#83 King Umberto

December 4th, 2016

Elmont, NY

We spent Sunday morning decorating the house for Christmas, and by noon we were getting antsy (OK, I was getting antsy). So we decided to take another unplanned pizza road trip. This time, we picked one of the new 2016 pizza places that was close to NYC, King Umberto. This is not to be confused with Umberto’s in New Hyde Park, or Galleria Umberto in Boston’s North End (both of which we have been to, and will include in future posts). Or any of the other million pizza places named after the Italian king.

.img_20161204_140613695_hdr      img_20161204_140629043

King Umberto is part restaurant/part pizzeria. We only went in the pizzeria, so we can’t comment personally on the other food. But if the pizza is any indication, the rest of the food served is probably pretty good.  We had pretty big appetites from that drive up past Manhattan, through the Bronx, and down the lovely Cross Island Parkway, so we didn’t hold back with the number of slices we ordered. Also, we like to give fair reviews here on 101pizzaplaces.com, so we wanted to try as many different styles as possible.

To start with, we each ordered a veggie slice. The crust on these slices was thick, almost as thick as the Sicilian style slices. Loaded with veggies and a generous portion of cheese on top of the veggies. That slice alone would make a good meal. Then, we had to try the Elmont slice.  The Elmont is a rectanglular Focaccia-style pan pizza topped with garlic, tomato sauce, and homemade fresh and shredded mozzarella. We also tried one of the Grandma slices – the King of Hearts slice: whole wheat crust topped with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and artichoke hearts. To round it all off, we ordered one of the stuffed slices as an afterthought. That was a double crusted pizza filled with mozz, ricotta, broccoli, and spinach. Eric ate most of that one.

img_20161204_140706234       img_20161204_140602841

We have to say that we loved the service here also. It wasn’t super busy and the server at the desk was happy to listen to us debate which slices to order and threw in his own two cents, which was appreciated.

On our way out, we both commented that we wished this place was closer to downtown, because it had a slice selection comparable to the best in NYC, and good prices too. We were happily full as we drove back to NJ.

To visit:

King Umberto
1343 Hempstead Turnpike
Elmont, NY 11003

 

#84 Pizza Brain

November 6, 2016

Philadelphia, PA

We were in Philadelphia this weekend, so we decided to spend our Sunday afternoon eating at the second new pizza place on the 2016 list in Philadelphia, Pizza Brain. When we first started announcing to our Philly friends that we were hitting the best pizza places in the country, Pizza Brain was always mentioned as one of their favorites, but it wasn’t on the 2015 list. 

img_20161106_173114195_hdr       img_20161106_173211670_hdr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally got to bring my mom to lunch, which also meant that we didn’t feel bad ordering two different whole pies here. We opted for the traditional tomato pie (and by traditional, we mean no cheese, just sauce), and then one of the specialty pies, the Wendy Wedgeworth. This one hadarugula, honeyed goat cheese, mozzarella, and sun dried tomatoes. It was also lightly drizzled with some kind of balsamic. While we really liked the tomato pie for its simplicity, the specialty pie stole the show. Eric ate about four pieces.

img_20161106_173244411

Pizza Brain is also the home of the largest collection of pizza memorabilia, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and it is the world’s first pizza museum.  The walls are covered with movie posters and album covers related to pizza, there are pizza-related action figures behind glass cases, and they also have a wide collection of pizza cutting tools. It was great to look around while waiting for our pies.

Also a plus: there is an ice cream store located right next to the seating area of the pizza places, called Little Baby’s Ice Cream.  We’d recommend that you save room for their flavors, because we didn’t (and now regret it).

To visit:

Pizza Brain
2313 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19125

#65 Santucci’s Original Square Pizza

October 15th, 2016

Philadelphia, PA

We were visiting Philadelphia for a housewarming party on Saturday, and so we stopped at Santucci’s Original Square Pizza for a late lunch. This place wasn’t on the 2015 list, but it made it on to the 2016 list at #65. It serves, obviously, square pizza, but in three different sizes. We tried the original, which has a layer of sauce on top of a layer of cheese, and a Veggie Works, both in the “personal” size.

img_20161015_140323666The original location of Santucci’s was on “O” street in Northeast Philadelphia, and was opened in 1959! That location has since been closed, but the children of the Santucci’s have opened a few newer pizza places at different locations. We went to the location in the Italian Market area of the city, which seems to be one of the popular spots.

The pizza stays true to the original pan style of the first Santucci’s, although we have had feedback (from Instagram) that it doesn’t taste exactly the same.

We aren’t complaining, though. We really liked this pizza. The crust wasn’t as thick as a NY Sicilian slice, so it wasn’t as heavy. We have come to really appreciate good sauce, and this pizza had it.

img_20161015_140343585

 

We also loved the chopped veggies on the Veggie Works. Two pizzas was just enough for the two of us, and we had a nice walk through the market afterwards. Next time we will save some room for dessert, though, because they also have a great selection of cookies and baked goods on display when we walked in.

 

img_20161015_140411698            img_20161015_140450050

To visit:

Santucci’s Original Square Pizza
901 S 10th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147