See Pizza, Eat Pizza

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.

The tour continues…

Friday night, I went to see Paul Simon perform at BAM. It was a great show, but that’s a review for some other place (after all, this is a site about pizza). I decided that if I was going to schlepp all the way to Brooklyn (it takes 2 trains totaling about 50 minutes in rush hour) I needed to go all-out and get some delicious pizza.

I had been to Luzzo’s once prior to this visit and it didn’t impress me. In fact, we had a sausage pie and the sausage tasted strangely similar to feet. Normally, that would have been enough to ensure I never returned to any dining establishment. Luzzo’s, however, is a trusted pizza friend’s favorite Manhattan spot. I thought it odd that our opinions were so opposite, so I decided I was willing to give it another try.

I sat down and ordered a 12″ bufala. At $16, one would expect a seriously tasty pie. Several minutes after ordering, the waiter placed a fantastic looking pie on my table. The crust has the right amount of coal-burning oven char spots and the mozz was just starting to brown. My mouth immediately put it’s salivation division into action.

I lifted a slice to my mouth, took a big bite and felt my hopes for Luzzo’s redemption dashed instantly. Yes, the crust sported a nice chew and the mozz had that creamy, scrumptious flavor I desire. But, all that goodness is seriously impeded by an almost bitter sauce. Not only does the sauce not gel with the other ingredients, but it overshadowed them altogether with it’s un-deliciousness (look it up, braniac). The outer crust was also overly dry and tasted like nothing but char. Not yum.

Luzzo’s has a tremendous reputation and a big following, but I’m not sure why. The East Village has plenty of other pizza places (Una Pizza Napoletana, Artichoke and Vinny Vincenz come to mind) that I’ll be visiting soon enough and I’d be willing to wager that I’ll find better pizza right around the corner.

Rating: 2 slices

Luzzo’s
211 1st Avenue (between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY
(212) 473-7447