New York pizza

[justgladtobehere]

Greek pizza is a scourge upon the earth. It sucks beyond any comprehension.

 

[TwoGloves]

Heading toward Brooklyn soon!

 

[The Big Ragu]

Heading toward Brooklyn soon!

Make sure you pack some heat.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Hey. ... if you haven't left yet, assume you are going to Grimaldi's or Juliana's. If you have room left afterward, head down Water Street, about a 3 minute walk from there into DUMBO afterward, and if you like really good chocolate, check out Jacques Torres on Water St. You can't go wrong with anything there. ... if they still have ice cream (not sure when they stop), it's really good. Real vanilla bean in the vanilla, real coffee ground into the coffee ice cream, etc.

Also, across the street, the old Empire Stores Warehouse has been converted into a giant food court and offices. Go inside and have a look around. If you head out the back and climb the stairs, there is a really nice view of the bridges and lower Manhattan.

 

[Azrael]

Hey. ... if you haven't left yet, assume you are going to Grimaldi's or Juliana's. If you have room left afterward, head down Water Street, about a 3 minute walk from there into DUMBO afterward, and if you like really good chocolate, check out Jacques Torres on Water St. You can't go wrong with anything there. ... if they still have ice cream (not sure when they stop), it's really good. Real vanilla bean in the vanilla, real coffee ground into the coffee, etc.

Also, across the street, the old Empire Stores Warehouse has been converted into a giant food court and offices. Go inside and have a look around. If you head out the back and climb the stairs, there is a really nice view of the bridges and lower Manhattan.

Second Jacques Torres, especially the 'Wicked' hot chocolate.

If, like me, you're a glutton, there's a very good bakery across the street from it, Almondine.

There's lots to do in that neighborhood. The Old Warehouse is great, per Ragu, and Jane's Carousel, and if you're a boxing fan, Gleason's Gym is around the corner at 130 Water Street.

And the Wegman's in the Navy Yard opened yesterday.

Have fun.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Hate to me too, but he's steering you toward the kind of day I would appreciate.

Yes and yes on the wicked hot chocolate and Almondine (owned by Jacques Torres). I'm not a pastries guy, but if I was, that would be the place.

I'm not a boxing guy either, but there is a lot of history in Gleason's Gym. If you head that way (there is a lot to do around there, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, so. ... ), try to imagine that neighborhood kind of desolate and that gym there. It's kind of how it was, really up until about a decade or two ago.

Another thing you can do on that side of the bridge is go in the opposite direction into Brooklyn Heights. Some of the oldest homes in NYC that date back to the 1820s, and some great architecture that is all historically preserved. It's a great neighborhood.

Honestly, there are so many nice things to do around there. For sure, go into the park and check out the views. Beyond that, hope you have a great day.

 

[Azrael]

Hate to me too, but he's steering you toward the kind of day I would appreciate.

Yes and yes on the wicked hot chocolate and Almondine (owned by Jacques Torres). I'm not a pastries guy, but if I was, that would be the place.

I'm not a boxing guy either, but there is a lot of history in Gleason's Gym. If you head that way (there is a lot to do around there, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, so. ... ), try to imagine that neighborhood kind of desolate and that gym there. It's kind of how it was, really up until about a decade or two ago.

Another thing you can do on that side of the bridge is go in the opposite direction into Brooklyn Heights. Some of the oldest homes in NYC that date back to the 1820s, and some great architecture that is all historically preserved. It's a great neighborhood.

Honestly, there are so many nice things to do around there. For sure, go into the park and check out the views. Beyond that, hope you have a great day.

For movie buffs, the 'Moonstruck' house is in Brooklyn Heights at 19 Cranberry Street. About a five-minute walk up the hill from Juliana's.

 

[Severian]

The best NY pizza I had recently was Sbarro in Penn Station.

 

[Azrael]

The best NY pizza I had recently was Sbarro in Penn Station.

This post is a hate crime.

 

[JackReacher]

John’s on Bleecker is tremendous.

