On Slice, we've always resisted the urge to do numerical rankings of pizzerias. How can you possibly post a credible Top 8 list that's anywhere near accurate? There are so many factors involved in making a great pizza — the temperature of the oven at any given moment, the humidity of the air, the age of the dough, the amount of time (down to the second) the pizzaiolo keeps the pie in the heat. You may eat pizza nirvana one night only to go back the next and find pizza mediocrity.
The Pizza Cognition Theorystates that "the first slice of pizza a child sees and tastes...becomes, for him, pizza." If this theory is true, then the pizza at Mimi's is how I think pizza should taste. Or, rather, Mimi's circa 1975.
Gino's makes a good slice. It's of average thickness for a New York slice, has a nice layer of crispness on the bottom, and has a good amount of melty, buttery cheese that pulls away in strings as you take a bite. It's not a life-changing slice, but I'd happily eat it if I lived in the neighborhood or was passing through (as I was, on my way to Little Luzzo's).
It comes down to this: This particular Campagna slice is good stuff. I have no idea what they call it, but you can't miss it there. It's got a crisp, not-at-all greasy crust topped with a heavy cream sauce, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and shaved Parmesan cheese. The sauce is none too heavy, the cherry tomatoes add a burst of sweetness, and the shaved Parmesan balances that with its tanginess and little crystals of salt.
"It sometimes seems as if he's living in an alternate pizza universe—one where Papa John is Chris Bianco and ambiance should be a topping that you can order like fennel sausage." Mic check 1, 2, 1, 2. Bubbles B in the place to be. Comin' outta retirement to work ya like a fireman. What's good, sliceheads? I know it's been a minute, but I have to break you off with a little something. I made a move to the Upper East Side (it's not all bad—Central Park, Museum Mile, D'Ag hags) and can't say much for the pizza thus far,...
From tipster Mark R.: "Had a slice there yesterday, place seems to be having a special. Slices are $1.50 instead of $2.50, and Sicilian slices are $2 instead of $3. The special will last for a couple of weeks. Regular slice much better than Sicilian. The latter is too bready, while the former has a fine, crisp slightly burned crust, tangy and sweet tomato sauce, and good size blobs of melted mozzarella on them." Little Luzzo's: 119 East 96th Street, New York NY 10029 (b/n Park and Lex; map)...
Clicking in to the Slice inbox today, we've got some intel from Scott Wiener of Scott's New York Pizza Tours... Adam, I was helping a friend move this weekend and nearly drove onto the sidewalk when I saw a familiar carved-wood sign on the facade of a 96th Street building on the Upper East Side. Little Luzzo's opened about two weeks ago, serving quality slices, salads, and panini in a small storefront. Unlike Luzzo's in the East Village, which uses an old coal-fired brick oven (211 First Avenue was once the home of the Palermo Bakery, followed by Zito's East),...
These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they would do—if I didn’t live on the Upper East Side. As it stands now, I have to take a $15 cab for food that’s popular, trendy, or otherwise “cool.” So when I saw the windows of late-night, across-the-street-from-Dorrian's pizza place Mimma’s all whitewashed, I was sad—for a minute. Until I noticed what would fill its shoes: Two Boots, so named because the “Cajun-Italian” pizza combines flavors of Louisiana and Italy (the two boots). As an Upper East Sider, I usually feel left out, but the neighborhood is finally...
Editor's note: The place I wanted to visit for this week's review wasn't open, so I'm going to give you a run-down on my weekend in pizza instead, along with a makeshift review on an unexpected place. —The Mgmt. The Most Insane Pizza I Have Ever Seen Bacon pizza. That's right: B-A-C-O-N. At the Famous Original Ray's on 62nd and Lex. On Saturday I was supposed to meet Girl Slice at an undisclosed location on the Upper East Side at 3 p.m. She must have called while I was on the subway in from Brooklyn because when I popped up...
Over lunch, a Serious Eats colleague told me about the opening of Accademia di Vino. "What's that? Some kinda wine bar? Not interested," I said. "But it's got grilled pizza," she said. "Well, why diddincha say so?" One of the dudes behind this place—executive chef Kevin Garcia—came up through Al Forno, my colleague said, where he worked as something called a tournant, or a roundsman. Al Forno is, of course, the grilled-pizza mothership—the joint in Providence, Rhode Island, where George Germon came up the idea of slapping pizza dough on a grate over coals. Mr. Garcia also did a turn...
