I had low expectations in visiting Grimaldi's new location at 1 Front Street, just up the street from the original spot at 19 Old Fulton. The place has been in the news as of late more for tax and landlord drama than for its product. And, I gotta say, it's often served me some underdone, soggy pies. I figured that in moving to a new space, Grimaldi's would give me more of the same—minus the quirky, cramped Brooklyn charm of the original. More

Over the weekend Grimaldi's made the move to their new location, just around the corner from the home of their longstanding tenancy. The big upset in all this was that Grimaldi's would be leaving their coal oven in the dust, as concern about city licensing raised some doubts as to whether they would be granted permission to install a new coal oven. When the city issued stop-work orders and put a halt on building at the new locale, the prospect of coal remaining king at the new Grimaldi's looked grim. More

You know the original Grimaldi's location under the Brooklyn Bridge is being forced out after a landlord dispute, leaving behind its coal oven. You also know that the landlord said earlier this week that he was turning over the lease to someone "very well known." Turns out it's gonna be Patsy Grimaldi. More

After the eviction papers were served last year it was clear Grimaldi's tenancy would have limited standing. Despite making arrangements to pay the back rent, owner Frank Ciolli lost the right to renew the pizzeria's lease. With that lease expiring at the end of this month, Grimaldi's will be moving next door, sans the oven that started it all. More

From Slice'r Jeff R. comes this news: FYI, we saw that a new Grimaldi's [Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria] opened up in Highlands, New Jersey at 123 Bay Avenue. They built a huge coal-fired oven and had a soft opening last week. The official opening date is sometime this week. Grimaldi's (Highlands) 123 Bay Street, Highlands NJ 07732 (map)... More

[Photograph: Adam Kuban] First Lady Michelle Obama visited Grimaldi's in Brooklyn yesterday with her two daughters. The New York Times's City Room blog quotes their server, Ralph Harajda, as saying, "They loved everything," he "I think they said it was better than Chicago pizza." Of course, the Chicago Tribune had to confirm this, and there they quote Harajda as clarifying his statement: "No, what she said was, 'It's the best pizza, and I'm from Chicago.' She liked the pizza very, very much. They were pleased." Of course, it's been reported here on Slice that the Obamas' favorite pizza can... More

The relatively new food blog Eat This New York searches for the best pizza in the city but finds that, "Pizzas are just like you and me—they're all so different. Instead of trying to be the best, you just have to be yourself." With bonus tips on picking up women and Italian pronunciation. And a surprise appearance by chef Art Smith. Pizzerias visited: Grimaldi's, DUMBO, BrooklynKesté Pizza & Vino, Greenwich Village, ManhattanRizzo's, Astoria, QueensDi Fara (of course), Midwood, Brooklyn Watch the video, after the jump.... More

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... More