#96 Zoli’s NY Pizza

December 1, 2018

Addison, TX

Back at the end of October, I traveled to Atlanta, GA for a work trip. If you remember, I took a late-night ride up north of the city to go to a pizza place on the list, O4W.  It was only fair that when Eric went to Austin, TX for a work trip, he traveled up to try one of the pizza places on the list, too. The only difference was that his trip was a bit of a longer drive – a couple of hours.

Zoli’s NY Pizza is a new addition to the 2018 list, but I talked about it in this post. It wasn’t a huge surprise for us to see it on the list, as we had already heard good things about it. Whereas Cane Rosso is entirely authentic Neapolitan, Zoli’s is everything but. It sells square pies and round pies, as well as sandwiches, salads, and pastas.

We understood a few of the references on the pizza menu and thought they were very clever. For example, there is the “Pizza Loves Emily”, which is topped with honey and roasted mushrooms. There’s Bovino’s buffalo chicken, a nod to Arthur Bovino and his love of the city of Buffalo (and their pizza). Eric ended up ordering the “Lil Troy”, which was topped with mozzarella, vodka sauce, mini meatballs, straciatella, cherry peppers, and garlic breadcrumbs. He also ordered a “Spangler”, or a plain classic cheese round pie to bring home for me!

These pies were great, even when reheated the next day after a flight across the country. The square pie was thicker than a grandma slice, but thinner than a Sicilian. If you order this specific pie, be warned that the cherry peppers are HOT.

The cheese pizza also was good, topped with a sprinkling of fresh basil that would definitely have tasted better fresh, but wasn’t bad reheated.

Speaking of pizza reheating, we finally have come around to the fact that the best way to reheat pizza is on the stove. It definitely takes a little more time, but when your husband carries pizza in his carry on halfway across the US, it’s worth the extra few minutes.

To visit:

Zoli’s NY Pizza
14910 Midway Rd
Addison, TX 75001

#95 Joe Squared

November 4th, 2018

Baltimore, MD

We drove down to Savannah, GA, for the weekend last month. Were we very ambitious to attempt a 13+ hour drive with our not-quite-6-month old? Probably. But I was running a marathon, and we honestly had no idea if driving or flying would be easier. So, we ended up driving. Luckily, we were able to break down the drive to Savannah into two parts and stay overnight with some friends around Washington, D.C. We didn’t have the option on the drive back, so at 4 am Sunday morning (thank you, daylight savings time for the extra hour of sleep!) we were on the road for a long journey back to NJ.

Whenever we take a drive these days, we try to figure out how we can work in a pizza stop. We thought about taking a detour over to Charleston on the way down to Savannah, but then we decided that would be a bit too far out of our way, and we were already worried about pushing our luck with James in the car seat. We realized that we’d be passing through Baltimore right around early-dinner time on the way back home, and right around the time that James (and we) would need a break, so we decided to make a stop for pizza at Joe Squared.

We split a 14″ square pizza here, which was generously topped with tomato sauce, cheese, mushrooms, and ricotta. Generally mushroom pizzas like this don’t have tomato sauce, but we really liked the addition of the sauce to this pie. The crust is a thin sourdough, with the starter brought back from Italy, and the pizza is coal-fired. We thought it was great and really unlike any other pizza that we’ve had recently. After eating so much pizza, it’s nice to try something different that really works.

The restaurant itself is really unique. We didn’t realize it when we were there, but they also host comedy and music events in their basement space. The staff was also really friendly and James was flirting with everyone. He also tried several times to have a bite of our pizza, but he had to be satisfied with some milk instead. Soon enough, James, we’ll let you try pizza.

After a good hour-long break for dinner, we were back in the car and driving the rest of the way back to NJ. James slept the rest of the way while we nibbled on the couple of slices that we had taken in a to-go box.

I’m not sure which day of this weekend was more exhausting – running a PR in the actual marathon on Saturday, or keeping a baby happy in the car for 16 hours (another type of marathon) on Sunday.

