Although sometimes inconsistent, South Brooklyn’s $12 pizzas usually come from the coal-fired oven with the right amount of char on a crunchy crust, which is slightly thicker than what one might find at the end of a long wait at Di Fara.
The pie is oval, slicked with olive oil and bright with San Marzano tomatoes and a nudge of basil. The cheese is predominantly fresh mozzarella, although bits of fontina and Parmesan play supporting roles.
Although Kim Severson deems it "delicious," I'd advise you to go with low expectations. I've only been once but would not wholeheartedly recommend on that one visit, as the crust was very tough and rather bland. Still gathering tasting intel before forming a more gelled opinion on the place, though. Many people on Chowhounds have reported liking it.
Anselmo is building two bakeries in Red Hook Brooklyn,New York. Anselmo will be a full-line bakery Restaurant in Pizza, pasta ,pastries and breads. The first bakery will be located on 354 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook Brooklyn, New York . The second will be on 204 Van Dyke Street Brooklyn,New York. @ pier 41. The first bakery will be done by July 4th and the second will be done by December 2008. Anselmo has baked for over 25 years and has worked at very well known places like Water Edge Restaurant in Long Island,NY, Encore Bakery in Manhattan,NY, Stuars Restaurant in Manhattan,NY ,Cousin Johns Bakery in Brooklyn,NY ,Cousin Johns Bakery in Brooklyn,NY ,Tennis Club in Long Island City,NY, Trattoria Sole in Miami,Florida,Don Goavani's in Manhattan,NY and SoNo Baking Company & Cafe' in Norwalk,Connecticut. Anselmo has worked for John Barricelli,co-host of "Everyday Foods," a lifestyle program produced by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
COAL BRICK OVEN PIZZA AND BREAD!
That last all-caps shouting match was Anselmo, on his website, not me. Though I must say again, just for good measure: ANOTHER NEW COAL-OVEN PLACE! Sweet! [via NewYorkology.com]
Anselmo's Bakery Restaurant
354 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (at Sullivan Street, Red Hook; map)
718-775-5386 anselmosbakery.com
We were in Midtown in the 50s taking in the last day of an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. But I also wanted to take in some pizza while I was there. Where to go?
With the Modern on 53rd and a hoard of mediocre good-enough-for-lunch slices surrounding it, I thought I was sunk. And then I remembered Angelo's Pizza, a coal-oven place on 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh. And as I've never really done much about the place on Slice, I figured it was time for a revisit.
I'd been a number of times when I worked on 42nd and had even had a Slice Pizza Club outing there at one point. I'd never been that impressed with it. But last night's pie was good, if not great.
The answer is still no. When phoned, a Hanley's staffer said, "Ummm, it may be the Friday after St. Patrick's Day now." The Hanley's watch will continue ... Previously: New Coal Oven in Carroll Gardens
Update: Hanley's is now serving coal-fired pies under the name South Brooklyn Pizza just next door to Hanley's at 451 Court Street. [06/16/2008]
No: When I stopped in last night to sample a pie, the joint's pizza operation was a nonstarter. The host, who seemed a bit unsure of its status, said it may be up and running by Friday. Phone calls to Hanley's today to get a more definite status seemed to go to a fax machine there. Previously: New Coal Oven in Carroll Gardens
Update: Hanley's is now serving coal-fired pies under the name South Brooklyn Pizza just next door to Hanley's at 451 Court Street. [06/16/2008]
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 20, 2008 at 1:00 PM
And here's another addition to the Slice Nationwide Coal-Oven Pizza Map. This one in the Wolverine State. —The Mgmt.
There is a coal-oven pizza place in Farmington Hills, Michigan, called Tomatoes Apizza. It recently added the coal oven. The owner learned his art in New Haven, Connecticut.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 20, 2008 at 10:45 AM
I am a devoted slice eater and pizza worshiper from Providence, Rhode Island. I am writing to you from the state of Esprito Santo in Brazil.
Before I left for my trip, I had the pleasure of dining at Angela's Coal Fired Pizza in Saugus, Massachusetts (actually, immediately before leaving from JFK, I stopped at L&B Spumoni Gardens, Nathan's, and Di Fara within a two-hour period). Angela's opened in November, I believe. As far as I know, it's the closest coal oven to my Providence home. It may be the only one in Massachusetts as well.
Knowing that coal ovens are notoriously hard to come by and that you can't just up and put one in any damn place, I just called the bar to confirm. A member of the wait staff says, Yes, it's a coal oven(!), that it's been operational for a couple weeks, and that the first public pies should be out Friday night.
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 26, 2007 at 4:15 PM
I forgot about this photo set, but earlier this year, our web developer here at Slice–Serious Eats HQ went on a trip to Dallas and visited Coal Vines, one of America's coal-oven pizzeriasnot in New York or New Haven. He brought back some pix, below:
Doesn't look half bad, does it?
