Yesterday I blabbled about Pizza Moto at the Brooklyn Bridge Flea. Today, I share with you another weekend pizza trip I made—to V&T Pizzeria in Morningside Heights.
I know that this is going to punch some nostalgia buttons among you Columbia alumni in the audience—but it might also make you want to punch me.
See, I didn't think V&T was all that.
I first visited V&T a few times with onetime Slice contributor E-Rock, who was attending Columbia's J-school at the time. After hearing that it was the best in the neighborhood, I was disappointed. Especially when we got a mushroom pizza with canned mushrooms.
V&T Pizza
1024 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025 (111th Street/Cathedral Parkway; map); 212-663-1708
Now I know that some folks prefer them to fresh 'shrooms on a pizza, and I just may have to investigate this a little bit at some point, but at the time I was not a fan. Still, it wasn't just the mushrooms that did the pizza in. I found it way too cheesy, way too saucy, and way too altogether soupy. And I don't think removing the mushrooms would have changed any of that. In fact, when we had a plain pie there, it made little difference.
But seeing as how Girl Slice keeps threatening to write a column for Slice/Serious Eats called "Unpopular Opinions," and seeing as how one of the topics she keeps threatening to cover is "Hey All You Haters, V&T Is Actually Good," I went again with her after she had finished with an errand at Columbia on Friday night.
I'm going to instantly lose cred here when I say we ordered a half (fresh) mushroom–half pineapple pie. Yes, pineapple. Girl Slice is a fan of pineapple, and I have to admit I like it on occasion. (It's actually not bad with pepperoni; and I'm wondering how it would do with some nice hot soppressata.)
The fresh mushrooms were an improvement over the canned, and the pie was less soggy than I remembered, but it also seemed to have lost something. Even when it was soggy when I last tried it, it did seem to have its own character. This time, the crust was soft and doughy—almost like a Domino's "Hand Tossed" pizza, and the sauce had that generic pizza-chain flavor to it. The cheese was good—creamy, melty, and stringy—and there were some nice crusty bits of dough and baked-on cheese at the end crusts, but it was imminently forgettable.
In the end I think it's telling that Girl Slice remembered V&T more as a place she used to go to catch up with classmates—recalling stories of dinners there with this friend or that—than for the food itself.
I was at Columbia in the late 70s. V&T was decent, and a good place to go if others in the group wanted something other than pizza. But the pizza was nothing special. There were two better places on Broadway, both between about 110th. St and 113th., I think (memories from back then are a bit "hazy"). The place on the east side of Broadway was kind of live V&T - more of a restaurant/pizzeria, as opposed to just pizza. Their pizza was better than V&T, but again, not great. It was a little doughy, like V&T was back then. The place on the west side of Broadway was a small hole in the wall. It had a window that opened onto the street and they served through that, and a walk in area deep enough for 2-3 people deep to stand in, with a small ledge on the wall to put your slice on while you stood there. I don't remember stools or anything - they really just wanted you in and out. I don't have any recollection of what the name of the place was, but the pizza was fantastic - regular or sicilian, both were great. Unfortunately, the place is long gone. Anyone remember the name?
I usually don't comment on Pizza articles since: 1) I am no expert and 2) it's not a dessert, but as a native New Yorker and someone who lived for 2 years at 115 and Morningside I can tell you I was always bummed when my roommates wanted to hit V & T - I just didn't think it was that good for the reasons you outline. Mostly the soggy crust The atmosphere was cool as hell though - dark and even a bit gloomy- perfect for chilling with friends and talking
Pizza is de
I was a student at Columbia just a few years ago. V&T was never great, but not awful. It was just a fun place to go with a group (and then you could go to Hungarian Pastry Shop after, for dessert). I don't think most people thought of the pizza as anything special, but the place has a nice ambiance and it's not too trendy, which is a relief. Plus, it's been there for years and makes up part of the Columbia historical landscape, which I think students appreciate. Cheezy Pizza a bit lower on Broadway has much better pizza. V&T's crust is chewy, but not in a good way - it's chewy in a stale way.
A friend and I once broke the Yom Kippur fast at V&T and we ate 2 pies and let me tell you - the pizza was delicious on that night because we were so darn hungry!
I've been at Columbia since 1993, both as a grad student and now as an employee. I've only eaten V&T three times in all those years, and always at someone else's urging. I don't think it's very impressive pizza, even by old-fashioned (i.e., non-Napolitano artisanal-quality) standards. I agree that it's soggy and I am not particularly impressed by the sauce.