To visit:
Joe Squared
33 W North Ave
Baltimore, MD 21201

#96 O4W

October 24th, 2018

Duluth, GA

A recent work trip took me down to Atlanta. I really didn’t have too much time to explore in my schedule, but I got to my hotel around 7:30 on Wednesday evening, which left me enough time to head out for pizza. My first thought was to go to Antico, which would have been a 25 minute car ride. But instead, I decided to go for a 35 minute car ride North to Duluth, to O4W.

I am so glad that I did. I didn’t end up getting there until a little after 8:30 pm, which meant that I was almost the only one in the restaurant. I pretty much had my pick of table. It was a little chilly out (for Atlanta, anyways), or else I maybe would have considered sitting outside. While O4W also serves slices, they only serve full pies for dinner. So, a full pie it was. I didn’t take long to decide what to order – the Grandma pie came highly recommended.

It felt like it took forever for the pie to come out, but it really was probably only 15 minutes.  I hadn’t had dinner on the plane, so I was definitely hungry.

O4W makes “New Jersey” style pizza. I’m not sure what qualifies it as “New Jersey” style, because the only style that I know that is typical of NJ is Trenton-style tomato pie. Their Grandma pie was more like what I would consider a NY-style Grandma pie. I guess that they call it “New Jersey” style because the founder was trained in NJ.

Whatever style it is, the Grandma pizza is delicious. It was absolutely worth the long car ride, skipping dinner on the plane, and eating by myself in the restaurant right before closing. It’s topped with a good amount of homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, and plenty of fresh basil, all on a thin, not-too-crispy square crust. I loved that it wasn’t covered in too much cheese.

I didn’t eat the whole pizza (although, I probably could have). I brought some back to my hotel and then even managed to save a few slices to take home to Eric on the plane two days later. While O4W made the list in 2016 and 2017, it was left off the list last year. We’ll be voting for it again next year.

To visit:

O4W Pizza
3117 Main St
Duluth, GA 30096

#79 L’industrie Pizzeria

October 20th, 2018

Brooklyn, NY

We had a free Saturday and so we decided to take a drive into Brooklyn to try one of the new additions to the 2018 Daily Meal list, L’industrie Pizza. It’s pretty rare that a pizza place that has only been open since 2015 makes it on to the list, but L’industrie has gotten a lot of press since it’s opening, being listed on the “Best New Pizza Places” in NYC for last year.

L’industrie Pizza is based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, so we were able to drive there and find parking relatively easily. It was a much smaller shop than we were expecting – there are a few high seats inside, and a small table out front, but there really isn’t much room to sit down. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be a Saturday afternoon rush, and we found space to sit with James.

The selection for slices here is amazing. You can also order whole pies, but we were glad that they had slices available because it would have been really difficult to pick just one pie to order. They have pre-made red and white slices ready in the window, and then they heat them up and put on whatever additional toppings you’ve requested. It’s kind of a cool way to do it, actually.

We narrowed down the selection to 4 slices that we wanted to try: two white slices – the onion and brie (brie on pizza?!), the fig and goat cheese, and two red slices – the burrata and the spicy salami. It was honestly hard to pick a favorite. The fig and goat cheese was delicious, and who doesn’t love burrata? The slices were also moderately priced (this being Williamsburg, after all).

We imagine that the whole pies here would be even better, since they’d be baked fresh and not reheated.

While doing my background research on L’industrie, I came across this article from Buzzfeed.  It ranks L’industrie as the best pizza place in NYC. My conclusion: you can’t trust Yelp when looking for the best pizza. Yes, L’industrie is a great slice, but is it the best in NY? No way. Also, we have not heard of ONE of the other places on that list.

To visit:

L’Industrie Pizza
254 South 2nd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

#81 A Mano

September 1st, 2018

Ridgewood, NJ

I grew up in Ridgewood, NJ, but I had never heard of A Mano pizza until this past year. Of course, the pizzeria opened in 2007, which was about ten years after I moved away, and many years before we became truly pizza-obsessed. The pizza at A Mano has always been real, authentic, Neapolitan pizza. We took a trip up to Ridgewood a few weeks ago to try it with James, before this year’s list was even announced.

