Named after the owners' hometown—which is the second largest city in Sicily—Catania on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights is neither pizzeria nor restaurant. Rather, it's a laid-back and cheerful tavola calda-style food place that&mdassh;without an ounce of pretension—prepares an impressive array of excellent Sicilian food.
Fascati's New-York-Yankee-hat-wearing cooks have been churning out pizza for their Brooklyn Heights neighbors since 1971. I chose to eat my plain slice in the 20-seat dining area with a clear view of the TV showing, of course, a Yanks spring-training game.
[Photograph: Adam Kuban] From Slice'r Matt comes an email heads-up that Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, visited Brooklyn's River Cafe for a belated Valentine's Day meal. The New York Daily News reports: As the veep and his wife dined, Secret Service agents gobbled down pizzas from the nearby iconic Grimaldi's Pizzeria. They always say that cops (or in this case, law-enforcement/security types) know where to eat....
Clockwise from top left: Dave Sclarow builds the pies at a hectic pace before passing them to Pizza Moto's stickwoman. The menu lists Margherita and white pies, with the option to top either with pepperoni. My Margherita pie, fresh from the oven; I brought it into nearby Empire–Fulton Ferry Park to wolf it down at the tree-shaded picnic tables there. [Photographs: Adam Kuban] Pizza Moto Saturdays at the Fort Greene Flea (176 Lafayette Avenue; map); Sundays at the Brooklyn Bridge Flea (under the Brooklyn Bridge; Water and New Dock streets; map); 917-873-4175; pizzamotobklyn.com Pizza Style: Neapolitan Oven Type: Mobile...
Admittedly, the previous item I blogged about was a week old*, and in that time Alan Richman has moved on to writing about some old standbys. He posted his thoughts yesterday on Grimaldi's (DUMBO), Patsy's (East Harlem), and Di Fara (Midwood). Again, let's take them in order. On Grimaldi's: The oven is just right, but the crusts are merely okay—they have a fresh, bready smell, but to me they’re a little too thick and slightly too soft, somewhat undercooked. The tomato sauce is vibrant and essential, which means the white pizzas are best skipped. These basically consist of soft, melted...
Hot off his GQ Top 25 Pizza List, Alan Richman (right) takes on a few recently opened NYC pizzerias—Tonda (East Village), Ignazio's (DUMBO), and Emporio (Nolita). Let's take them in order. On Tonda: The toppings here are overly ambitious yet flavorsome, but the crusts are flabby, tasteless, barely charred, and lacking the puffy outside ring that is reminiscent of a true Naples pie. My favorite menu item by far was the arancini, listed under “Neapolitan Street Food” but as far as I know found just about everywhere in Italy. These little rice balls were wonderfully crunchy, the only item we...
Nubloom Ignazio's finally, officially opened yesterday. The very first reports are mixed. From blogger Nubloom: The pizza was absolutely awesome. Thicker crust than Grimaldi’s but just slightly, giving a great crunch that I look for in pizza. The slices are not sloppy or overly loaded with sauce or cheese. The staff looks like they are from a Grateful Dead concert, but it doesn’t matter because they are so friendly you are put immediately at ease. But Yelp, so far, isn't being quite as kind. Ignazio's Pizza 4 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (under the Brooklyn Bridge; map)...
Finally. After more than a year, Ignazio's will be opening on Monday or Tuesday of next week, the Brooklyn Heights Blog reports. Though it's steps away from Grimaldi's, Ignazio's owner Louis Termini says he's not a rival—he wants to pick up the locals in the area who might otherwise avoid the long lines of tourists at the legendary pizzeria around the corner. In the last few months, Termini has been hard at work — he installed a specialty pizza oven that is gas-operated, but heats the pizza as if it were a wood-burning oven. There will be the classic...
Off the Wall Dining I get called out for my narrowmindedness on the blog Off the Wall Dining: Bloggers like Kuban have been way too critical of this pizza as though the owners committed a sin. After all, how strange can it really be when people eat anchovies on pizza? I mean, fish on pizza seems much more unusual than hot dogs and french fries on a pizza. Well, I tried it and loved it. "... fish on pizza seems much more unusual than hot dogs and french fries on a pizza." Um, no. No, it doesn't. Pizzeria Reginella...
Or, 'Fools Rush In Where Krieger Fears to Tread' Pizzeria Reginella's Reginella Special 193 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Court and Clinton streets; map); 718-522-2880 The Skinny: Strangely enough, hot dogs and french fry pizzas are commonly found in Italy. But just because it's Italian doesn't mean it's good. I mean, hello, Fabio for example? Price: Small, $16.50; large $18.90; slice, $2.90 I was working from home this morning when I saw the hot dog and french fry pizza on Eater. The photo of it there was taken by "Daniel Krieger (who for the record, did not try a...