Coal Vines
Address: 2404 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas TX 75201 (map) Phone: 214-855-4999 Website:coalvines.com Notes: Second location at 1251 East Southlake Boulevard, Southlake TX 76092 (map); 817-310-0850
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 20, 2007 at 1:00 AM
Slice reader and graphic designer Norman H. manages to combine the concepts of coal-oven pizza and stoking a coal-fire in a brilliant little creation that's at once novel and obvious in a why-didn't-anyone-think-of-it-before way. Thanks, Norman!
I've been workin' in the coal mine, digging up some more coal-oven pizzerias to bring you. Although New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, are two of the most famous coal-oven towns, did you know there are coal joints in Florida; Philly; Chicago; Des Moines, Iowa; Dallas; and Scottsdale, Arizona? They're all on the Slice National Coal-Oven Pizza Map.
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 8, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Slice's Coal-Oven Pizzeria Map lists all New York City–area coal-oven pizzerias that we know of. Clicking the pizza icons will bring up address, phone number, URL (if any), and a link back to all entries Slice has on the particular pizzeria. It's a handy way to visually navigate what Slice has to offer.
The map legend is at right—and for this map, Slice Dude got a makeover with a little coal-miner's helmet. If we've missed any coal-oven joints that you know of, comment or drop me a line: adam@sliceny.com.
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 7, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Slice's Coal-Oven Pizzeria Map lists all U.S. coal-oven pizzerias that we know of. Clicking the pizza icons will bring up address, phone number, URL (if any), and a link back to any entries Slice has on the particular pizzeria. It's a handy way to visually navigate the crisp-crusted world of coal-oven pizza.
The map legend is at right—and for this map, Slice Dude got a makeover with a little coal-miner's helmet. If we've missed any coal-oven joints that you know of, comment or drop me a line: adam@sliceny.com.
Salvatore Pollito is a pie man, no two ways about it. Ten years ago he opened a solid slice joint in Queens. Then, when he felt he had mastered the art of the slice, he decided to tackle coal-fired, brick-oven pizza, inspired by his many ttips to Totonno's and Patsy's. He has done that successfully at Bella Via, which, with its brick walls and big windows, is one of the more cheerful pizzerias I have come across.
Pollito had a local guy build the oven at Bella Via, and tucked it into the back of the place in full view of the salivating patrons, who watch as he turns out beautiful pies. Pollito uses low-moisture, slightly aged mozzarella, Italian tomatoes, and fine locally sourced sausage on his pies. His crust is fairly thin, bready, and soft and doesn't have much chew to it.
Bella Via
Address: 47-46 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City NY (at 48th Avenue; map) Phone: 718-361-7510 Related: All Bella Via entries on Slice
Pepe's, a Slice favorite beloved by just about everyone, including Michael Stern of Roadfood, and me. Pepe's, which I named one of pizzadom's "keepers of the flame" in my book Pizza: A Slice of Heaven, had previously opened a branch in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 2005 and another in Mansfield, Connecticut, last month. I tried to go to the Fairfield branch but was repelled by the long line.
College town expansion sounds like a sound business strategy. College kids love pizza (actually, who doesn't), ditto for professors living on academic salaries, and Pepe's would be a cost-effective way for parents visiting their kids to take them out for some non-dorm food.
But is the pizza going to be any good? Is it going to do justice to Frank Pepe's name and legacy as one of the true pizza giants in this country? Can you make a good coal-fired oven tomato pie beyond the Connecticut state line? I have my doubts.
Editor's note: A short time ago, homeslice Philip G. got in touch, telling me there was a post on pizzamaking.com that was making quite a stir: Reverse-Engineered Coal-Fired Brick Oven. Apparently, a Michigan man had invented a grill insert that he claimed simulated a coal- or wood-fired oven. I clicked over and became fascinated by the metal-and-stone device (pictured below). Could something so simple-looking achieve the holy grail of at-home pizza-making—hot enough and consistent enough temperatures to perfectly cook a pie? I don't know yet, because my 2stone Pizza Grill has only today begun its UPS journey to my home in Brooklyn. Anyway, Philip has been in on the 2stone discussion thread on pizzamaking.com since the beginning, so he offered to do a Q &A with the inventor, Willard Gustavsen. Here 'tis. Many thanks to Philip! —Adam
Tell us a little bit about where this project came from—where did you initially get the idea to make a pizza-oven insert for grills?
Most of the design work I have done has been related to specialty tools for the building industry. I have either sold the patent rights or have manufactured products and private-labeled them for companies. I have always liked good pizza and thought it would be a fun project; to see if I could design a simple oven or tool that could duplicate the results of an authentic wood-fired hearth oven. Essentially the 2stone Pizza Grill is just another tool of sorts.
