What I love just as much as the confluence of great ingredients, though, is the riot of textures on this pizza. The airy, puffy parts of the dough are crisp yet soft and pillowy. The thinner parts that didn't rise as much are crisper and dense and get a little more oily and almost fried in the pan. The regular "aged" mozzarella in spots chars a bit and takes on that crunchy texture that I love in Detroit-style pan pizzas. And the fresh mozzarella remains creamy throughout.
Eater reports that Grimaldi's is opening a Manhattan location in the Financial District. Owner Frank Ciolli has signed a 20-year lease on a space at 135 John Street, the site says, and that "construction is slated to begin in about a month." Menu and pizzeria layout will clone its famous sister store under the Brooklyn Bridge. Grimaldi's Manhattan: 135 John Street, New York NY (at Water Street; map)...
Bubbles Bradshaw here. While my sister, Carrie, and her floozie friends made a killing at the box office this summer in the lame-ass rom-com Sex and the City, I've been keeping tabs on my favorite gal pals, the (pizza) Margheritas of New York. Suffice it to say, they've been putting out like Carrie's best friend, Samantha. Luckily, I’m not a jealous guy. So allow me to take a moment and update you on where the hottest Margheritas have been kicking it. Which is where I inevitably end up, as well. Yeah, that's right, we've got a hit show of our...
Says Irene Sax: "The pizzas are hand-rolled disks of dough with charred, blistered edges and thin but flexible crusts. The rich, pure tomato sauce on the Calabria is topped with melted fior di latte, or cow's milk mozzarella, slices of spicy sopressata, briny black olives and onions ($13). The Brigante starts with the same rich sauce and cheese and adds thin prosciutto, arugula and Parmesan ($16). Meant for one, they are easily big enough for two to share and are definitely worth the voyage." 214 Front Street, New York NY 10038 (near South Street Seaport; map); 212-285-0222...
From left: A Di Fara half-plain, half-artichoke pie; pizza-makers at Franny's; an Isabella's Oven Margherita D.O.C.; Una Pizza Napoletana's marinara pie. Last year around this time Slice/Serious Eats contributed to Pim Techamuanvivit's Menu for Hope charity raffle. Our giveaway was a guided pizza tour for four. Well, the winners—Anthony Kinik and Michelle Marek of Montreal food blog An Endless Banquet—finally made us make good on our prize. (It took them almost a year because they live in Montreal and I secretly think they were waiting for the loonie to beat the dollar before making a trip to the U.S.)...
Remember that rave review Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsema gave Il Brigante the other week? New York Times food critic Frank Bruni says, "huh," slamming the new pizzeria and, by extension, Sietsema. If his point is that Neapolitan pizza is unduly romanticized, and that your standard pizza pie in Naples is not necessarily some gastronomically wondrous epiphany, then O.K., there’s some merit to what he’s saying. But his point seems to be that he loved this pie. My lunch companion and I found nothing lovable about it. I haven't been yet, but now I'm even more curious......
The Village Voice's Robert Sietsema thinks he's found it at Il Brigante: At its heart, Il Brigante is a pizzeria, and a damn good one. The rear wall is dominated by a flickering wood-burning hearth inside a limestone proscenium, where a sweating and grunting pizzaiolo is the star of his own small repertory theater. In the style of southern Italy, the 10-inch pies are intended for individual consumption. In fact, the margherita ($10) is the city's most perfect evocation of the true Naples style (even surpassing top spots like Una Pizza Napoletana and La Pizza Fresca). Starting with an irregular...
Reader comment and response is still pouring in thanks to yesterday's New York Times story. So many great comments and recommendations. And questions. Reaching into the proverbial mailbag, we have ... Dear Slice, Do you know of any good late night or 24 hour pizza places in NYC? —Bilal Dear Bilal, Slice is a homebody, more prone to lying prone on the couch at night, remote in hand, watching Battlestar Galactica. But our favorite late-night (if not 24-hour) place is Vinny Vincenz. Great squares here. Sunday through Thursday till 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday till 4:30 a.m. Late enough for...
In yesterday's New York Times F.Y.I. column, the question was raised: Where was the first Ray's Pizza, and what's the story behind it? A. Why don’t you ask something simple, like what happened to Judge Crater? Some New York culinary questions (just who invented the black-and-white cookie is another) are destined to remain shrouded in mystery. The evolution of Ray’s Pizza resists an easy explanation.... The Ray’s question is also bristling with lawyers. Rosolino Mangano, of Famous Original Ray’s Pizza on Columbus Avenue near 83rd Street, went to court in the early 1990’s, registered that name and branched out with...
