#87 Gruppo Thin Crust

February 14th, 2018

Manhattan, NYC

We’re all for Valentine’s Day celebrations, but we don’t like to deal with the whole finding reservations/fancy dinner thing. Usually, we end up at home with take out, watching something on TV. This year, we decided to go out for dinner but we wanted to keep it simple. We ended up stopping by a new addition to the 2017 Best Pizza list, Gruppo.  It was the only pizza place in NYC on the new list that we hadn’t yet been to.

We wanted to avoid any Valentine’s Day rush, so we went for an early dinner.  We ended up ordering two personal sized pizzas, the Shroomtown, which is what the Daily Meal recommended, and the Giordino. We both felt we needed some veggies after all of the chocolate that we had been eating all day. We also tried the Bruschetta appetizer.

The app was really good. It was served on a crispier flatbread, just like the pizza crust, but topped with pesto and a huge piles of fresh tomatoes. We recommend it and we didn’t really miss the thick bread that’s usually served with Bruschetta. We were glad to still have plenty of room for pizza.

The pizzas were good, too. The crust is so thin here, almost like a cracker. We really like a thin crust sometimes because we don’t leave feeling so full. The mushrooms were flavored so well on the Shroomtown, we both loved them. And the crust, while thin, really holds up to the toppings. At the same time, we both agreed that a thin crust makes a pizza harder to stand out in the crowd of NYC pizza. When confronted with the massive amount of pizza in NYC, it would be hard to justify going to one of these thin crust places.

Also, we were wondering why Gruppo made the list instead of the other restaurants in the chain: Tappo or Spunto (both of which we’ve been to), or Posto or Vezzo. They all taste identical to us. Actually, Tappo and Spunto both have a cuter atmosphere, in our opinion. I’m not sure why the owners couldn’t just pick one name and go with it – instead they have five different websites! We actually didn’t realize they were all the same until we saw the logo for Gruppo in the window. And then saw the menu, which is identical (as far as we can tell). We actually had the Shroomtown at Tappo late last year.

In any case, if you’re in the mood for thin crust pizza, these places are great. It’s nice to switch it up sometimes. We’d maybe go back, but probably to Spunto or Tappo, which are both closer to our offices (and to the subway).

To visit:

Gruppo Thin Crust
98 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Lately around NYC…

We’re doing something a bit different today and interrupting our stories from our Epic Pizza Roadtrip last year. Although we haven’t been flying around the country for pizza this summer, we’ve been exploring our hometown of NYC, and all of the amazing pizza that it has to offer. So, we thought we’d give you a look in more detail at the pizzas we have been tasting the last couple of months.

June 28th
Farinella Bakery, Manhattan

We decided to check out Farinella Bakery after hearing a recommendation from my cousin, who lives nearby. We went to the location in East Midtown, since we didn’t feel like hiking all the way up the Upper East Side. This was Eric’s first time trying this Roman-style of pizza (I had tried this in Stockholm). The pizzas are called “palams”, and you can order them whole or by the slice. We decided to order a variety of slices. Our favorite was the Caprese and the Felice, which had burrata, arugula, and parmesean. The slices are a bit pricey, but they are delicious.

July 5th
NY Pizza Suprema, Manhattan

Where has this slice joint been hiding all of our lives and why isn’t it on the Daily Meal list? Please, can someone answer that question? I walked by this place every week on my walk from PennStation and never noticed it (which may be because I walked by at 6 am, when there was no line out the door). Anyway, we finally made it. We tried the Margherita, an upside down, and a marinara slice. We say it is worth fighting the Penn Station crowds at the end of the day to get some slices here. There will be a line, but it moves fast!

July 26th
Tappo, Manhattan

We wanted to switch it up one day and headed up to Tappo. This place was PACKED for lunch. These pizzas have seriously thin crusts, almost like a cracker. It was a nice, light lunch, but the personal sized pizzas wouldn’t have been enough for us for dinner. We also had an order of the bruschetta. We tried the ‘shroomtown pizza and also a Formaggio Blanco with arugula. You really should make sure you like mushrooms before you get the ‘shroomtown.

It’s located in prime location for a business lunch rush, and they have great lunch specials, but if thin crust is your thing, this place should be on your list.

July 29th
Pizza Barn, Yonkers

One Saturday, we were going to head to Philly but our plans changed last minute. We decided to drive up into Yonkers to Pizza Barn, home of the “super slice”, which is just over 2 feet long. One “super slice” costs $12, and it was PLENTY to feed both of us.  They actually cut the slice into smaller “slices” for you.

We kind of wished that they hadn’t cut it at all because it would have been fun to eat uncut. In full disclosure: this isn’t a real “slice” of pizza. They make it on a baking sheet, one “slice” at a time. It has a full crust around it when they bake it, but then they cut the side crusts off to shape it into a “slice”. But don’t worry – we asked, and they use the discarded crust for breadcrumbs.

August 2nd, 2017
Don Antonio, Manhattan

Don Antonio is operated by the same chef and owner of Kesté, and we could see the similarities between the two Neapolitan pizzas. Don Antonio is located up in Midtown, and we were worried about the crowds when we went in for dinner one night after work, especially since the restaurant is tiny. We luckily grabbed seats at the bar. We tried the Margherita here, and one of the Rachetta, which is part pizza-part calzone, but we didn’t get to try the fried pizza. We liked the hint of salt on the crust. Don’t try to go here with a crowd, it is very tight inside.

Let us know if we haven’t made it to your favorite NYC pizza yet! We’ve got a list going and are always looking for some new options!