At first, all of my prototypes were wood-burning and were a combination of steel and fire bricks. I tried many different styles, mostly looking for a way to reduce the number of bricks it took and also trying to find ways to shorten the fire-up time. Since I genuinely like pizza and pizza-making, it was more interesting than some of the other projects I've worked on. I kind of had my doubts about making something saleable, because it could be really expensive to ship a lot of bricks around the country.
I guess that's where I started thinking about a grill insert. I already had a grill "the heat source" and I figured most people do, so why bother reinventing "the heat part"? I also got tired of having to burn all that slab wood just for two pizzas.
How long has it taken to get all the kinks out of the system, from start to finish?
I started 5 or 6 years ago. I didn't work on it all the time but kept thinking about it in the back of my mind. I would scrap the last prototype and build a new one, always looking for a way to do more with less—fewer firebricks and shorter fire-up times, for example. Once the final concept was down, it did boil down to ironing out the kinks, as you say.
NYC expats who want their coal-fired pizza fix now have an option outside Baltimore. The Phat Pug Coal Fired Pizzeria, 8814A Bel Air Road, Perry Hall, MD is about an hour's drive from downtown DC. If you're down on the burnt crust tip, this is your only option outside New York. And yeah, coal fired pizza ain't coming to DC no way, no how. Imagine what that stuff does to your lungs.
For the uninitiated, coal-fired pizza ovens are the holy grail of pizza ovens, since they're able to crank to mega-high temps and properly cook a pie.
They opened yesterday. Located on Grand Avenue, about three storefronts west of Ogden. This is a cute place, wood floors, warm colors with a huge coal-fired oven in the back. I'm told that it gets about 800 degrees hot, sometimes more.
Due to time constraints, I had to order my pizzas takeout, and as such, all pizzas suffer when cooled down a bit. But still, these pies (I ordered two) had a bready, thin crust with all the integrity of an East Coast pizza. (The guys who own this are from Western Mass.) The crust was a little tough but I'm willing to give them a pass because mine had cooled down significantly before I had the chance to bite into it. Also, the pies coming right out of the oven looked amazing - big blistery crust. One noticeable difference from Neapolitan types is the black, dusty char on the top of the crust from the coal oven.
I ordered two pies - one margherita with fresh mozz and big whole pieces of basil on top and one with pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms. The sauce was tomatoey, with a tomatoey acidity, and lacking the cloying tomato paste taste of typical Chicago pizza. Both were quite tasty, and quite foldable. It is a welcome addition to a neighborhood that is without any East Coast/true Italian style pizza options.
But for the first day, there appeared to be no kinks and they had quite a crowd for opening day. Definitely worth getting down here for a try.
Coalfire Pizza
Address: 1321 West Grand Avenue, Chicago IL 60622 (at Ogden Ave.; map) Phone: 312-226-2625
Slice reader Conduit Design Group just asked how Pizza Club No. 8 went. So, without further delay, the quick rundown.
Numero Ocho was scheduled for this past Sunday at Coney Island. Unfortunately, so was a crappy nor'easter. Girl Slice and I made our way to Totonno's anyway, just in case any stalwart readers made the trip. Nobody did. Oh well. It turned into a soggy private date for just us two.
We knew the Cyclone would be closed, but we exited at the Surf Avenue end of the station (above) because we had to meet any prospective attendees at noon at Nathan's (below).
It always becomes an issue when a highly regarded pizzeria opens a second location -- will the pies be as good at the new branch? Will production at the original branch suffer as a result of the new venture? The New York Times on the new Fairfield, Connecticut, branch of Frank Pepe's:
To the average aficionado of thin-crust pies, the chewy, somewhat salty dough dished up by Fairfield’s Frank Pepe is every bit as good as any coming out of New Haven. One reason for that is the use of a coal-fired oven, which generates far more heat than most gas or electric installations. Another, a waitress told me, is that the batter (and red sauce) is whipped up every day from scratch.
Well, it looks like Yum! Brands is not only responsible for the reprehensible pies belched out by Pizza Hut but also indirectly for the March 1 temporary shuttering of venerable Greenwich Village pizza joint John's, on Bleecker Street. (Yum is the corporate parent of both the Hut and Taco Bell, whose rat infestation of the nearby Village Bell location last week made nationwide news and grossed us all out.)
It seems that due to the extensive media coverage of a certain fast food restaurant and the scandal surrounding the N.Y.C. dept. of health, they are now trying to save face and set examples.... It seems that after 70 YEARS in business they have decided that we need a sink CLOSER TO the Pizza making area, have PROPER lids on our RESTROOM GARBAGE CANS, seal airtight, every possible crack and hole in our 150 year old basement.... and MOST IMPORTANTLY keep our basement door closed....
As unbelievable as this sounds, the Inspector informed us there are now NEW LAWS as of THIS WEEKand shut us down.... so we are spending our day Filling cracks and filling out paperwork. We are TRULY sorry for any inconvenience and assure you we will be open a.s.a.p........