As I said, this is true Neapolitan pizza. When it opened, it was one of only three pizza places in the US that is certified by the VPN AND the APN. The pizzaiolo here back in 2007 was Robert Caporuscio, which, if you are familiar with the pizza world, should mean something to you. (If it doesn’t, he’s the man behind one of our other favorite Neapolitan pizzas in NYC, Kesté). He’s also the president of the APN. I’m taking a wild guess that the other pizzerias currently holding both certifications are his more recent ventures: Kesté and Don Antonio, although I couldn’t find stats on this.

If you are interested in reading about the difference between the VPN and the APN, this is a good article. Basically, to become APN certified, you have to spend many days at Robert’s side (or at the side of another APN board member), learning the “true Italian” standards of making pizza. He’s basically said that he makes the best pizza in the US, and so this is the only way to ensure quality. I mean, I agree that his pizzas are amazing, but having a special certification to say that you’ve learned from him and worked along side him seems a little ego-centric, to me.

But anyway, back to A Mano. We ordered a Margherita pizza, and one with pistachio and pesto. They were both bigger than a usual Neapolitan pie, but we were not complaining. The pizzas were excellent. We wondered how this place hadn’t made it on to the list. Just look at how James stares at it!

We were very pleased to see A Mano make the new 2018 list. It ranks in at #81, probably because it is located in the NYC ‘burbs of North Jersey, and a lot of people probably haven’t made the trip out to try it. We think it should climb the ranks next year.

Now that it’s officially on the list, we will have to go back! We love it when a new place in NJ makes the list – we don’t have to travel so far to enjoy it.

To visit:

A Mano
24 Franklin Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
 

#69 Little Vincent’s

August 4th, 2018

Huntington, NY

We were heading out to Long Island for a BBQ one weekend last August. It was going to be the first time that James met most of my family! The three of us had just driven to Long Island from Boston,  and we needed a quick break before we went to the BBQ. Anyone who has just driven in traffic for 5 hours with a 2 1/2 month old baby can probably relate. Sometimes a pit stop is necessary.

Little Vincent’s was about 15 minutes from where our BBQ was, so it was the perfect place to stop. We were pretty hungry after sitting in the car in traffic for so long. Even though we were planning on eating at the BBQ, we didn’t think it would hurt to have a couple of slices.

Little Vincent’s is most famous for its “cold cheese” slice, so that’s what we ordered. Basically, it is a slice of cheese, with cold shredded mozzarella generously sprinkled over the top. Or, you can order extra cheese in a cup on the side, like the lady at the table next to us did.

The slice itself was pretty basic. It wasn’t a slice that we’d particularly crave on its own, although it wasn’t bad. The crust, sauce, and cheese were all decent. We weren’t sure how we felt about the cold cheese, in the end.  Cold mozzarella is delicious, of course. And we did like the temperature and texture variety when eating the slice. Eric ended up thinking that it was a good addition, whereas I thought that cheese on pizza is better off melted.

Apparently, the cold cheese slice started when kids came home to Long Island from college in upstate NY, where there was a pizza place called Tino’s that had been serving cold cheese slices since 1985. The (mostly drunk) students upstate loved the cold cheese because they could eat it quickly without burning the roof of their mouth. Apparently, they didn’t want to wait another minute to eat at 2 am.

Little Vincent’s is also open late, and we can see why this pizza slice would appeal to the “late night” crowd.  After a few drinks, I think everyone can agree the more cheese, the better.

James couldn’t get enough of looking at this pizza, either.

To visit:

Little Vincent’s
329 New York Ave (Main St)
Huntington, NY 11743

101 Best Pizza Places 2018

It’s that time of year again. We look forward to the list coming out every year, and now even more so since we get to vote on it! This year, over 1000 pizza places were considered, narrowed down to the top 101. We were two of 59 “pizza experts” who voted this year.

So, the results.

