Restaurants »Best Pizza

33 Havemeyer, Brooklyn

With a name like Best Pizza, you’ve got a lot to live up to..but more importantly, you are impossible to find online. Do you have any idea how many Best Pizza in Brooklyn blog entries, magazine articles, etc there are? So, most importantly, I am giving you readers the website for the new Williamsburg pizza joint here.

Anyone locally, particularly Greenpoint people will want to have the number handy. Not that there aren’t pizza places that rival it – the gourmet options of Paulie Gee’s and Forninos for example – but Best, which falls someplace in between gourmet and classic thin New York slices, delivers! Yes, even to Greenpoint! And while the pie we got was a touch cold, I am thankful. The crust and cheese on our plain pie was delicious with my only complaint being that there was a bit too much of an oregano taste for me. Next time I’ll add some anchovies.

Recently opened in the old Brooklyn Star space (which I never got a chance to try) and opened by Brooklyn Star and Roberta’s owners, the new place is sure to be a hit with anyone with an urge for a thin crust wood fired alternative to the yummy but greasy Anna Maria’s. Is it truly the “best pizza”? Well,  I am not sure I’d go that far – but I am willing to give it some time.

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Posted on November 14, 2010

Laughs »P I Z Z A

Slowed Down Olsen Twins

Thanks to Steve, of Team Assignment for linking to this awesome, slowed down version of an Olsen Twins ode to pizza. It’s the latest in slowed down pre teen pop (see Bieber slowed down 800 percent) that results in something way more amazing than the straight to VHS song could ever dream to aspire to. I think Biz Markie should cover this.

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Posted on October 5, 2010

Restaurants »John’s Pizzeria of Bleecker Street

278 Bleecker St

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fervent lover of the high end pizza craze that’s given us the likes of Fornino, L’asso and Paulie Gee’s but lately – let’s just blame pregnancy hormones like I do for everything else – I’ve been craving the classic, greasy, thin crust type that one can count on finding in nearly any NYC neighborhood.

John’s Pizzeria of Bleecker Street fit the bill perfectly. One of many that claim to be famous and considered the ultimate in classic New York Style pizza, it’s probably the only one that has Louie Anderson on its wall (when I saw that in our booth, I knew things were going to be great) and has its praises sung by pizza connoisseur, Vanilla Ice (“Keep makin the ‘dope’ pizza”).

The ambiance is wood paneled family style perfection and the serve one really, really satisfying pie – just greasy enough, with the perfect balance of sauce to cheese and a slightly charred but never crunchy crust. There are no slices here, just full pies, so bring your appetite like we did when we split a medium – half sausage for Jim, half anchovy for me. Such an excellent way to indulge on a budget when you are ravenous. Plus, you don’t have to compromise on toppings.

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Posted on September 5, 2010

Restaurants »Paulie Gee’s

60 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY

Even though I have heartily enjoyed the pizzas at Paulie Gee’s before, it’s taken me a while to bring this post to you about the most welcome neighborhood addition because i kept forgetting to take photos. You would too with such alluring daily specials to choose from as well as a mouth watering every day menu. We recently shared several pies including the Marianna (large chunks of garlic, almost no cheese), the Delboy (the most high end pepperoni pizza you’ll find), the tasty Spectacle (with speck and red onions) and two of the chalk board specials: The Moby Grape (which is a salty, grape tomato crowd favorite and should be added to the permanent menu) and the off the wall but surprisingly balanced Cherry Jones ( that indeed features dried bing cherries with cheeses and prosciutto).

New Jersey pizza master Paulie Gee set up, to great foodie excitement, in the old Paloma space which you’ll find barely recognizable. Where once was skylights and pale colors and airiness, now stands cozy, almost farm like woods, copper, faded tin, and dim lighting. Also noticeably different, a huge wood stove for making all those delicious pies, which Paulie overlooks himself every night I’ve been there. He takes so much care with his pizzas he even personally brought over the Moby Grape that was slightly charred to make sure we were OK with it and offered a new one if we weren’t.