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.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 22, 2007 at 6:00 PM
One of the (many) nice things about working at Serious Eats as its managing editor is that Slice now has access to some great video. We've been slaving away at Serious Eats world headquarters, making some good movin' pictures for you to watch, and this, IMHO, is one of the best. In it, we've worked with Michael Stern, who, along with his wife, Jane Stern, are the mad geniuses behind the Roadfood franchise—books, magazine columns, and the website. Here, Mr. Stern visits Frank Pepe's in New Haven. Tune in, turn on, and pig out!
An interesting note about a quirky wedding just came to my inbox.
Hi Adam,
Just idly listening to Imus in the Morning, which is a rarity as I usually have Mike and Mike on (ESPN Radio). Today I heard their sports reporter, Chris "The Continent" Carlin (who also broadcasts Rutgers football games), announce that he is marrying Sheryl Spain, a local publicist, this Saturday (or today?). Not a shotgun wedding, as this is apparently not new news. But it's where they are getting married that takes the pie.
Yes, a pizzeria. Not just any slice joint either, but John's! Seems the place will close for the occasion, just as if it was another private party, but apparently this is a first-of-its-kind event. Did you know about this?
A search of information contains passing references on Imus-related blogs, but no specific mentions. I didn't catch which location but i'm willing to bet it's the midtown one. I'm gonna listen to Imus more to see what other info can be found.
Cheers,
Dan
This is the first I've heard of it, Dan. It reminds me of the awesome photo below. I don't know who this couple is or whether they got married at Joe's Pizza (on Carmine Street), but they do look happy, don't they?
Kim Severson of the New York Times does the best job yet of getting to the bottom of the puzzling Domino's Brooklyn Style Pizza kerfuffle. We're surprised she lived to write the story, after having brought the chain pie into Coney Island's Totonno's for comparison:
“Get that thing out of here,” was the first thing Totonno’s owner, Louise Ciminieri, said when she saw the Domino’s box.
Once we explained that we were on a mission to determine exactly what constituted a Brooklyn Style pie, she softened. Sort of. “When they say Brooklyn Style Pizza they’re referring to us,” she said. “We were the first ones.” [That's a snippet of a Totonno pie at right here. —Ed. ]
And here's a gem from Ms. Severson: "We purchased our Domino’s pie just a few blocks away from Totonno’s on Neptune Avenue. That it was handed to us over bulletproof glass turned out to be the most authentically Brooklyn part about it."
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 30, 2006 at 11:48 AM
Pity poor Ed Levine. When his workday doesn't involve ordering one of each doughnut at a well-regarded New York City doughnuttery, he gets to eat pizza from some of the country's best pizzerias and write about it for Details magazine. His findings cover some familiar ground to readers of Slice and of Mr. Levine's 2005 book PIzza: A Slice of Heaven, but there are some new entries to be savored.
Pizzeria Bianco [623 East Adams Street, Phoenix AZ 85004; map]
"The sauce tastes like a distillation of the ripest tomatoes."
Di Fara[1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230; map]
"... a Di Fara slice has a one-of-a-kind flavor."
Totonno's [1524 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn NY 11224; map]
"Order the white pie, made with ricotta, mozzarella, and enough fresh garlic to ward off a roomful of vampires."
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 17, 2006 at 11:51 PM
I don't even know what to say about this recipe. Just reading through it makes my head spin. Software engineer Jeff Varasano (above) has been trying for six years to craft a pizza along the lines of Patsy's in East Harlem. As of August 22, he claims to have done so:
This pizza is modeled after Patsy's on 117th street in NYC. I have been working on this for SIX years, but FINALLY I can report that I have achieved my goal. Many people have tried my pie and swear it is not only the best pizza they've ever had, but a clone of the original Patsy's recipe. This pie is incredibly light and perfectly charred. It took just 2 minutes and 10 seconds to bake at 825F....
Reproducing this was no easy feat. It's been a bit of an obsession. I've had a lot of failed experiments. It's only now, in the past 6 months that I can honestly say that the recipe is fully accurate and reproducible. The final breakthrough came in Jan 2005 when I finally got a handle on the proper mixing equipment and procedure. But do not think that following this will be easy. It's not. It will still take practice. A few others have confirmed that by following these steps they too have come to near perfection. This may be the most detailed, accurate and complete recipe on the net for making a true Pizza Napoletana.
To get your oven to 825°, you'll need to do a little hacking. On his own oven, Mr. Varasano cut off the lock that engages during the self-clean cycle so he can still open the door when the unit heats to superhigh temps.
