Adam, Any idea just how many pizza ovens in NYC are heated with coal? Mahalo, E.J.F. Dear E.J.F., I know you've emailed a couple times about this, and my apologies for the delayed response—things have been busy at the Slice–Serious Eats office. Anyway, off the top of my head, here are all the ones I can think of. Readers, if I've forgotten any, do let me know in the comments. Hasta la pizza, Adam... More

"I don't particularly care to walk in to a place and watch a guy past his prime "whip" up pizza and (what seemed like the case the last time I was there) who looks bored and careless as to what he was doing. As I mentioned earlier, consistency is something I look for, and the only thing I find consistent about his pizza is that he doesn't make them all the same. ;) " —Nicky M., on Di Fara How's it going, Slice? I will give you a little history on myself, and offer up my recommendation. My grandfather had two... More

A tipster tipped us to the fact that Lower East Side coal-burner Luzzo's will be featured on Martha this morning. New Yorkers can tune in to the show on WNBC-4 at 11 a.m. Anyone else, check your local listings. LUZZO'S Location: 211-13 First Ave. (b/n 12th and 13th streets) [map] Phone: 212-473-7447 FURTHER READING Martha Visits East Village's Luzzo's [Slice Archives] Jeffrey Steingarten on Coal-Oven Pizza [Slice Archives] Luzzo's: New Coal-Oven Place in the City! [Slice Archives] Luzzo's in the Post [Slice Archives]... More

From the New York Post's Page Six "Sightings" item today: "... Martha Stewart drawing applause as she entered Luzzo's on First Avenue for a three-hour feast of pasta and Neapolitan pizza ... " FURTHER READING New Coal-Oven Place in the City! Luzzo's in the New York Post Jeffrey Steingarten on Coal-Oven PIzza... More

This is another week-old one that we neglected to post about during our renovation. The Daily News did a roundup of New York City's best pizzerias last week. As we told Eater, the new foodblog from the folks who brought you Curbed: A nice roundup, I think. A lot of it is old hat to me, but there were some nice surprises in there, particularly a couple Brooklyn places (Graziella's, Laura's) that have been lurking one or two neighborhoods over from Slice HQ.Irene Sax knows her stuff, and I agree with most of her assessments, although I don't know why... More

The Post gives props to East Village coal-burner Luzzo's in a story cleverly headlined Old King Coal. (Heh, those merry old souls that are the copy editors there.) What they say: Lombardi's, Patsy's, Grimaldi's, Totonno's, John's. Aside from rabid fans, there's one thing these legendary New York pizzerias have in common: coal-burning ovens. The super-hot kilns, aficionados agree, can elevate a pie to greatness by perfectly charring the crust and imparting a smoky flavor. But there are only a handful of them left, since city codes prohibit new coal ovens from being built. "Nobody can get them. They're like taxi... More

HOLY SMOKE! A new coal-oven place has opened recently. Named Luzzo's. It's at 211-13 First Avenue, between 12th and 13th. Here's what NYMetro has to say about it: Coal-burning ovens are hot commodities for pizza makers. Thanks to city codes, the only way to get one is to inherit it—which is what Charles LoPresto has done at Luzzo's, his new East Village restaurant. At one time, the spare, bare-bones space housed a bakery read more ...LUZZO'S Location: 211-13 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 Phone: 212-473-7447 Payment accepted: Cash only Slice on coal ovens. [Thanks to Alaina for spotting... More