There's no decent pizza in M'side heights, though. Well, they actually do make good pizza at Sezz' Midi on A'dam and 123rd, but they're not a pizzeria per se. It's just one thing on offer. But if I'm craving delivery pizza, I tend to go with Famous Famiglia--it's not great, but it hits the pizza button that was installed when I was a teenager. Koronet, the only other pizzeria in the nabe, isn't worth discussing.
Koronet is good pizza when it is eaten according to very specific instructions:
1) Consume a lot of alcohol prior to eating
2) Show up to Koronet's only after 3 AM and very hungry
3) Eat the pizza with a lot of garlic powder and chili flakes
4) Fall into bed, stuffed, and with red grease stains on your clothing
I totally agree with your assessment of V & T. It's fine if there are no other options.
I live right down the block and never order from there. However I LOVE Broadway Pizza & Restaurant. It's totally a slice/to go place but they do a great crust and good quality cheese and sauce. Highly recommended.
There's only one pizza place that's ever had fresh mushrooms that I liked, and that's because they were precooked in a way that gave them a similar springy texture to canned. It was Luna Pizza in West Hartford, CT. The owner was a right bastard and made no friends in the area, but he did make a good pizza. I believe he's down in NYC now, last I heard he was going to open a place somewhere near Grimaldi's.
If you get a chance, check out his place. If he's doing the mushrooms the same way there, you are in for an amazing treat.
Sorry to double post, found the site though. He appears to have the same white pizza on the menu (everyone around here loves it, I think it's blah) and so there's hope on the mushroom front. I just tried to call and ask, but noone answered. Anyways, their site is at http://ignaziospizza.com/
V&T is indeed a source of nostalgia for many of us. My wife was a graduate student at Columbia in the early 80s and we made regular trips to V&T and the Hungarian Pastry Shop. I'm not sure whether my pizza chops have become more demanding in my old age or if V&T has jumped the proverbial shark, but, on a recent visit with the daughter of a friend, a Barnard freshman (or, is it freshwoman?), we were completely unimpressed with the pizza at V&T. The salads were generous and the bread tasty, but I agree with previous opinions in this thread about V&Ts pizza.
The good news: V&T's pizza is helped immensely by ordering it "crispy - well done." Mozzarella is top quality; best toppings include artichoke and eggplant. The bad news: it seems V&T has gone over to prefab crust instead of making their own. Their crust was once as good as a gas oven pizza gets, yeasty and chewy, big bubbles, irregularly shaped. And ordered well done a bit charred. But recent pies have seemed suspiciously too round and, sure enough, flip it over and the bottom shows signs of a tell-tale grid pattern that is a sure sign of a factory made crust. Walking past their open kitchen used to be you'd see their cooks stretching dough all day. No more.
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12 Comments:
I was at Columbia in the late 70s. V&T was decent, and a good place to go if others in the group wanted something other than pizza. But the pizza was nothing special. There were two better places on Broadway, both between about 110th. St and 113th., I think (memories from back then are a bit "hazy"). The place on the east side of Broadway was kind of live V&T - more of a restaurant/pizzeria, as opposed to just pizza. Their pizza was better than V&T, but again, not great. It was a little doughy, like V&T was back then. The place on the west side of Broadway was a small hole in the wall. It had a window that opened onto the street and they served through that, and a walk in area deep enough for 2-3 people deep to stand in, with a small ledge on the wall to put your slice on while you stood there. I don't remember stools or anything - they really just wanted you in and out. I don't have any recollection of what the name of the place was, but the pizza was fantastic - regular or sicilian, both were great. Unfortunately, the place is long gone. Anyone remember the name?
schodack at 11:39AM on 08/25/09
I usually don't comment on Pizza articles since: 1) I am no expert and 2) it's not a dessert, but as a native New Yorker and someone who lived for 2 years at 115 and Morningside I can tell you I was always bummed when my roommates wanted to hit V & T - I just didn't think it was that good for the reasons you outline. Mostly the soggy crust The atmosphere was cool as hell though - dark and even a bit gloomy- perfect for chilling with friends and talking
Pizza is de
DessertBuzz at 12:03PM on 08/25/09
I was a student at Columbia just a few years ago. V&T was never great, but not awful. It was just a fun place to go with a group (and then you could go to Hungarian Pastry Shop after, for dessert). I don't think most people thought of the pizza as anything special, but the place has a nice ambiance and it's not too trendy, which is a relief. Plus, it's been there for years and makes up part of the Columbia historical landscape, which I think students appreciate. Cheezy Pizza a bit lower on Broadway has much better pizza. V&T's crust is chewy, but not in a good way - it's chewy in a stale way.
