238 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (at Baltic Street; map); 718-596-3458 The Skinny: A pizzeria that looks like it was transported lock, stock, and barrel from the early '60s has the most amazing old-school dining room. Thankfully, its pizza matches the awesomeness of the blessedly preserved interior Oven Type: An old coal-burning brick oven that's now fueled by natural gas
Sometimes you just want to love a place for its old-school charm. Sam's Restaurant, on Court Street in Cobble Hill, is one of those places.
With neon blazing outside; old-school, hand-lettered painted signage; and six small TVs inexplicably unreeling footage in the windows, you're already attracted to the place before walking down a couple steps and in through the door that sports a none-too-subtle "NO SLICES" sign.
And that's before you even get a load of the interior. Once you do, Sams' time-warp quality hooks you. The joint is vintage early '60s red-sauce Italian mixed with a little bit of your grandparents' rec room. It is, quite frankly, one of the most beautiful dining rooms I've been in in ages.
Fortunately, there's much to love here beyond the space.
And that would be the pizza.
Play It Again, Sam's
Have a beer while you wait. It's gonna be a while.
But I have to level with you. It wasn't love at first sight. I'd been to Sam's once years ago but had written it off. On that excursion, our party waited an hour at our table before the waiter took our order. And when he did, it was with a gruffness I didn't quite appreciate at the time. And that pie, as I remember it, was nothing remarkable—or maybe the wait had colored my judgment.
I never went back. But Sam's had popped on my radar a couple times in the last month. First from a food blogger who recently moved in nearby and asked my opinion on it. And then when Girl Slice mentioned that one of her coworkers swears by the place as her favorite pizzeria, the gloves were off. I needed to check out a pizzeria for my Monday dispatch, so it was play it again, Sam's.
This time, the wait between sitting down in one of the comfy red vinyl booths (above) and having our order taken was a speedy half hour. Still a bit unacceptable in most places, but this is Sam's, where things work differently. There seems to be only one waiter at any time, and he takes the orders, serves the food, buses the tables, and mixes the drinks at the bar. And, yeah, he's a bit cantankerous (the word "Talk" was our prompt to order when he finally appeared tableside), but you get the feeling that it's a bit of an act. His mood seemed to change considerably when he saw that Girl Slice and I had made quick work of our entire large pie.
The Pizza and How It Stacked Up
The pizza itself was surprisingly good. Great, even. After harboring years of resentment against the place, I was happy to be munching on a chewy-crisp crust with enough flavor to carry itself even at the end crust (or cornicione) without sauce or cheese.
The crust itself is hearty and quite thick for New York–style pizza (see above), but it's fine and even necessary here, as the sauce and cheese are applied liberally to it. Even with the copious amounts of red and white stuff, the balance is good enough, weighted a bit more in favor of cheese but not so much as to kill the pie as a whole. And the crust is cooked through, thankfully, with no gumline, something you'd expect to find on a pie so blanketed. Going to the upskirt (right), you'll see Sam's manages to put enough color into the crust to keep things interesting and that there's negligible tip sag.
The sauce itself is lightly spiced and tastes of fresh tomatoes. And the cheese is plenty melty, leaving long strings of mozz pulling away from the whole, connecting to your slice. There's enough sharp aged cheese mixed in to give the slice a zesty, salty bite.
A Pizzeria Trapped in Amber
It's amazing that a spot like Sam's remains in business, and thank God it does. In a Cobble Hill that's long since passed the "gentrifying" phase, it's one of those rare spots that has managed to cement the character of the old neighborhood in place. I hope it never changes, but that may be wishful thinking. Eventually everything does. But before it goes the way of everything else along Court Street, I'm going to frequent it as much as I can. And maybe, just maybe, I'll become enough of a regular to reduce the lag time on ordering to 15 minutes. A guy can hope.
Bonus Outtake Photos
Here's a slideshow of all my shots from the Sam's trip—those that made it into the dispatch above and those that didn't. Enjoy!