 

[justgladtobehere]

I wish NYC pizza were a thing where I live. Greek pizza is the standard in Massachusetts. It is so ****ing awful. Bar pizza is considered a step up, Greek pizza is so bad.

 

[The Big Ragu]

John’s on Bleecker is tremendous.

Excellent call.

I always group that John's with Lombardi's and Patsy's. Lombardi's in SoHo, claims it was the first pizzeria in America, somewhere around the turn of the last century. The first Patsy's was the one in Harlem, but they have a bunch of locations now (new owners expanded) and there are a couple in the village, too. When the original Patsy got out of the business and sold his name, it was what inspired Patsy Grimaldi, his nephew, to open the pizzeria in Brooklyn, which he originally called Patsy's too, and then changed to Grimaldi's because of the new owners of Patsy's.

John's on Bleecker is the best of the 3. But Lombardi's is really cool because of the history, and it's still pretty good pizza.

Another one of my dumb pizza stories, and I have no idea if it is true. But supposedly in the 1930s, the mafia would shake down restaurants and make them buy their ingredients from them. Supposedly Al Capone owned a bunch of dairy farms in Wisconsin that produced crummy cheese, and he forced all the pizzerias to buy from him. The only places that were allowed to use their own fresh mozzerella were Lombardi's, John's and Patsy's, but only if they served whole pies and not slices. Any place that served slices and didn't buy its cheese from Capone would get paid a visit. The story goes that it is why John's still says, "No Slices" on the awning out front. I have no idea if it is true, but it's a cool story.

 

[Azrael]

Great story.

I'd add Totonno's in Coney Island to the same whole-pie, sitdown classics category as Lombardi's.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

Soft spot for Ben’s on 3rd and McDougal.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Soft spot for Ben’s on 3rd and McDougal.

It's been 20, 25 years since I was eating slices regularly at Ben's. I can't remember the last time I actually stepped foot in there. I'd characterize it as a "I am really drunk and I want to eat greasy pizza and I am OK with you reheating something that has sat there for a while" slice. But I can't say objectively that it belongs anywhere near a list of best slices in NYC. Maybe best drunk slice.

 

[Azrael]

Mariella will fight you for best drunk slice. As of course will Ray and Original Ray and Famous Ray and Famous Original Ray and Original Famous Ray.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Mariella will fight you for best drunk slice. As of course will Ray and Original Ray and Famous Ray and Famous Original Ray and Original Famous Ray.

So, as you know for the most part the various Rays are not related.

For my money, though, the Famous Ray's, which was at 11th St. & 6th Ave. and closed about 7 or 8 years ago was a killer slice. I really miss it.

It was everything I normally don't like in a slice of pizza, a doughy crust, a cow's worth of cheese on each slice, but I lived near there for a few years a long time ago, and I wasn't shy about stopping by. They also did a really good salad slice with lettuce, tomato, onion, oil and vinegar over their marinara, which made me feel a bit less guilty about eating one of those heart attack slices. I really had to put limits on myself in that place.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

It's been 20, 25 years since I was eating slices regularly at Ben's. I can't remember the last time I actually stepped foot in there. I'd characterize it as a "I am really drunk and I want to eat greasy pizza and I am OK with you reheating something that has sat there for a while" slice. But I can't say objectively that it belongs anywhere near a list of best slices in NYC. Maybe best drunk slice.

Definitely not the best. Just a personal soft spot. First NYC slice I had, as a kid, long before I moved here.

 

[X-Hack]

I wish NYC pizza were a thing where I live. Greek pizza is the standard in Massachusetts. It is so ****ing awful. Bar pizza is considered a step up, Greek pizza is so bad.

Pino’s and Prestos in Cleveland Circle near BC are about as close as you’ll get. And there are a couple of Italian style places where I live in Metrowest. But neither are as good as the worst pizza in NJ or LI. I grew up in Michigan so I didn’t grow up on NY pizza but even Dominos and Little Caesars are better than the Greek style **** you get at the typical “House of Pizza” in Mass. Their subs suck too.

 

[Severian]

Apparently Apple HQ in Cupertino has some of the best pizza.