Lombardi's
32 Spring St
New York, NY 10012-4173
(212) 941-7994
Cross Street: Corner of Spring and Mott Street (the number 6 subway line is only a block away)
Lazzara’s Pizza Café
221 W 38th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves (212-944-7792)
If your grandma made pizzas—you don’t see many female pie makers even today—they might look something like the ones at this Garment District gem. The superthin crusts are rectangular and have crisp raised edges, with ample char and some nuttiness. Each slice is covered with delicious, tangy sauce and a perfect square of melted mozzarella. Those in the know order the plain pie and try to snag an extra-crunchy corner slice before anyone else does.
Nick’s Pizza
108-26 Ascan Ave between Austin and Burns Sts, Forest Hills, Queens (718-263-1126)
Both the pizza and the place are pristine and inviting. Diners sit in green booths under a pressed-tin ceiling, surrounded by black-and-white photos of old Forest Hills, waiting patiently until their salvation arrives—on a traditional silver platter. The pizzas are quaint: The small plain cheese pie, a perfect circle, is slathered with a deliciously zesty tomato sauce and covered with melted circles of locally sourced fresh mozzarella and torn basil. The pizza here has made owner Nick Angelis a local hero—at least as long he continues to balance his crusts’ char and soft, light interior.
Totonno’s
1524 Neptune Ave between W 15th and 16th Sts, Coney Island, Brooklyn (718-372-8606)
Prior to opening this modest little pizzeria in 1924, Anthony “Totonno” Pero worked at the original Lombardi’s (before it was sold and moved to its current location)—said to be the first pizza parlor in America. Today, pie makers here make the stuff the same way it has always been made—with fresh dough, Brooklyn-sourced mozzarella, imported Italian canned tomatoes, romano cheese and olive oil. You can watch the pizzaiolo constantly shift the pies inside the coal-fired brick oven, making sure none burn under a hot spot. This creates a consistently terrific char, a slightly fluffy, powdery bottom and a bready, airy rim. The current owners (Louise Ciminieri and Antoinette and Frank Balzano) have launched spin-offs in Kips Bay, on the Upper East Side and in Yonkers, but none compare to the original
Joe’s
7 Carmine St between Bleecker St and Sixth Ave (212-366-1182)
Most of the best old-school pizza joints sell by the pie only—no slices. Joe’s is that rare exception: It’s a haven for thin-crusted, crunchy slices, and it doesn’t load on too much cheese or serve reheated gunk (the kitchen goes through pizzas as fast as it makes them, anyway). Owner Pino Pozzuoli prepares sauce every six hours from fresh tomatoes, adds mozzarella (he’ll put fresh mozzarella on a slice if you want it) and bakes the pies in a 1960s oven that produces savory flavors only an oven that old can. Folks line up to get inside the cramped space—only a few stools and high tables—and often end up finishing their slices before they’ve had a chance to exit. Boozers, take note: It’s open until 4am (5am on weekends)
Una Pizza Napoletana
349 E 12th St between First and Second Aves (212-477-9950)
Una Pizza doesn’t take reservations, but pizza fans happily line up outside for as long as an hour—in a neighborhood full of slice joints—for owner Anthony Mangieri’s pies. This purist uses only the best ingredients (dough made of stone-ground wheat berries mixed with Sicilian sea salt, tomatoes from San Marzano, extra-virgin olive oil from Southern Italy and buffalo mozzarella from Naples), cooked in a wood-burning brick oven. The resulting pizza is thin, slightly chewy, lightly charred and crunchy at the outer edge—with a bit of softness at the center of the pie. With each bite, you taste a perfectly balanced combination of nutty olive oil, sweetly acidic tomatoes, pungent basil and mild, creamy mozzarella. Come early; pies are served until 11pm, or until the dough runs out, whichever comes first