square slice | Barb and Eric's Pizza Adventures

September 27th, 2018

Manhattan, NYC

Every year, there’s a new slice shop (or two) in NYC that make it on the list. We could have guessed that Mama’s TOO would have been the new addition this year, which is why we went to it LAST year to try it out.

Mama’s TOO serves squares and regular slices. It’s maybe most famous for it’s pepperoni square, which is a mix between a Sicilian slice and a Roman al taglio slice, with a crunch Detroit-style-like cheesy edge. It’s also probably most famous for it’s crust, which is much thinner than a Sicilian or Detroit style slice. The owner, Frank Tuttolomondo, took his favorite parts of other styles of pizza and combined them to make his own take on a slice.

We tried a few slices, including the vodka slice, the bruschetta, a sausage and pepper, and a slice of the four cheese. Most of their toppings are made in house. All were excellent, and lived up to the hype.

The slice we had may have been a little charred, but we don’t usually mind a little burnt edge on our pizza.

Pete Wells at the NYT gave Mama’s TOO one star, ranking it up with other sit-down pizzerias in NYC. We think it’s worth a trip to the Upper West Side, and it’s a trip that we need to do again soon.

To visit:

Mama's TOO
2750 Broadway
New York, NY 10025

June 22, 2017

Brooklyn, NY

Last week we hit the last stop in NYC from the 2016 Daily Meal list, L&B Spumoni Gardens. We had been putting a visit here off because 1.) it was the last place on the list in New York and 2.) it is ALL the way out into Brooklyn and not the easiest or shortest subway ride.

The pizza here is different than other slices of pizza in NYC. Sure, they have regular “round” slices, and we tried a couple of those. But that isn’t why you come here. You come for the “square”. And maybe also for the ice cream.

For these squares, the sauce goes on top of the cheese. The crust is thick like a Sicilian should be, and has a nice crunch to the edges and the bottom. We got lucky and they were just taking a new tray of slices out of the oven when we walked up, so ours were piping hot and delicious.

The regular slices were also good. We wouldn’t rave about them, but if a Sicilian slice isn’t your thing, you won’t go wrong by ordering a regular cheese slice here. The “round” slices were a bit smaller than a slice from a generic NY slice shop and they were on the thinner side, but had a good sauce:cheese ratio.

You probably know by now that we love a good, saucy pizza slice, and that is exactly what L&B gave us. We would rank this one higher than #98, but we are glad that it made it on to the 2016 list because it is known as a NYC classic. You really should hike all the way out on the N to Bensonhurst to try it. Although, if you are heading all the way out in that direction, you may as well go one stop further to hit Totonno’s in Coney Island. But then you should stop back here for ice cream on your way home, because the creamsicle soft serve is awesome!

This is very close to being our favorite square slice, but we think that Miccuci’s Grocery in Portland, ME still is in the lead for that one.

PS: Does everyone else know what a “spumoni” is? We didn’t, so we googled it. They also serve spumoni here (in case you couldn’t tell by the name). We’ll have to check that out next time.

To visit:

L&B Spumoni Gardens
2725 86th St
Brooklyn, NY 11223

Tag: square slice

#39 Mama’s TOO!

#98 L&B Spumoni Gardens