New York Style Pizza in Seattle area

[Deborah]

Oh yeah, I've heard of that place Really Nice!

I'll keep you guys posted on my quest although I'm not very optimistic that I'll find anything close to what we had in NYC. Sigh.

[chefpeon]

Geez, h?w could ? f?rget that! The name ?f the place is P. ?????™?e??. ?f course, the locals know it as ™. Just look for the Neon sign flashing in the ?arking lot.

Ok, I get it.....you're messin' wit' me.

Right?

[elicia]

Ok, I get it.....you're messin' wit' me.

im not able to read your post either, well, the important part, like the name and street of the pizza joint. i get a bunch of symbols.. could you try again, please?

[vengroff]

I am now curious about this NY Pizza phenom. I've had Piecora's and didn't like it, so I don't know if NY Pizza is for me, or if Piecora's didn't get it right at the time. The way Deborah

describes it sounds like heaven to me, so I'm inclined to think it's the latter.

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The pies I've had from Piecora's were more like NY pies than anything I've had in Seattle, in much the same way the weather in Seattle more like the weather in San Diego than anyplace I've been in Alaska. It's closer, but that doesn't make it close.

The real problem is the crust. It's just too thick and doughy.

For what it's worth, the number of places in New York that do it right is dwindling. There used to be good pizza all over town. Now most of it is mass produced using a standard recipe of cardboard, ketchup, and elmer's glue.

[Deborah]

The real problem is the crust.  It's just too thick and doughy.

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Yep I agree entirely--the crust at Piecora's was too thick. UGH! A few more places to try and then perhaps I will just resign myself to satisfying my craving when I travel to NYC. Although, that will be a few years. For those that are interested I will post my pictures and impressions over the next few weeks.

Edited October 24, 2004 by Deborah (log)

[elswinger]

I have had frozen Flying Pizza from New York and was surprised they used muenster cheese instead of mozzerella. Is this typical of NY-style pizza? or is it just what Flying Pizza uses?

[olivina]

All the best NYC pizza I ever ate was from coal fired ovens. Like the original John's pizza in the Village. The coal oven gives it that delicious char on the bottom. We are not going to find a coal oven here in Seattle.

I used to eat a LOT of street pizza sold by the slice on every other street corner in NY. It was really good, but thicker crusted than coal fired and very oily from the fake cheese. Its the kind of pizza you fold in half legnthwise in order to keep the oil from dripping while walking down the street frantically trying to get to your job on time.

[reesek]

deborah -

please do post your findings (incl. photos!) here...

NY pizza isn't more "italian" it's definitely american...some people insist it's the water. my order-in-go-to is pagliacci. it's not NY, but piecora's crust ruins the rest of what makes it closer to NY for me...none of it is particularly satisfactory.

fortunately, there is some very good wood-fired pizza here.

tutta bella (negative reviews, odd experiences aside) is worth a visit. so is la medusa (across the street - dinner only) and definitely - as anita mentioned - cafe lago. there's also abondanza (sp) in west seattle. i'd like to try it again and eat it there. pizza and cardboard are sworn enemies, so i'd like to give it another go.

edited to add - NY pizza uses Mozzarella traditionally, not Muenster

Edited October 25, 2004 by reesek (log)

[tsquare]

and next week New York Pizza Place

Not really helpful, but I recall hearing the owners of this place moved out not long ago - not sure if there is a joint there anymore or not. Got one pie before the news. Too heavy for my pizza taste. I know a place in Milan...

[adanzig]

The original owner of New York Pizza Place did indeed sell the place not too long ago...to a guy who promises not to change a thing, from the kitchy decor to the bucket o' Red Vines at the counter to the pizza recipes used by the previous owner. If you like the place, that's good news. :)

[Deborah]

Hmmmm that's interesting news about New York Pizza Place.

We plan on getting the next pizza this Thursday night so I'll post pic's and finding on Friday.

[mb7o]

There's also La Vita E' Bella in Belltown--not NYC style, but Italian. Thin crust.

Note that Pagliacci's is Philadelphia style. Since I'm from Philadelphia, I think it's good.

And NYC does have different water, though I'm not sure how different it is from Seattle, they're both good water supplies. Probably different minerals or something.

[jbonne]

Tutta Bella and Cafe Lago are the closest, and both plenty good, though having been back last weekend to show off the real, legit thing, i can safely say NYC is still far ahead of the pack.

NY Pizza Place was ok, a decent facsimile of the average corner-shop pizza you might find in your neighborhood. but it doesn't draw me back, and i live three blocks away.

[Fay Jai]

Hey Mb7o ---

Please define "Philadelphia style" pizza...I'm curious...

Thanks,

Jason

[Deborah]

This week we tried Hot Mama’s Pizza. Again a good pizza but still not like the pizza we had in NYC. We both actually thought this pizza overall was better than Piecora’s and closer to the pizza we had in NYC. Close enough to satisfy cravings...not quite.

Cheese & Topping: Overall good. But the big difference between this and NYC was the cheese. Cheese on this pie seemed to lack the punch of flavor that the one in NYC did and it was a little oily.