@Simon: Thanks! I'm sorry to report that I didn't check the beer and wine selections closely enough. In my narrow-focus pizza-mania, I often overlook a lot of non-pizza details. I know I should expand the reviews a little bit more to encompass things like beer, wine, good apps. Next time I go to Sam's, I'll give the beer and wine menu a better perusal for reporting. I will say that I ordered a Peroni last night. An Italian beer seemed an obvious choice. The beers were all bottled—no draft.
I love Sam's!!! I've been going there for about 12 years now and never waited that long for service, but I've probably just been lucky because Louis has his hands full doing everything, as Adam noted. Not to mention taking time to tease the kids, chat with the regulars, etc. He runs the place the way he wants it, and doesn't pretend to suck up to customers who can't appreciate his singular charms. But put yourself in his hands and with the right attitude - knowing you'll get authentic personality along with awesome pizza - and you'll come away very, very happy, and looking forward to another visit. As far as their wine and beer selections - nothing special to write about, other than to say "yes, they have wine and beer!"
@mwheeler: "Singular charms." That's said better than I could sum it up. There *is* a certain charm to his personality that I failed to appreciate the first time I went. This time, he was much friendlier and faster, and I did notice that regulars got the warm greeting (and, probably, faster service). I
I have always wanted to love Sam's, for all the wonderful ambience that you describe. However, both times I went there I found the sauce distractingly sweet, with too much of it to make it overlookable.
These were both a few years ago, though, so perhaps things have changed.
@ElaineG: Hahahha. I doubt for one second that things have changed. At this place? No way! Maybe our thresholds for sweetness are different. The sauce was within my acceptable limits of sweetness, though, you're right -- there's a TON of it.
I must have walked by this place a million times when I lived on Warren St in the 90's. The thought of eating there never occurred to me, as I usually ate slices from Campobello's (not only because it's the Italianization of my last name, but they made a decent slice back in the day) and tried a couple of other places on Smith street that sucked at the time. Looks like I might be taking a trip back to the old neighborhood when I have a couple of hours to kill.
Thanks for the post, I live a few blocks away and love Sam's. While the pizza is great, I go for the scungili fra diavola. Very few places serve this oh-so-often forgotten about dish. Just a plate of chopped up scungili with a spicy red sauce. Simple and perfect. The only other place I can think of right now that has the dish is Randazzo's on Sheepshead Bay, but even that is a bit different. Keep Sam's alive!
Have been there a few times and have to say i love the gruff service. I gave back as good as I got and this seemed to amuse Louis, though it made my friend who was visiting from Florida a bit alarmed. Sam's isn't the greatest pizza in the neighborhood, but as you said Adam, the ambiance is just about perfect.
@BrianPrestonCampbell: Probably more like an hour and a half to kill. ;) I think, all in, we were there about an hour and a quarter. You're a food stylist and obviously have an eye for photography, so I think you'd really appreciate the space for its visual appeal.
@Q80: Sadly, I would have had to have had the pizza here back in the day, when it was coal-fired, to make that comparison. I'd say that they're doing a great job of it with the gas-fired brick-oven pies but would love to see what they could do with coal. When I asked Louis about the oven, he said it was coal many years ago "but it's since been converted to clean natural gas." What's funny about that is that all these folks as of late are finding and restoring old coal ovens to working condition (like South Brooklyn Pizza several blocks down Court Street) while Louis almost seemed to point out with pride that Sam's oven had been converted the other way. I'm sure for Sam's it's much easier to pipe in gas rather than deal with coal delivery and the attendant stoking and ash removal, but it's like they're sitting on a goldmine back there—an oven many places would kill for—and they're content with the gas thing. Next time I go, I'll try to strike up a conversation with them on the oven history, etc., and ask why they changed and if they ever consider going back, but I'm sure they have their reasons and there ain't nothin' gonna change 'em.
@fishermb: That's not surprising that they do scungilli fra diavola there, then. Sam's is like the place that time forgot. And bless 'em for it.
@norman: "I gave back as good as I got ... " Hahahahah. That does not surprise me the least bit.
oh, wouldn't you know! i lived a ten minute walk from sam's for twelve years and only ate there once, and it wasn't pizza. now i live on the other side of the moon {washington heights}.
hey adam, i wanted to ask you if you were familiar with a slice place on 9th avenue in the 50's. it's on the west side of the street near alvin ailey dance studios. i had a slice of pizza there a few years ago and thought it was terrific. do you know it?