A friend and I once broke the Yom Kippur fast at V&T and we ate 2 pies and let me tell you - the pizza was delicious on that night because we were so darn hungry!
laurelie at 12:07PM on 08/25/09
I've been at Columbia since 1993, both as a grad student and now as an employee. I've only eaten V&T three times in all those years, and always at someone else's urging. I don't think it's very impressive pizza, even by old-fashioned (i.e., non-Napolitano artisanal-quality) standards. I agree that it's soggy and I am not particularly impressed by the sauce.
There's no decent pizza in M'side heights, though. Well, they actually do make good pizza at Sezz' Midi on A'dam and 123rd, but they're not a pizzeria per se. It's just one thing on offer. But if I'm craving delivery pizza, I tend to go with Famous Famiglia--it's not great, but it hits the pizza button that was installed when I was a teenager. Koronet, the only other pizzeria in the nabe, isn't worth discussing.
klg19 at 12:25PM on 08/25/09
@klg19 Koronet not worth discussing? Hey, it may not be great, but it's freakin' huge! That must make it discussion worthy, at least. :)
brokenbuzz at 12:44PM on 08/25/09
Koronet is good pizza when it is eaten according to very specific instructions:
1) Consume a lot of alcohol prior to eating
2) Show up to Koronet's only after 3 AM and very hungry
3) Eat the pizza with a lot of garlic powder and chili flakes
4) Fall into bed, stuffed, and with red grease stains on your clothing
laurelie at 2:25PM on 08/25/09
I totally agree with your assessment of V & T. It's fine if there are no other options.
I live right down the block and never order from there. However I LOVE Broadway Pizza & Restaurant. It's totally a slice/to go place but they do a great crust and good quality cheese and sauce. Highly recommended.
withgrace at 2:33PM on 08/25/09
The picture makes it look very good, but it also reminds me of a Papa John's pizza, especially after reading your description.
Mad Ernie at 2:48PM on 08/25/09
There's only one pizza place that's ever had fresh mushrooms that I liked, and that's because they were precooked in a way that gave them a similar springy texture to canned. It was Luna Pizza in West Hartford, CT. The owner was a right bastard and made no friends in the area, but he did make a good pizza. I believe he's down in NYC now, last I heard he was going to open a place somewhere near Grimaldi's.
If you get a chance, check out his place. If he's doing the mushrooms the same way there, you are in for an amazing treat.
ratbuddy at 5:12PM on 08/25/09
Sorry to double post, found the site though. He appears to have the same white pizza on the menu (everyone around here loves it, I think it's blah) and so there's hope on the mushroom front. I just tried to call and ask, but noone answered. Anyways, their site is at http://ignaziospizza.com/
ratbuddy at 5:16PM on 08/25/09
V&T is indeed a source of nostalgia for many of us. My wife was a graduate student at Columbia in the early 80s and we made regular trips to V&T and the Hungarian Pastry Shop. I'm not sure whether my pizza chops have become more demanding in my old age or if V&T has jumped the proverbial shark, but, on a recent visit with the daughter of a friend, a Barnard freshman (or, is it freshwoman?), we were completely unimpressed with the pizza at V&T. The salads were generous and the bread tasty, but I agree with previous opinions in this thread about V&Ts pizza.
famdoc at 10:16PM on 08/25/09
The good news: V&T's pizza is helped immensely by ordering it "crispy - well done." Mozzarella is top quality; best toppings include artichoke and eggplant. The bad news: it seems V&T has gone over to prefab crust instead of making their own. Their crust was once as good as a gas oven pizza gets, yeasty and chewy, big bubbles, irregularly shaped. And ordered well done a bit charred. But recent pies have seemed suspiciously too round and, sure enough, flip it over and the bottom shows signs of a tell-tale grid pattern that is a sure sign of a factory made crust. Walking past their open kitchen used to be you'd see their cooks stretching dough all day. No more.
Ron111 at 10:28PM on 08/28/09