101 Best Pizza Places (2018) : places in bold are new to the list in 2018!

#101 Micucci’s Grocery, Portland, ME
#100 La Nova, Buffalo, NY
#99 Inferno Pizzeria, Darnestown, MD
#98 Pizza Wagon, Brooklyn
#97 Pizza Rock, Las Vegas
#96 Zoli’s NY Pizza, Addison, TX
#95 Joe Squared, Baltimore, MD
#94 Luke’s Craft Pizza, Charleston, SC
#93 Jay’s Artisan Pizza, Buffalo, NY
#92 Timber Pizza Company, Washington, D.C.
#91 Margherita Pizza, Queens
#90 Cloverleaf Pizza, Macomb, MI
#89 Dino’s Tomato Pie, Seattle
#88 Il Forno, San Antonio, TX
#87 Pizzeria Bebu, Chicago
#86 Margot’s, Brooklyn
#85 Slab, Portland, ME
#84 Bocce Club Pizza, Buffalo, NY
#83 Lorenzos’ and Sons, Philadelphia
#82 Bruno’s, Clifton, NJ
#81 A Mano Pizza, Ridgewood, NJ
#80 Coalhouse Pizza, Stamford, CT
#79 L’industrie Pizzeria, Brooklyn
#78 La Piazza, Merrick, NY
#77 Metro Pizza, Las Vegas
#76 Delancey, Seattle
#75 Pizza Hacker, San Francisco
#74 Del Popolo, San Francisco
#73 Arizmendi Bakery, San Francisco
#72 Zaffiro’s, Milwaukee, WI
#71 Pizzeria Lola, Minneapolis, MN
#70 Vito & Nicks, Chicago
#69 Monza, Charleston, SC
#68 EVO, Charleston, SC
#67 Joe Santucci’s Square Pizza, Philadelphia
#66 BAR, New Haven
#65 King Umberto’s, Elmont, NY
#64 Roseland Apizza, Derby, CT
#63 Bonci, Chicago
#62 Vito’s Pizza, Los Angeles
#61 Jon & Vinny’s, Los Angeles
#60 The Original Tacconelli’s Pizza, Philadelphia
#59 Pizzeria Vetri, Philadelphia
#58 Zuppardi’s, West Haven, CT
#57 Ernie’s Pizzeria, New Haven
#56 Galleria Umberto, Boston
#55 Cane Rosso, Dallas, TX
#54 Flour + Water, San Francisco
#53 Ken’s Artisan Pizza, Portland, OR
#52 Loui’s Pizza, Detroit
#51 Salvatore’s Coal Oven Pizza, Port Washington, NY
#50 Pizano’s, Chicago
#49 Papa’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville, NJ
#48 Serious Pie, Seattle
#47 The Cheese Board, Berkeley, CA
#46 Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco
#45 Via 313, Austin, TX
#44 Pizza Brain, Philadelphia
#43 Keste, NY
#42 Juliana’s Pizza, Brooklyn
#41 Star Tavern Pizza, West Orange, NJ
#40 Santarpio’s, Boston
#39 New Park Pizza, Howard Beach, NY
#38 Sofia Pizza Shoppe, NYC
#37 DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, Robbinsville, NJ
#36 Al Forno, Providence, RI
#35 Louie and Ernie’s, Bronx
#34 Scarr’s, NYC
#33 Rubirosa, NYC
#32 Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza, Elizabeth, NJ
#31 Emily, Brooklyn
#30 Umberto’s Pizza and Restaurant, New Hyde Park, NY
#29 Speedy Romeo, Brooklyn
#28 Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, San Fransisco
#27 Emmy Squared, Brooklyn
#26 Colony Grill, Stamford, CT
#25 Apizza Scholls, Portland, OR
#24 Pequod’s, Chicago
#23 Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
#22 L&B Spumoni Gardens, Brooklyn
#21 Paulie Gee’s, Brooklyn
#20 Motorino, NYC
#19 Roberta’s, Brooklyn
#18 Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
#17 Una Pizza Napoletana, NYC
#16 Lucali, Brooklyn
#15 Buddy’s Pizza, Detroit
#14 Joe & Pat’s, Staten Island
#13 Modern Apizza, New Haven
#12 Sally’s Apizza, New Haven
#11 Patsy’s, NYC
#10 Lombardi’s, NYC
#9 Grimaldi’s, Brooklyn
#8 Prince St Pizza, NYC
#7 Joe’s, NYC
#6 Totonno’s, Brooklyn
#5 Di Fara, Brooklyn
#4 John’s of Bleecker, NYC
#3 Lou Malnati’s, Chicago
#2 Razza Pizza, Jersey City, NJ
#1 Frank Pepe Pizza Napoletana, New Haven

So, there are a lot of new additions this year. Last year there were 18 additions, this year there are  24. It’s a good thing that we have trips planned in 2019 to San Francisco and Washington, DC area. There are a few around NY that we will definitely make it to, and we really do need to plan a trip to Chicago. We’re heading out to Portland, OR next year too, and may need to make a pit stop in Seattle.

