See Pizza, Eat Pizza

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

According to Urban Spoon, New York City has more than 2,000 pizzerias - besting second place Chicago by 1,300 locations. When it comes to overall pizzeria quality, I’m afraid the gap is much, much larger.

The first 26.8 years of my life were spent living in Chicago. For a embarrassingly large percentage of that time, I swore up and down that Chicago pizza was tops. I made fun of New York’s “floppy” slice style and the cheesy mess that often accompanied it.

When I started dating Kristy, that all changed. In a pretty short time frame, I managed to scarf some pies from some of NYC’s more venerable institutions: Lombardi’s, Joe & Pat’s, Joe’s on Carmine, Di Marco, and Grimaldi’s (in Hoboken). It became clear that the pizza I had known as “New York” style my whole life was really just some confused Chicago-area individual’s idea of New York style. The pizza I was eating in New York were more flavorful than any pizza I had ever experienced. The crust was tender and chewy and crunchy all at the same time and cheese was being used in proportion to the rest of the ingredients (take note, Giordano’s)!

Dom DiMarco,
NYC Pizza Mayor

Last July, I packed my stuff into a truck and headed east. Since then, my relationship with pizza has truly blossomed (to say nothing of my relationship with Kristy). I love heading into the city to try a new pizzeria. I love reading the storied history of pizza in the village. I love that when someone asks me where they should grab a pie, I can give them 15 different answers without hesitation.

I know that I’m just scratching the tip of the iceberg out here. I have yet to try Patsy’s in East Harlem or Totonno’s on Coney Island. I haven’t eaten at the Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn Bridge. There are at least 60 Rays in the city and I’ve only eaten at a handful. Heck, I haven’t even had pizza in 2 of the 5 boroughs (that’d be the Bronx and Queens for those scoring at home).

Buckle up New York, it’s going to be a delicious ride.