is a truly worthwhile experience and Scott has a vault of knowledge he’s ready to share with anyone and everyone.
Scott has designed tours that start in Manhattan and visit one of the outer boroughs. You are told where and when to meet, but he doesn’t tell you which borough - or which pizzerias - you’re going to … that is, until you’re headed there. I wasn’t sure how I felt about not knowing, but the element of surprise made it feel like a pizza treasure hunt. Perfect!
Every tour visits four pizzerias and everyone gets a slice of deliciousness from each location. Scott calls the pizzerias to let them know we’re coming - we don’t have time to wait around, after all. Depending on the style of the location, we sampled either a margherita or cheese pie to allow for proper comparisons. I’ll paraphrase him here: “Anyone can cover up crummy pizza with good toppings.”
Our tour met at Lombardi’s, America’s first licensed pizzeria. Scott had them ready for our arrival and we file inside to talk about their history and role in America’s pizza history. We were led to the back for a close look at their super old (and super hot!) coal burning behemoth. When you stand within a few feet of it, you can definitely feel the heat. I can hardly imagine sliding pizza in and out of this thing for a full shift.
Next, we moved on to a dining area and grabbed seats. In front of us, we found a Scott’s Pizza Tours goodie bag (which every customer receives). Inside was a mini pizza journal (for note taking), lemon candies (to cleanse the palette), Hersey’s Kisses and a gummy pizza cut into slices (so you can share it, Scott says). The goody bag is a great conversation starter and introductions from tour mates soon followed.
The first of our four pizza slices was Lombardi’s margherita. I’m going to stick brief reviews of each stop at the end of this post, but I will say that Lombardi’s was quite good. I had been there once prior (a year and a half ago-ish) and today’s was better than I remembered it. Off to a good start.
Of course, as is the case on my pizza excursions, the first slice merely gets my belly primed for more pizza goodness. Thankfully, there was to be no more hanging around at Lombardi’s. We head out the door and walk through Soho to our waiting pizza bus. Scott shared some good pizza tidbits on the way (I’m not going to share too many - take the tour!).
Once on the bus, Scott announced our next stop: Luzzo’s. I made my thoughts on Luzzo’s well-known in a recent blog post and I can’t say I was excited to be headed back. But, the pizza tour is about keeping your mind open to new pizza possibilities - and I was willing to give them a third shot (third time’s the charm, right?).
We pulled up outside Luzzo’s and filed inside to check out their oven (also coal burning) while we waited for our pizzas. This was to be a quick pizza pick-up. Slices were consumed on the bus. Luzzo’s didn’t win me over, but many on the bus gave it rave reviews - so what do I know!?
Scott announced that our bus was headed for the Bronx. I was hoping it would be the Bronx or Queens as I hadn’t experienced either boroughs pizza offerings. He also said that we were going to make a surprise stop at Patsy’s in East Harlem. This unscheduled fifth stop was a special treat for those of us on the first bus and the press was supposed to keep this quiet. Since the Daily News couldn’t keep their trap shut, I won’t either. I was excited to try Patsy’s as I had heard so many good things about it.
We ate our Patsy’s slices on the sidewalk, which must have weirded the locals out. 26 people standing around eating slices in front of a big, yellow school bus isn’t something you see every day. It is New York, however, so I doubt it bothered them too much. With a third slice dispatched, it was time to head back to the bus (after all, we have two more places to try).
Our first Bronx stop was Patricia’s of Morris Park. It would be an understatement to say that Patricia’s welcomed us with open arms. A large table was set up down the middle of the room so we could all sit together. Within a few moments of our arrival, the pizzas started coming. We were each supposed to have a slice of their margherita from their wood-fired oven. In addition, there was supposed to be a single “regular” cheese pie from their gas-fired oven so the whole table could compare the underside of the crust to the wood-fired pie. This however, was not the case. The owner of Patricia’s brought out enough “regular” pie so the whole table could have a slice. He also shared a more traditional neapolitan style pie with fiore di latte cheese (again, providing enough for the whole table). All-in-all, it was (I cannot believe I’m writing this) pretty much pizza over-kill. It was super nice of the owner to treat us like royalty, but we had already consumed three slices each and this pushed us to the breaking point.
I would be lying if I said it was anything other than a limp to the final destination, Louie and Ernie’s. Most of the tour patrons were too stuffed to do anything but nibble the Louie and Ernie’s offering - a standard gas-fired cheese pie. I did pretty good with my slice, but my opinion of it wasn’t high. I’m going to chalk this up to the pain in my stomach and not their pizza. I’ll have to re-visit another day to get a proper assessment in my books.
As we waddled back to the bus for our return trip to Manhattan, we had time to reflect on the days pizza adventure. First and foremost, Scott is a knowledgeable guide who makes riding around and eating pizza even more enjoyable than it obviously is. Yes, there was too much pizza on this first trip, but Scott has already told me that adding a fifth pizzeria probably won’t happen again. Patricia’s would have been better as the final stop since they went so crazy with the pies, but it’s totally impossible to get mad at them for serving too much pizza.
Scott’s Pizza tours are a must for any pizza fan: from the once-a-month fan to the obsessed three-times-a-week pizza lunatic, everyone can find something to take from these tours.
Scott’s Pizza Tours
http://www.scottspizzatours.com/
Quick Reviews:
Lombardi’s surprised me. I had eaten there many moons prior and didn’t have such a tasty memory of it. It was covered in a nice, sweet sauce and fresh mozzarella, but it was the well-seasoned crust that really stood out to me. I will definitely come back at some point for a more thorough review.
Rating: 4 slices
Lombardi’s
32 Spring St
New York, NY
(212) 941-7994
Luzzo’s received only 2 slices in a recent post on this very site. Nothing changed today.
Patsy’s may be the only coal-oven place in NYC offering slices. I think they may have become my favorite slice in the city today. Aged mozzarella with a nice sauce tops thin, thin, thin and crispy crust. I’ll definitely re-visit them on a later date. Yum.
Rating: 4 slices
Patsy’s Pizzeria
2287 1st Ave
New York, NY
(212) 534-9783
Patricia’s offered three pies, but I’m only going to rate them based on the fantastic wood-fired margherita we started with (after that, things are pretty much a blur). From the first bite, I knew I loved Patricia’s pie. The crust was absolutely scrum-diddly-umptious and there was lots of yummy basil in play. Again, this is going to require a trip back (so many places to visit, so little time!).
Rating: 4 slices
Patricia’s Pizza & Pasta
1080 Morris Park Ave
Bronx, NY
(718) 409-9069
Louie & Ernie’s was the unfortunate victim of our pizza gorging. I was in no position to make a fair pizza judgement on this Bronx staple, so I won’t offer a rating. I will pass the address along in case you want to head up there yourself (and who wouldn’t!?).
Louie & Ernie’s Pizza
1300 Crosby Ave
Bronx, NY
(718) 829-6230