Overall, we have 25 pizza places on this list that we haven’t been to yet! There are a few carry-overs from last year’s list that we still haven’t been to (mostly those in Chicago), and we’ve been to a few that are new on this year’s already, so be looking out for those posts!

Ok, now for our analysis. First of all, we are SO EXCITED to see Pepe’s staying strong at the top of the list. We are also very happy that it beat out Razza, because we just weren’t so impressed by the pizza there.

There was a lot of switching around in the top 20 this year but for the most part, the places are the same. Pizza places that were in the top 10 last year (Modern, Keste, Bianco, Lucali, Sally’s) all dropped. We were glad to see Totonno’s and Prince Street break into the top 10, though. We still don’t think that Lou Malnati’s belongs there. And Joe’s is way too high being in the top 10. It’s better off back where it was last year – at #19.

Una Pizza Napoletana has moved from San Francisco back to its original home of NYC. It’s not technically a new addition to the list, and so we’re counting it as a pizza we’ve already had. Although, I am sure that we’ll make it to the new location this year, especially since its move to NYC corresponds with a jump in rank from #43 to #17.

A few other opinions: Emily is DEFINITELY better than Emmy Squared. Micucci’s Grocery’s slab is better than the slab at Slab. We’re glad to see L&B Spumoni Gardens move up on the list. Also glad that the Cheese Board is still hanging strong here. Glad to see Sofia Pizza Shoppe move up – its a great NY slice. And we’re really looking forward to checking out Scarr’s and Pizza Wagon – which have been on our personal lists for a while now. Also, Margot’s is back on the list. We have mixed feelings about this – yes, the pizza is good, but MAN is it hard to get tickets. We aren’t even going to try again this year.

Since almost a quarter of the pizza places on this year’s list are new, it means that a bunch of places from last year were dropped. Which ones? Well, Coalfire Pizza is no longer on the list, and we are SO upset about that. Also missing: Williamsburg Pizza in Brooklyn (one of our favorite NY slices!), Gjelina and Sotto in LA, and Pizzeria Beddia in Philadephia, which unfortunately has closed down. Some of the other classic Deep Dish pizzas in Chicago are left off as well.

So, where should we go first?

 

#48 Galleria Umberto

September 3rd, 2016

Boston, MA

Back in July, when we were visiting Boston and had these great slices for lunch, we also first stopped at Galleria Umberto. The plan was to grab slices at both places because they are both conveniently located right in the North End of Boston. We planned this strategically because Galleria Umberto is only open for lunch, Monday through Saturday, and is closed on Sundays and after 2:30 pm (or whenever they run out of pizza). We planned to get there first thing when they opened to make sure that we got slices.

This was the first time where our plans didn’t quite work out. Galleria Umberto was closed for construction, just for that weekend. We were bummed, since we didn’t have any more plans to come up to Boston together in the near future.

Luckily, Eric planned a guys weekend for the fantasy football draft in September in Boston. He talked one of his friends into grabbing slices at Galleria Umberto early on Saturday morning.

The line often starts before the pizzeria opens around 10:30 am, and it doesn’t let up throughout lunch. Luckily, the pizzas just keep coming out every few minutes so it moves very quickly. Galleria Umberto keeps it simple and only offers one type of pizza – Sicilian.

Their Sicilian slices are really all about the cheese. The pies are baked in large square baking sheets and cut into smaller square slices. The slices may look small, but they are certainly filling. The cheese actually overflows from the pans when the pizzas are taken out of the oven. You will definitely get a slice where the cheese is still hot and oozing down the side of the crust. The cheese also gets those nice burnt bubbles on it – not too dark, though. The crust is a bit lighter than your usual Sicilian slice and isn’t as thick. Honestly, we forget what the sauce was like because the cheese is so overwhelming.