Sauce: Good. Nice and thin. A little heavier on herbs compared to NYC.

Crust: Okay we are getting closer. Much thinner. Good chew but needed some char and crispness. I'd like to see how the crust was if we got it there and it didn't have to travel home in the box--might make a bit of difference. The flavor of the crust was so much better than Piecora’s.

So that’s the scoop! Still no where near the slice(s) of heaven we had in NYC so the quest continues!

Here are the pictures:

Whole

Slice

Crust

Thanks for the other suggestions. I am on a mission so I'll continue to try other places and post our findings.

Edited October 29, 2004 by Deborah (log)

[rooberu]

I did the Seattle suicide run yesterday (up from Olympia) and hit Tutta Bella. I honestly don't understand the negative reviews for this place. I think it stands up to anything I've had outside of Napoli itself.

I had the margherita and the marinara and they were both suberb. Washed down with a couple pints of Moretti, it was a great lunch.

[Fay Jai]

Yikes....Look at the screen marks on the crust...

Let the bricks do their work!!!

[Sleepy_Dragon]

This week we tried Hot Mama’s Pizza.

...

Here are the pictures:

Whole

←

Is the sausage on the top half the crumbled kind or the pellet kind?

And thanks for posting your progress. This is a fun thread! And yeah Hot Mama's is better when gotten fresh from the oven, easy for me to do since school is a couple blocks away.

I'm also glad people are calling them slices instead of pieces. Hearing a "piece of pizza" rattles the insides of my teeth as hard as an energetic child in a small room beating metal pots with metal utensils.

Pat

[Deborah]

Is the sausage on the top half the crumbled kind or the pellet kind?

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Sorry to say it was pellets.

So next week we will try another place. Wish us luck

[Sleepy_Dragon]

*sob* Pellets? Oh well... guess I will be sticking with Hot Mama's veggie or ham and pineapple slices.

Yes, good luck, eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Pat

[sequim]

Even though I haven't had New York pizza I do love a good crisp crust with little topping. So my favorites so far have been 1) Pegasus Pizza in West Seattle. They have their Special in which they saute the peperoni so that it becomes crispy and it's delicious - and I'm not a fan of peperoni. But done that way, it tastes like bacon. 2) Tulio in downtown Seattle. I had their marguerita (sp) and the crust was excellent. It was the star of the show.

[mb7o]

Please define "Philadelphia style" pizza...I'm curious...

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I don't know exactly. It's similar to NY style--thin crust, the mix of cheese, a decently hot oven (not quite NYC coal hot), order & style of toppings. I've also never been to any of the unusual places in Philadelphia like Taconelli's (search the PA forum), just the local places near where I grew up.

[kieran]

I don't know exactly. It's similar to NY style--thin crust, the mix of cheese, a decently hot oven (not quite NYC coal hot), order & style of toppings. I've also never been to any of the unusual places in Philadelphia like Taconelli's (search the PA forum), just the local places near where I grew up.

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Dude if you ever head back to Philly make Taconelli's a priority. Best pizza I've ever had anywhere, and I've spent a lot of time in New York.

I think of Philly pizza as more topping-driven than NYC pizza, but I don't know why.

[elswinger]

In the Seattle Times today:

Caffé Vita owner sinks teeth into pizza biz

First he brought us coffee worth drinking. Now Caffé Vita's Michael McConnell is set to bring us pizza worth eating. Via Tribunali (913 E. Pike St., Seattle; 206-322-9234), a Neapolitan-style pizzeria and bar, is expected to make its Capitol Hill debut later this week. A sneak(y) peek proved that this slender room with its exposed brick walls, sleek bar and dark wood booths already has the physical allure of a hip Italian hangout.

Creating Via Tribunali a block from his flagship café and roasting plant was a selfish endeavor, McConnell insists. "I didn't do this to make money. I've traveled to Naples a lot and wanted to bring back something for me from a place that I love."

To that end he imported materials and manpower to build a "very authentic, very traditional" Neapolitan wood-fired pizza oven. A couple of Italian pizzaiola have been imported too, along with the ingredients needed to build those authentic-tasting pies meant to star on a limited menu. That menu will also list a handful of antipasto, salad and pastas complemented by a mostly Italian wine list.

With the assistance of Seattle restaurateur (and not-so-silent business partner) Peter Lamb and celebrated salumi-maker Armandino Batali (whose cured meats will flavor the menu), McConnell's latest enterprise has success written all over it. Via Tribunali will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Lunch and nightly service are in the offing.

[Deborah]

Another week another pizza! Thursday night has become official pizza night in our house now! At least for the time being. And now for Friday results:

This week we tried A New York Pizza Place. I can summarize this pizza in a word- bland, bland, bland. Okay that was three words but it covers crust, toppings and sauce. This one really lacked flavor. We both thought this was just an okay pizza. Would I go again...probably not. There are other places to go to that do a better job.

Toppings: Cheese and other toppings were okay. Again lacked much flavor.

Sauce: Well....it was thin.

Crust: Thin and fairly consistent in size but again not alot of flavor and it was a tad doughy. Decent chew but lacked good crispness.

Now for the pictures:

Whole:

Slice:

Crust: