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Peppino's Hybrid Calzone-Pizza, Bay Ridge

Posted by Adam Kuban, June 2, 2008 at 10:00 AM

After reading about the calzone-pizza hybrid at Peppino's in Bay Ridge, I had to get my greasy little hands on one. So I found myself on the R train this weekend, heading for the 77th Street Station.

Walking in, I sheepishly asked for the thing. "I read about it in the Daily News; do I really need a password for it."

"No, that's just a joke," the waitress said. "Is it just for you?"

Another view of the hybrid.

An upskirt from the pizza component of the hybrid pie.

"Yeah."

"You want the baby one, then?"

"Sure."

I wandered around Third Avenue for ten, 15 minutes, checking out the changes since I lived in the neighborhood back in 2000, 2001, and when the Peppino's space held a joint called New York Pizza Co.

An upskirt from the calzone component of the hybrid.

Anyway, I had a stomach ache, so I took the thing to go and brought it home for its turn on the pizza catwalk.

Peppino's makes a decent plain pie, so I figured at least half of the pizza hybrid would be good, and it was. And the calzone wasn't half bad, either. By default, the calzone is stuffed with ricotta and sausage. With the small, personal "baby" pie, two of the six slices are replaced by the calzone, helpfully cut in half. A hearty eater could down the whole thing. Light eaters—or those with a stomach ache—could split one of these pies and still have a decent meal.

If I were in a more crotchety mood right now, I'd say that you should make up your damn mind as to whether you want pizza or a calzone and go one way or another. But I like the ingenuity of the hybrid; it's like a homegrown version of something one of the chains would make up—but it's actually good.

Peppino's

7708 Third Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11209 (Bay Ridge; map)
718-833-3364

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Tags: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, calzones, NYC, Peppino's