Just moved in nearby and had our first visit to Sam's. It was hilarious. First the waiter asked us what we were doing there and told us they have terrible food. Multiple times he referred to Sam, who he called "Son of Sam", his father-in-law, the stooped old man who shuffled out from the kitchen at the end of our meal. He gave us his life story including how when he was dating his wife she left the country and he dated 11 of her best friends that summer.
He also told us that THE scene in the Godfather was filmed there - but not the part in the bathroom, that was filmed somewhere else.
Go for the stories and the scenery, not for the food. The crust on the pizza was great and salty, but we thought it was a little over-cheesed.
Visited 8/3/08; the whole meal took about an hour and a half (we ate the pizza during the last half hour). True to form it was delicious, and the secret to passing the time here would be to "sample" (rather than "peruse") the beer and wine menu.
My suggestion: get a Manhattan, delicious and stiff, really helps build up the appetite. Then go home and watch "Mad Men" to complete your time trip to the 1960's!
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The crust itself is hearty and quite thick for New York–style pizza (see above), but it's fine and even necessary here, as the sauce and cheese are applied liberally to it. Even with the copious amounts of red and white stuff, the balance is good enough, weighted a bit more in favor of cheese but not so much as to kill the pie as a whole. And the crust is cooked through, thankfully, with no gumline, something you'd expect to find on a pie so blanketed. Going to the upskirt (right), you'll see Sam's manages to put enough color into the crust to keep things interesting and that there's negligible tip sag.
15 Comments:
Awesome post Adam! Makes me want to go there and check it out. What kinds of beer and wine do they have?
simon at 2:06PM on 06/16/08
@Simon: Thanks! I'm sorry to report that I didn't check the beer and wine selections closely enough. In my narrow-focus pizza-mania, I often overlook a lot of non-pizza details. I know I should expand the reviews a little bit more to encompass things like beer, wine, good apps. Next time I go to Sam's, I'll give the beer and wine menu a better perusal for reporting. I will say that I ordered a Peroni last night. An Italian beer seemed an obvious choice. The beers were all bottled—no draft.
Adam Kuban at 2:29PM on 06/16/08
I love Sam's!!! I've been going there for about 12 years now and never waited that long for service, but I've probably just been lucky because Louis has his hands full doing everything, as Adam noted. Not to mention taking time to tease the kids, chat with the regulars, etc. He runs the place the way he wants it, and doesn't pretend to suck up to customers who can't appreciate his singular charms. But put yourself in his hands and with the right attitude - knowing you'll get authentic personality along with awesome pizza - and you'll come away very, very happy, and looking forward to another visit. As far as their wine and beer selections - nothing special to write about, other than to say "yes, they have wine and beer!"
mwheeler at 3:07PM on 06/16/08
@mwheeler: "Singular charms." That's said better than I could sum it up. There *is* a certain charm to his personality that I failed to appreciate the first time I went. This time, he was much friendlier and faster, and I did notice that regulars got the warm greeting (and, probably, faster service). I
Adam Kuban at 3:12PM on 06/16/08
I have always wanted to love Sam's, for all the wonderful ambience that you describe. However, both times I went there I found the sauce distractingly sweet, with too much of it to make it overlookable.
These were both a few years ago, though, so perhaps things have changed.
ElaineG at 4:18PM on 06/16/08
@ElaineG: Hahahha. I doubt for one second that things have changed. At this place? No way! Maybe our thresholds for sweetness are different. The sauce was within my acceptable limits of sweetness, though, you're right -- there's a TON of it.
Adam Kuban at 4:25PM on 06/16/08
I must have walked by this place a million times when I lived on Warren St in the 90's. The thought of eating there never occurred to me, as I usually ate slices from Campobello's (not only because it's the Italianization of my last name, but they made a decent slice back in the day) and tried a couple of other places on Smith street that sucked at the time. Looks like I might be taking a trip back to the old neighborhood when I have a couple of hours to kill.
