Someone wrote:
Okay, I've been living in NYC for about 2 years now. Is it me or is
allpizza the same here? I want to know what is the best joint in ton
(please give an approximate address if you can, and don't say "Ray's
Pizza" PPUleeze..there are a million of them.
.Peace.
In my experience, the best pizza restaurant/pizzeria in New York is Cristardi's Pizzeria Cafe, on President Street between Clinton and Henry, in Brooklyn (F train to Carrol st. is closest subway). It's brick oven pizza, and it is superb: better than John's (downtown or uptown), Patsy's (Fulton St [Brooklyn] or East Harlem), Too Boots, or any place else. Why? The ingredients are of a very high quality: like Patsy's, they roast the peppers in the brick oven, use excellent fresh mozzarella, home made sauce, good toppings, etc; unlike Patsy's, Johns', etc., the crust is always done just right: crunchy, but not rock-hard, and the pie is served on a round slab of marble which warms the crust and maintains its texture.
Genuinely nice atmosphere there, too. They also sell to go; if I lived in Brooklyn I'd be there a couple times a week.
That's not to say that there aren't other good pizzerias : Sal and Carmine's, on 102nd and Broadway, sells a mean pie, though their toppings are nothing special. I'm partial to V&T's (111th and Amsterdam), but I don't think I could tell you why.
Of course, there are many places in the city that sell pizza but aren't pizzerias; Some rave about Sfuzzi's pizza, though I know others who think the place is merely another overpriced and pretentious pickup scene. Others talk up Carmine's leviathan pizzettas, though I usually find the place far too loud and uneven in quality.
I think there are a bunch of mid to high-end Italian places that now serve small pizzas (pizzettas?) as appetizers, too. I'd imagine that one of the net gourmets (gourmands?) could tell you more about the upscale joints that serve pizza-type things.
BenPizza