AMERICAN EATS The History Channel 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, 9 p.m. Central
Order a pizza in and get ready to watch. Or set the TiVo and go out for a pie. From the "New York Times":
The migration of pizza westward — from southern Italy to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles — is the story of mutation, innovation, perversion. And in spite of the documentary's wonderfully nonjudgmental narration, viewers will find it hard not to take sides.
Midwestern deep-dish types tend to see coastal pies as too wan or too fancy. Californians like their Spago-era artworks all fusioned and deluxe; I imagine they silently believe that other kinds of pizza are only for fat people. New Yorkers, who are fundamentally right on this subject, know they have the real thing.
Or almost. One thing this documentary does well is show how importation is always transformation: even when Gennaro Lombardi, the founding father of American pizza, opened his shop on Spring Street in SoHo a century ago, he was tampering with tradition. He had to use local tomatoes, explains the voice-over, "instead of San Marzano tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius." And atop the local tomato sauce he melted ordinary cow cheese, instead of the distinctive Italian mozzarella made from water-buffalo milk.
I was reading your article on the coal-oven pizzerias in Florida. Surprisingly enough, there are a few more locations opening up throughout the area. There is a company called Coal Fired Pizza Co. opening in Wellington and a second location in Coral Springs. Both are due to open the first week of July.
I know this because I am the designer/builder of these ovens. Now David Manero of Manero's Restaurant Group, Gotham City, and Shore is opening up a coal-oven pizza restaurant on PGA in Palm Beach Gardens.
The myth of the coal ovens causing pollution has passed with the use of anthracite coal. Clean burning with almost no smoke and zero carcinogens.
Jon: You don't know how this kills me. Until recently, Ma and Pa Slice were residents of Wellington. They move back to Kansas, then all these coal-burners spring up. --The Management
RED ROCK COAL FIRED PIZZA Location: 50 NE First Ave., Boca Raton FL 33432 [map] Phone: 561-361-6655
COAL MINE PIZZA Location: Royal Palm Place, 399 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton FL 33432 [map] Phone: 561-826-2625 Website: coalminepizza.com
File this under Why Didn't This Happen Sooner?
Boca Raton, Florida, is now home to not one but two coal-oven pizzerias. The first, Red Rock Coal Fired Pizza, which we were remiss in alerting you to, opened in late 1995. Now there's a second, Coal Mine Pizza, just around the corner.
Ma and Pa Slice used to live in Wellington, Florida, about 30 miles northwest of Boca. Had these coal burners opened prior to December 2004, I would have had an easy excuse to visit them while on holiday in the Sunshine State.
About Coal Mine, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says:
There are 10 specialty pizzas and I can heartily recommend the Amazing Artichoke, a combination of artichokes, Parmesan, Romano and mozzarella. Like every pizza here, the crust is crisp and almost cracker-like. I'm such a fan of crisp pizza crust that even here, I ask for an extra crispy pizza. I believe that when you pick up a piece of pizza, the skinny tip should stay crispy and not point downward. Coal Mine Pizza is a winner.
While New York City has banned coal pizza ovens because they pollute, they seem to be enjoying a moment in the South Florida sun just now. My until-recently coal oven-less neighborhood will soon be home to two such restaurants.
It really is interesting to see coal-oven pizza migrate beyond its home in the Northeast. My guess is that the owners of such establishments take great risks in introducing this exotic pizza specimen to new environments. Whether it's Grimaldi's and its outpost in Scottsdale, Arizona, or these two establishments in Boca, the owners of non–Pizza Belt coal-burners have much more work than putting in an oven, breaking it in, and making sure their pizzaioli know how to cook pies with it.
No, these owners have the additional burden of educating the locals with regard to coal-oven pies. For instance: Those spotty charred bits on the bottom? You want that—it adds a pleasant smoky flavor to the crust. I'd imagine that more than a few customers will complain about "burnt" pizzas if they're not used to coal pizzerias. And it's likely a delicate balance to strike between making the pies right and bending to complaints, thereby producing an inferior pizza unworthy of the oven it came out of.
But Boca is ripe with retired New Yorkers, and I'd imagine there's a fair number of expats in Scottsdale, too. If any of you are reading this and have been to Red Rock, Coal Mine, or the Scottsdale Grimaldi's, give us a shout and let Slice know how they stack up.
And Ma and Pa Slice: Why'd you have to move back to Kansas!?
The Cyclone has been ridden and the pizza has been eaten, and so spring begins for Slice.
Earlier today, Seltzerboy and I were joined by five friends of Slice in a tradition he and I have shared since 2001, way back in the pre-Slice era. On hand for the coaster ride were Dan, Katie, Tien, and our Queens correspondent, Chito. We met up in front of the 'Clone, bought tickets ($5 a ride), and submitted our bodies for a little Jazz Age G-force testing.