After hearing Eric’s thoughts on the pizza, I knew that I had to go myself and see what it was like. I ended up making a stop there for lunch one weekday when I was in Boston for work. The pizza actually reminded me a bit of the pizza that we had in Buffalo, but maybe just because those pizzas were also heavy on the cheese.

We’d recommend not taking these slices to go. They are the type of slice that would not be as good reheated, so plan to eat in. The restaurant has plenty of space to sit. Make sure to bring cash, since Galleria Umberto is cash-only. And also check to make sure that the restaurant isn’t closed for construction, or the owners aren’t away on vacation (I see right now that the restaurant is closed the month of July this year).

To visit:

Galleria Umberto
289 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113 USA

#65 Home Slice Pizza

August 14th, 2016

Austin, TX

When we finished our dinner at the Backspace, we still had one more pizza place to try in Austin. Since our flight back to NJ was early in the morning, we had our second dinner at Home Slice Pizza.

Home Slice serves New York style pizza, which was a nice change up from the Neapolitan pies that we’d been having around Texas. They serve pizza by the pie or by the slice, and since this was our second dinner, we opted for the latter. We ended up with three slices for a variety: a regular cheese, a spinach and ricotta, and a pepperoni with mushroom.

The slices were definitely NY-style and were just like any slice that we would have gotten walking around Manhattan. Our favorite was probably the spinach and ricotta. Just look at the globs of ricotta on that slice! We usually prefer fresh spinach on our pizzas, but ricotta makes even blanched spinach taste amazing.

Home Slice recently opened a second bigger location in Austin. The original location, on South Congress, is pretty tiny and gets pretty busy. We just grabbed our slices and sat outside at the counter, but we were lucky to even get a spot there. Apparently the new location in the North Loop also serves Sicilian slices. It also has a full bar.

Overall, we were really impressed by the pizza in Texas. We wouldn’t have thought that we could get such good Neapolitan pizza, let alone New York-style and more recently, Detroit-style, pizza so far away from New York or Detroit. It was a really nice surprise!

Also, don’t think that we just came down to Texas and only ate pizza. We also stopped at had donuts (we got the massive Texas-sized donut on our way up to Dallas) and some BBQ before we left. Breakfast tacos were also enjoyed. We were lucky that Austin has such a nice running path along the river. Otherwise, I think we both would have gained a few pounds.

To visit:

Home Slice Pizza
1415 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704

#93 The Backspace

August 14th, 2016

Austin, TX

After our quick drive up to Dallas, we drove back down to Austin to try another pizza place on the list. The Backspace was listed on the 2015 list one spot after Cane Rosso, at #93, so we were excited to directly compare the two pizzas.

The Backspace is Austin’s first Neapolitan-style pizzeria. It opened in 2010, and it also adheres to the VPN guidelines for Neapolitan pizzas with imported “OO” flour and San Marzano tomatoes. Even with all the similarities to Cane Rosso, the two pizzas tasted very different to us.  The difference was mostly in the crust. The crust at the Backspace was more charred from the wood-fired oven, and if you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you know that we like a good char on our crust. It was also a little bit less doughy. Both restaurants served pizzas with really unique and fresh toppings, although the selection is more expansive at Cane Rosso.

We ordered one of the roasted mushroom pizzas here, which was topped with ricotta, capers, and thyme. We loved the generous gobs of ricotta, which paired so nicely with the roasted mushrooms. While we generally aren’t huge fans of salty capers, they complemented the pizza well. We wished that we had room to try more of the pizzas here – the white pizza Bianca looked especially good and also got rave reviews online.

We also noticed (after the fact) that the Backspace was rated on the Daily Meal’s “10 Best Pepperoni Pies in America” list, at #7. So we’ll have to try one of those as well.

The Backspace is a really small, rustic, restaurant. It only seats 30 people and can get pretty crowded on the weekends. We got there early on Sunday when they opened for dinner service, so we didn’t have any issues, but they recommend making a reservation. They also have daily happy hours on the weeknights, which would be good to make note of if you’re in the area. It would be a great place to take a date because it is nice and cozy, with a good wine list. It is also right around the corner from 6th Street, where all the happenings are.

To visit:

The Backspace
507 San Jacinto Blvd
Austin, TX 78701