On previous visits we got the decadent and gooey pear and nutella dessert pie which is worth saving room for if you can forgo gorging on the savories pies (not an easy task).

For now, they are awaiting a licence to serve wine and beer (which only makes the bill shockingly reasonable currently – since i can;t drink now anyways, this arrangement is fine with me) and doesn’t open lunches or deliver (these arrangements leave me less happy). But i expect that might change as they get settle into their role as the neighborhood’s premier spot for pizza.

Click here for the rest of Paulie Gee’s

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Posted on May 2, 2010

Restaurants »Mozza

6602 Melrose Avenue

At about ten to noon (on weekends) the line starts forming outside the Mario Batali pizzeria, Mozza; this is exactly where you should hope to find yourself if you haven’t booked ahead as all the reservable tables will be booked. Ideally it’s where you should find yourself with a small party since the limited stool seats offer an amazing up close and personal view of the pizza-making which runs like a well oiled machine from the dough forming, to the topping adding, to the baking and slicing.

The menu was extensive and we decided to split the famous squash blossom with tomatoes and burrata, the classic Margherita and the Stracchino which had artichokes, lemons and olives and was – by a slim margin in a tough contest – my favorite of the bunch.

Of course, I couldn’t resist starting off the pizza feast with the brussel sprouts. I just can’t get enough of those little greens lately, especially now that restaurants are frequently serving them in so many delicious ways (locally, try Anella’s lemony delights). At Mozza they’re coated in prosciutto breadcrumbs… yum!

We also managed, due to the surprising lightness of the dough (or just because we’re gluttons), to enjoy a dessert of butterscotch pudding with salt and a pinenut cookie. Batali has done good again, this time in sunny California.

Click here for the rest of Mozza

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Posted on March 14, 2010

Restaurants »Totonno’s

totonno's462 2nd Ave

Totonno’s is one of those weird New York restaurants in a weird New York block that makes you feel like you could be almost anywhere in the United States – it’s generic, but kind of comforting too. The table cloths are checkered and a wee bit worn, the TVs are glowing (oddly with ads for their own restaurant), and the Bud Light is flowing.

The pizza, a large margarita, was simple and yummy. While pizza has had somewhat of another renaissance with more sophisticated pies in the past few years, Totonno’s still has a place in the list of ones to try with its crunchy crust and chewy, minimal middle. Now you can enjoy the fresh mozzarella and cheesy goodness in the glow of Christmas and Hanukkah lights that adorn the walls.

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Posted on December 20, 2009

Restaurants »La Bella Mariella II (Worst Restaurant)

This is a truly heartbreaking story. Once, not too long ago, a miraculous thing happened – an ugly menu for a pizza joint called Vinnie Vella's (adorned with an illustration that practically begged for low expectations) arrived on our doorstep and, surprisingly enough, their 'Grandma's Pie' (fresh ingredients atop a perfectly thin/thick crust) turned out to be absolutely delicious. Furthermore, VV's actually delivered to our neighborhood (I'll never forgive you for forsaking Greenpoint, Fornino).

Then one day we called up (the number was actually in Jim's phone – no longer) and ordered the usual. The place had a different name, but they assured us the menu was the same; we had no idea to what degree our lives were about the change for the worse. The delivery was late, we were starving, but what was in the box – ugh – we couldn't even bring ourselves to try more than half a slice each.

Nice job La Bella Mariella II, you ruined a beautiful thing with your gloppy cheap cheese and overly sweet canned tomato sauce you try to pass off as belonging on a pizza (PS: the photos on their site are totally inaccurate). I'm truly ashamed to admit it, but we actually threw away almost an entire pizza.

You will never be forgiven and I hope you perish the way of Better Fellas (the short lived shop that set up in the same location between Vinnie Vella's and Bella Mariella II).

Souen is really lucky, by the way, that I was so crushed by this pizza shop debacle and spared them the wrath of a lengthy tirade because their vegan dirt food made me sad while I was eating it and mad to be paying obscene amounts for it.

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Posted on November 9, 2009