New York is the king of pizza cities. Oh, yes, there are other pretenders to the pizza crown. Naples has its adherents, those who champion that beautiful city's high-lipped, slightly wet pies made in gorgeous wood-burning ovens. Chicagoans love their deep-dish pizza, and it is in fact a mighty tasty casserole, but one kind of pizza does not make a strong enough case for designating a city pizza royalty. New Havenites proudly point to the gorgeous, asymmetrical pies that come out of the coal-fired ovens of Sally's and Pepe's. Those are righteous pies indeed, but, again, you have to be able to show some pizza breadth. Pizza variety is why New York City sits comfortably on its pizza throne.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 21, 2006 at 10:55 AM
What up, home slices? We received an e-mail inquiry over the weekend as well as some comments asking if we knew anything about John's Pizza on Bleecker going through renovations. Word is that half the joint is closed for remodeling.
I was too busy over the weekend preparing for travel, so I didn't have time to investigate.
Readers? Report! Leave any intel in the Comments section of this post.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 10, 2006 at 1:38 AM
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
Friends of Slice Listmaker and Youthlarge were car-sitting last week. Listmaker wanted to make the most of their automotive-having days, so he suggested a pizza excursion at some point during the holidays.
Wanting to make the most of car access myself, I suggested Tosca Café in the Throgs Neck section of The Bronx, a spot that would normally be a bit difficult to reach via public transport (right).
Listmaker, Youthlarge, and I set off around 7 p.m. on Friday, picked up their friend Dave, and we all made it to Tosca by 8 p.m. or so—after a few wrong turns.
Tosca Café's got a coal oven, and that's a big deal. Coal-burners are a sort of holy grail in this town, as some of the best and oldest pizzerias use them to produce amazing pizzas. Such ovens are capable of reaching the insanely hot temperatures needed to make a pie crisp and give it oven spring while still yielding a satisfying chewiness and pliability in the crust. This trip was a big deal for me, too, because Tosca's long been on the Slice "places to try" list.
The New York Post comes through with a story on the Lombardi's centennial, giving a rundown on the place's 100-year (give or take) history. Lombardi's is, as many of our longtime readers know, the first licensed pizzeria in the United States—it got its pizza creds in 1905 when Gennaro Lombardi opened it up the street from its current location. To find out why it moved and read more about the history, click through to the story [A Pizza Party]. I'm out the door for work and don't have time to digest it for you.
What I want you to take from this entry, however, is this: November 10. 5¢ pies. To mimic the cost of a pizza in 1905. Not even Wal-Mart rolls prices back that far.
I really enjoy your site. Thought I'd give back a bit and send in a report from the field.
The other day I went to Totonno's and Grimaldi's. I'd wanted to try both places for a long time, and since I had the time, I couldn't resist going for it with both. I had one large, half-cheese and half–roasted pepper at both places.
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 medallions," says restaurateur Charles LoPresto, who recently opened Luzzo's Ristorante in a First Avenue space with an existing, but decrepit, coal oven. By New York City law, they cannot be used unless they're grandfathered in.
"But they make the best pizza, and if they weren't prohibited, people would be constructing them." ...
One bite of Iuliano's Neopolitan-style pie proves it's crisp on the outside, tender within. A few dollops of buffalo mozzarella lend a creamy fresh counterpoint to a skim of tomato sauce that's uncooked, save for a three- to four-minute stint in the oven.
Slice was last at Luzzo's late last year, as part of an East Village pizza crawl that never made its way onto the site because my iBook fried and I lost my tasting notes and photos. We'll have to go back to Luzzo's again. The times we've been there, we found the crust to be crisp and chewy, exquisitely light, but a little bland and devoid of the nice char we like on Totonno's or Patsy's or Grimaldi's pies.
Newsday today has a nice, witty review of Sac's Place Pizza, the coal-oven joint in Astoria, Queens. We like the way the author, Josh Ozersky (aka Mr. Cutlets, "New York's Most Conspicuous Carnivore"), starts the story:
Joel Cimineri has run out of dough for the last time.
Brooklyn's legendary pizza man — who manned the oven at Totonno's in Coney Island and famously closed for the day if he ran out of dough — died this week from diabetes. He was 59.
A Brooklyn legend, Cimineri not only helped keep alive a pizza-making tradition dating from the turn of the 19th century, but with every thin-crusted pizza he made, he stood up against fast-food culture.
"We live in a Burger King world of 'Have it your way,' " said Dick Zigun, who runs the Coney Island sideshow. "But when you ate at Totonno's, you were with a loving Italian family that did it their way"
Cimineri learned the art of pizza-making from his uncle-in-law, Jerry Pero, who learned it from his father, who learned it from Gennaro Lombardi — the man who brought pizza to America more than 100 years ago....
Posted by seltzerboy, November 30, 2004 at 1:50 AM
JOHN'S DOUGH: John's Pizza of Bleecker has an impeccable pizza pedigree; it can trace its lineage to Lombardi's, New York's original pizzeria.
