Test-Fire No. 1 at Emily

We didn’t know IF these pizzas would work in a wood-fired oven. I am cautiously optimistic when I say I think they did very well. Here they are in the order they were cooked.

#weeklypizzalunch: The Nonna at Tufino in Astoria

Tufino is one of the few places in NYC making naturally leavened wood-fired pizza. I love Tufino, but I’m also a bit jealous. For years I’ve been saying that Astoria could use a good wood-oven joint. I’d even secretly thought of opening one myself. But, well, look what happens when you don’t act on your … Read more

Pizza Lunch: My Pie Pizzeria

[via Instagram] Ate here with one of my longest longtime friends, the artist Justin Baldwin. This place is a Roman-style pizza joint. They have a connection to Gabriele Bonci (of Rome’s famed Pizzarium)—either they’re friends with him or studied under him or what not. Good stuff. This place replaced a branch of No. 28’s Roman … Read more

Pizza Lunch: Pizzetteria Brunetti opens location in Greenwich Village NYC

From left: the San Gennaro (tomato sauce, onion, peppers, ricotta) and the pizzeria's signature Vongole pizza (a white clam pie).
From left: the San Gennaro (tomato sauce, onion, peppers, ricotta) and the pizzeria’s signature Vongole pizza (a white clam pie).

New Yorkers are known for leaving the city in summer to visit the Hamptons. Here is a case of a Hamptonite visiting, and settling in, New York City.

Pizzetteria Brunetti NYC is the Greenwich Village outpost of the original Westhampton Beach–based Neapolitan pizzeria that my wife and I visited in May 2011.

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Pizza Lunch: Franny’s Brooklyn

two pizzas from franny's brooklyn pizzeria
From left: Franny’s justifiably famous clam pie, and a pizza with squash blossoms, zucchini, anchovy, and cherry tomatoes (which was a bit salty for my favor).

Franny’s was an immediate success when it first opened on Brooklyn’s Flatbush Avenue in April 2004. So much so that there were notoriously long waits for its then dinner-only service. The restaurant eventually started lunch service and at some point expanded seating by opening its garden. Not even all those moves did the trick, and the place moved to more spacious digs earlier this year.

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Pizza Lunch: Don Antonio by Starita

I haven’t been to Don Antonio by Starita in a few months and certainly not since I’ve been working at Paulie Gee’s. So when I had the chance to meet a longtime friend/former coworker there, I jumped at it like Evel Knievel jumps rope. I wanted to see if I had developed a keener palate or had more finely tuned my pizza sensors.

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Pizza Lunch: Pizza By Cer Té

Pizza By Cer Té is about a block away from my doctor’s office. So while I don’t like having occasion to visit my GP, I do like the consolation prize of a pizza lunch here. On Friday I arrived late at Pizza By Cer Té and the selection was limited so I was forced to finally try the Margherita pizza. I generally avoid “Margherita” pizza at New York–style pizzerias, since a typical slice joint rarely does them justice. But PBCT’s Margherita slice this day was palatable. It was quite good, and the cheese was still a bit creamy rather than rubbery and tough as is usually the case.