BrianPrestonCampbell at 5:09PM on 06/16/08
You think the pie lost a bit of something by downgrading to a gas oven ?
Q80 BurgerBelly at 7:19PM on 06/16/08
Thanks for the post, I live a few blocks away and love Sam's. While the pizza is great, I go for the scungili fra diavola. Very few places serve this oh-so-often forgotten about dish. Just a plate of chopped up scungili with a spicy red sauce. Simple and perfect. The only other place I can think of right now that has the dish is Randazzo's on Sheepshead Bay, but even that is a bit different. Keep Sam's alive!
fishermb at 8:25PM on 06/16/08
Have been there a few times and have to say i love the gruff service. I gave back as good as I got and this seemed to amuse Louis, though it made my friend who was visiting from Florida a bit alarmed. Sam's isn't the greatest pizza in the neighborhood, but as you said Adam, the ambiance is just about perfect.
norman at 11:05PM on 06/16/08
@BrianPrestonCampbell: Probably more like an hour and a half to kill. ;) I think, all in, we were there about an hour and a quarter. You're a food stylist and obviously have an eye for photography, so I think you'd really appreciate the space for its visual appeal.
@Q80: Sadly, I would have had to have had the pizza here back in the day, when it was coal-fired, to make that comparison. I'd say that they're doing a great job of it with the gas-fired brick-oven pies but would love to see what they could do with coal. When I asked Louis about the oven, he said it was coal many years ago "but it's since been converted to clean natural gas." What's funny about that is that all these folks as of late are finding and restoring old coal ovens to working condition (like South Brooklyn Pizza several blocks down Court Street) while Louis almost seemed to point out with pride that Sam's oven had been converted the other way. I'm sure for Sam's it's much easier to pipe in gas rather than deal with coal delivery and the attendant stoking and ash removal, but it's like they're sitting on a goldmine back there—an oven many places would kill for—and they're content with the gas thing. Next time I go, I'll try to strike up a conversation with them on the oven history, etc., and ask why they changed and if they ever consider going back, but I'm sure they have their reasons and there ain't nothin' gonna change 'em.
@fishermb: That's not surprising that they do scungilli fra diavola there, then. Sam's is like the place that time forgot. And bless 'em for it.
@norman: "I gave back as good as I got ... " Hahahahah. That does not surprise me the least bit.
Adam Kuban at 11:41PM on 06/16/08
Damn. This was just added to my ever shrinking "must visit". I have a feeling this is going to sneak into my top 10 5 Boroughs pies list.
Prairie at 12:16AM on 06/17/08
oh, wouldn't you know! i lived a ten minute walk from sam's for twelve years and only ate there once, and it wasn't pizza. now i live on the other side of the moon {washington heights}.
hey adam, i wanted to ask you if you were familiar with a slice place on 9th avenue in the 50's. it's on the west side of the street near alvin ailey dance studios. i had a slice of pizza there a few years ago and thought it was terrific. do you know it?
thanks!
cybercita at 9:49PM on 06/17/08
Just moved in nearby and had our first visit to Sam's. It was hilarious. First the waiter asked us what we were doing there and told us they have terrible food. Multiple times he referred to Sam, who he called "Son of Sam", his father-in-law, the stooped old man who shuffled out from the kitchen at the end of our meal. He gave us his life story including how when he was dating his wife she left the country and he dated 11 of her best friends that summer.
He also told us that THE scene in the Godfather was filmed there - but not the part in the bathroom, that was filmed somewhere else.
Go for the stories and the scenery, not for the food. The crust on the pizza was great and salty, but we thought it was a little over-cheesed.
balticst at 5:58PM on 06/24/08
Visited 8/3/08; the whole meal took about an hour and a half (we ate the pizza during the last half hour). True to form it was delicious, and the secret to passing the time here would be to "sample" (rather than "peruse") the beer and wine menu.
My suggestion: get a Manhattan, delicious and stiff, really helps build up the appetite. Then go home and watch "Mad Men" to complete your time trip to the 1960's!
LikesToEatJunk at 12:40PM on 08/04/08