nyc pizza

[garys14]

wondering your thoughts on the original patsy's. a group of us willing to go to 117th street prefer it to lombardi's and grimaldi's due to the crust and we think its never mentioned as tops because of its location or service or ambiance.

thanks!

[Jeffrey Steingarten]

Hi Garys14,

I used to love the original Patsy's, though some people found it greasy. But my most recent two tries were disappointing. In Manhattan, the best crust I've had in the past year was at.....John's on Bleeker Street! The topping was, of course, not terrific.

I've tried Grimaldi's again several times but the lines were too long. If it were guaranteed to be Pepi's in New Haven, no line would be too long. But my last Grimaldi's had a somewhat fluffy crust. And Pepi's wasn't a guaranteed Pepi's last time I was there. OUr pizzas were good but slightly on the average side. On that trip we decided that a place called Paul's in West Haven was the best we'd eaten in the past two years. Paul has only one arm and except for his energetic wife, not enough business to hire addiitonal help. But the pizza was nearly perfect! I hear that Paul's has retired within the past 12 months.

Yes, I'm a bit disillusioned with NYC pizza. And I never had illusions about the pizza outside NYC, except for the New Haven version. I hear that that place in Phoenix is very good, but I've never scheduled my travel properly.

Yours,

Jeffrey

[Pan]

Many of us New York eGulleteers consider DiFara's on Av. J in Brooklyn to be the best pizzeria in the 5 boroughs. What do you think of the place?