My Staten Island Pizza Journey

[thereuare]

Well, after finally making a trek to Denino's in Staten Island and falling in love with their pizza, i've been hearing stories about "how it doesn't compare to such-and-such a place on SI" or that "it used to be great, but now is only 'ok', and now the GREAT pizza on SI is at ____". Well, i couldn't take it anymore and tonite did what i would call "The Great Pizza Run".

Our original plan was to go to Nunzio's, but as i started to search the internet and read reviews in an attempt to get psyched for great pizza, i heard a lot of great things about a hidden, undiscovered, gem called Lee's Tavern... decisions, decisions!!

Solution: We'll go to Nunzio's and split a pie, and then head to Lee's and split another one!

We make the trip from NJ to Nunzio's and located the place without a problem, but were a bit taken back when we found the place to be empty, there was only one table in the place that had customers seated, and this was at 6:45pm on a Saturday nite! How good could it possibly be if the place wasn't packed, like i'm sure Denino's would be at this hour. We stuck with the basics and had a plain cheese pie. The verdict: good, but it certainly isn't a "destination" pizza place! The crust was the right thickness but lacked flavor and crispiness, the sauce was good, and the cheese was fresh and creamy.... but the whole package didn't blend together. I liked the "no decor" style and the menu painted on the wall, but the pizza was only slightly better than average. We finished the pizza, paid the bill and hoped that our next stop at Lee's Tavern would better.

We drove down the road another mile making a few turns along the way courtesy of mapquest found our way to Lee's Tavern (hard to find as there is no sign outside the building announcing the name). Our hopes were raised as the place was pretty crowded, and we arrived at just the right time as a table was just becoming available from a departing family. I will paraphrase what a few others have said about this place which is entirely true and a perfect description, "It's a real neighborhood place, but you know right away it's NOT your neighborhood." We took our seats and waited for the one waitress in the place to take our order of a few drinks and a large pie, and i knew we'd be in for an even longer wait for our pizza as the place was full, yet only one table had any food in front of them! We waited patiently and finally a large (their description) pie was placed in front of us, and it's a good thing we just ate a pizza at the other place and weren't too hungry because i could have easily eaten this one myself. Their pizza is of a the cracker thin crust variety, ok cheese, and a slightly chunky sause on top of the cheese. Not bad, but once again, nothing great, and certainly not worth the bridge toll to get to.

We proceed to head home and as we get about 3 blocks from Lee's Tavern we see across the street "Goodfella's Pizza, 'Voted Best Pizza in America". We each talk about our level of stuffedness (<--my word) and figure that if it is indeed the best pizza in America we certainly couldn't pass it up, and we better try it now as we're not likely to be returning to the area for the other two places. We walk in and split a bar pie to go which we ended up eating in the car. Although the pie looks good, it's SEVERELY lacking. It tries to be a Patsy Grimaldi type of pizza, but the pie really had NO FLAVOR whatsoever... except for the runny and slightly too spicey tomato sauce glopped on top which reminded me of the NYC chain "Two Boots" (which i'm not a fan of either). I commented to my friend that i don't believe they have the best pizza in America, to which he said he didn't think they had the best pizza in a 5 block radius.

SUMMARY: Staten Island does have some of the best, if not the best, pizza i have ever eaten, but it is only to be found at Denino's, and not at any of these other places that i sometimes hear about that are supposedly "better". Staten Island is not that convenient for me, but Denino's is worth the trip and what i classify as a "destination" pizza place, and worth the hassle to get to. If you find yourself in the area, don't waste your time at any pizza place other than Denino's, as it just isn't worth it.

Next big trip for pizza will be to another NY Island... Coney Island, for my first taste of Tontino's, which i've heard rave reviews about. Worse case scenario is that it's bad, and we'll just have to stop at Denino's on the way back home :)

[La Niña]

You're talking about Totonno's in Coney Island, on Neptune Ave.

Go, yes, but DO NOT MISS DIFARA PIZZA on Avenue J & E. 15th St. in Midwood.

And read the article on pizza on fat-guy.com.

And for the record, I was unimpressed by the pizza at DeNino's.

Next on my list are Joe & Pat's, and Nunzios.

Edited November 25, 2002 by La Niña (log)

[tigerwoman]

I second the DiFara recommendation - but try to go during the week if possible, because the wait on weekends is long and the place is a real hole in the wall. They recently painted it, but not much of an improvement.

Dom is a master pizza maker but it takes time and he has a process.

Best pizza I've had in years - wish it were closer to home.

[thereuare]

Been to DiFara's (twice) and it is indeed good, but i still think i prefer Denino's (it's that crust that does it).

My friend that went on the SI PIzza Journey with me is as much of a pizza guy as i am, so i've promised to take him to DiFara's so that he could try that as well, so i'm certain i'll be back there soon. DiFara's has just a little too much olive oil on it for my tastes, as it makes the cheese slide all over the slice, although i will add that he does have some of the freshest and highest quality ingredients on any slice i've had. I'd also need about 6 of those baby slices he serves to satify my appetite (and at $2+/slice... ouch!) I've also had his square slices which are a bit more filling, but for square i really enjoy the slice at Sac's Pizza in Astoria. (BTW, when i take my friend to DiFara, our gameplan is to take the train there and then take the train to Astoria for a back-to-back comparison).

You should check out our pizza discussion on the NJ board, which covers quite a few NY places as well: NJ Pizza Thread

[La Niña]

With all due respect, I thought the pizza at DeNino's was nearly flavorless.

I've had about 4,678,469 pizza discussions - hey, I grew up in New Haven!

[Suzanne F]

Ah, the power of marketing! GOODFELLA'S is some kind of chain -- I think there's one on St. Marks Place -- so who knows who voted it Best in America?

Not that all chains/franchises are terrible -- the "Little Italy" near me (run by Russians, I think) is at least edible in its simplest version. But any place that bills itself as "Voted the Best [______] in America" is automatically suspect.

[existo]

Hi, first post here.

A few comments::

Denino's--Excellent, try the M.O.R pie. Meatballs Onions Ricotta. Also, try their fried calamari. Maybe the best I have ever had.

L&B Spumoni Gardens-- To get the true experience go on a summer night in July or August, make sure you get a few squares from a steaming hot fresh pie.

Also, someone asked where to find this type of slice in NJ. Well, Spumoni Gardens is now open in Old Bridge on Rte 516. Not as good as Brooklyn, maybe something to do with the water here in NJ, the dough isn't the same,but as close as you're going to get in NJ. Whoever said Palumbo's in Old Bridge is good, must also like Pizza Hut or Dominoes

Totonnos in Coney Island and Grimaldis under the Brooklyn Bridge-- THE best pies you will ever have!! Period.. Try the white pie at Totonnos for an extra treat.

Also in Bklyn, if you're ever in the area of 18th Ave. and would like a coal oven pie try Il Colloseo on 78th St and 18th.

For slices in Bklyn, try DaVincis on 65th and 18th not as good as L&B, but pretty good nonetheless.

In Staten Island, Nunzio's-- Pretty good but nothing special to me. Closed for renovations presently in case anyone was planning on visiting

Goodfella's--I had a bad experience at the Brooklyn location. I'll leave it at that.

Edited December 22, 2002 by existo (log)