Words By Seltzerboy .::. Photographs By Adam K. .::. Just when you thought pizza parties were restricted to young people and young weblogs, in walks Danny Stiles, surely one of America’s oldest deejays. As he has done for the past few years or so, Mr. Stiles will be having his annual anniversary/birthday “surprise” party at John’s Pizzeria in Times Square. On December 6, Mr. Stiles will welcome an odd mix of celebrities (Uncle Floyd, Bob Grant, and Kitty Kallen will all be there) and pizza connoisseurs alike from 6 to 11 p.m., marking 81 years since his birth and 57 years since the birth of his radio career.
Mr. Stiles has been known to tout the virtues of John’s (and pretty much every other advertiser) every chance he gets. He still reads live commercials, so the line between shtick and substance is never clear. That’s where we come in.
Despite Mr. Stiles’s claims to the contrary (“the greatest pizza anywhere”), Slice has had some difficulty with John’s recently. Several months ago, the Slice Pizza Club congregated at the Bleecker Street location. We left a little disappointed, to say the least.
John’s, named after founder John Sasso, comes from an established pizza pedigree. With its coveted oven (see photo, top right), pristine locale, and patriarchal heritage, it’s regarded as a must-see in countless tourist guides and self-important foodie tomes. Enticing as it may seem to the naked eye, John’s produces pizza that’s downright depressing: sauce without spice, cheese without charm, even a coal-fired crust without char. Each pie was so dry, all of us wondered if they had run out of olive oil that night. In fact, a few of us have had several lunchtime deliveries from the Times Square branch that tasted a little better. Greatest pizza anywhere, Mr. Stiles? As Slice devotee Tien Mao noted at the time, “This may not even be the best pizza on the block.” Although with the closing of Joe’s of Bleecker Street, John’s may move to the top of that narrow list by default.
After 75 years in business, John’s has not aged nearly as well as Mr. Stiles (left), who still champions the crooners and composers, big-band leaders, and swingers and singers from the first half of the twentieth century—“the records every other station forgot about,” he often laments. Even more appealing than the music is the personality Mr. Stiles brings to the stage, peppering plays from his vast library of 78s and 45s with flamboyant phrasings, reminiscences, and narishkeit.
Still stamping his sentences with dozens of alliterative phrasings for himself ("the dean of dusty discs," "the vector of the Victrola," and "the guru of the golden Gramophone" are a few favorites that come to mind), Stiles On Your Dials has had 24 radio homes throughout the years, including three today. The clearest signal to reach him is via WNYC-AM on Saturdays. Since this conflicts with other programming, you will probably want to surf around the far reaches of the AM band late at night; he can be heard on a couple of low-bandwidth New Jersey stations, including WNSW, weeknights at 10 p.m.
Turn to Mr. Stiles for some Benny Goodman and bubbe meises. Just tune out his pizza advice.
Finding Patsy Grimaldi's name on a pizzeria out in Phoenix, amid all that sun and desert, is weird. Anyone who knows Patsy can only picture his coal-fired pizza oven glowing in the long shadows of the Brooklyn Bridge's eastern arch, with the patient lines of hungry customers outside and a firm no-delivery policy inside (except in the old days when Frank Sinatra ordered out from the Waldorf-Astoria or sent a plane from Los Angeles for two score of Patsy's pies). "I'm retired now," explains Patsy. "But franchised, kind of."
It's not like he's Brooklyn's answer to Colonel Sanders. So far there are just a precious few other Grimaldis out there and Patsy says he insists on personally training this new generation to make pies the way his late uncle, Patsy Lancieri, taught him 60 years ago in Harlem - with the special dough recipe and only fresh ingredients from Italy, of course, but always in an oven built the old way from brick and fired the old way by coal, not by gas as most modern pizzeria ovens are.
"Fifty years ago, 100 years ago, that's all they had in the city was coal ovens," Patsy says, proud to be handing on his retro-coal technique to Phoenix. By his account, the coal-brick approach produces far more heat (800 degrees plus) than gas, and thereby fierce-to-subtle hot spots of artistry to make the pie bubble, crisp and lightly char. "Far better flavor," Patsy assures, particularly for those who had their first taste of pizza after World War II, when soldiers came home with tales of discovering it in Italy. Pizza has since become a ubiquitous industry in America with flavors running from rare ambrosia to mall-rat flannel. It inevitably created a connoisseur craving for the real deal, the sort of pie that perennially has Grimaldi's rated among New York's best. "Everybody's advertising 'brick-oven,' but not with the coal," Patsy cautions. "These guys know nothing about pizza."
How Old Are You Now:Slice celebrated its one-year anniversary on Wednesday evening at Patsy's in East Harlem. Patsy's is one of our favorite pizzerias and is notable for being one of the few coal-fired-oven shops that sells pizza by the slice—for a buck fifty, no less (top right).
PATSY'S Location: 2287 First Ave. (b/n 117th/118th) Getting There: 6 train to 116th; walk east to First; turn right; walk 1.5 blocks up Payment: Cash only The Skinny: One of our favorite pizzerias, but has suffered from inconsistent pie quality of late. Stick to the plain pies, either regular or fresh mozzarella, and try going with a number of people—multiple pies guarantee that you'll get at least one or two superb pizzas.
I hate the sight of a baby in a restaurant. Those fat little saps can't appreciate the food. They crap themselves. And, worse, they're prone to noisy outbursts. But when the baby in question is Slice and it's celebrating its first birthday, things are different. And so on Wednesday night I found myself at Patsy's in East Harlem, with a handful of Slice readers, as we marked this site's first anniversary with a very special Pizza Club.
With its coal-fired oven; tasty pies; legendary provenance; and large, downbeat dining room, Patsy's was the natural choice for the occasion.
In his book American Pie, Peter Reinhart describes two kinds of perfect pizzas: the contextually perfect pizza and the technically perfect pizza. The contextually perfect pie, he says, might not be perfect in execution, but for some reason it's the perfect pizza at that time. Maybe, as a cash-strapped graduate student, it was the place you began your first date with the woman who, a couple years later, would become your wife. Sure they used canned mushrooms and their crust was a little too thick, but you can't order a pie there without thinking of how nervous you were meeting her there before heading off to see Titanic. Or maybe it's the only place you can afford to take your kids when you have 'em for the weekend 'cause your lying cheat of a husband left you for that tramp, gained custody, and then took half your goddamn money, but gee how those kids love that pizza and damn how they look at you when you indulge them in the doughy goodness that their Atkins-following dirtbag of a father denies them. That is contextually perfect pie. Technically perfect pie is like the pizzas that a coworker and I had last night at Una Pizza Napoletana.
The first time I had Patsy's, it embodied both kinds of perfection. From the red patinated neon sign in the window to the empty, dimly lit dining room with its Frank Sinatra portrait on the wall and its black-and-white penny-round tile floor—this was a classic Italian eatery (even though it was by then owned by Albanians). Heck, I half expected to find a gun taped behind the toilet tank. And the pizza itself, my word. Thin, light, crisp charred crust. Perfect balance of cheese and sauce. Excellent toppings. You get the picture. It has been a favorite of mine since.
Joining me on this auspicious evening were seven guests. Slice's metro editor, Seltzerboy, had tickets to the Yankees game and sadly could not join us. As for our roving reporter E-Rock, I sent that sumbitch to Chicago as punishment for having missed too many pizza clubs in the past. (He will, of course, provide a full report of his deep-dish detention session.) Among the illustrious guests were veteran pizza clubbers Tien, Janelle and Joe S. Rounding out the party were first-timers "JXM" (a good friend I was happy to see there), Youngna, Danny G., and Jen from Gothamist.*
What can I say about Patsy's that I haven't already said? Once all the guests that seemed likely to come had arrived, we ordered four pies: a plain with regular mozzarella, a plain with fresh mozzarella, a sausage-and-onion pie, and a mushroom pie. First out was the sausage and onion (above right). Normally my favorite combo for a pie, the meat and vegetable proved to be tasty but sog inducing. This was universally the least favorite pie at the table.
Next out were the plain pies—both the regular- and fresh-mozzarella varieties. These were well received, with a couple Patsy's first-timers commenting that they represented the best pizza they had ever had. Unfortunately, I had had better from Patsy's. While not as soggy as the plain regular-mozz pie I had on Tuesday night (I was doing pre-club recon work), it wasn't up to the level of quality of which I knew Patsy's was capable. The mushroom pie, which followed quickly on the heels of the two plains, also was not well received (though it did prove more popular than the sausage pie). Mushrooms, with the large volume of water they release while cooking, are notorious crust soakers.
The answer is still no. When phoned, a Hanley's staffer said, "Ummm, it may be the Friday after St. Patrick's Day now." The Hanley's watch will continue ... Previously: 
Slice's Coal-Oven Pizzeria Map lists all New York City–area coal-oven pizzerias that we know of. Clicking the pizza icons will bring up address, phone number, URL (if any), and a link back to all entries Slice has on the particular pizzeria. It's a handy way to visually navigate what Slice has to offer.
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Dear Slice,
Friends of Slice 
The Post gives props to East Village coal-burner Luzzo's in a story cleverly headlined 
After 75 years in business, John’s has not aged nearly as well as Mr. Stiles (left), who still champions the crooners and composers, big-band leaders, and swingers and singers from the first half of the twentieth century—“the records every other station forgot about,” he often laments. Even more appealing than the music is the personality Mr. Stiles brings to the stage, peppering plays from his vast library of 78s and 45s with flamboyant phrasings, reminiscences, and narishkeit.
