Grandma's One Pizza

Regular readers of my blog are likely bored of hearing my intro about pizza in my life, so I'll keep it brief this time:

• I grew up in a family that ate a lot of pizza.  Not good pizza, but a lot of pizza.  Usually homemade from that crust mix that comes in a packet that you add water to, generic canned pizza sauce, generic cheese.  Several nights a week.
• We did also get Pizza Hut as part of the Book-It program as reading rewards as kids, and people ordered Little Caesars for birthday parties.
• In college ordering slices late at night was definitely a regular occurrence, and in grad school, every school event featured pizza.  I ate a lot of mediocre local pizza in those years.
• I moved to San Francisco, discovered nicer pizza (both Chicago style and "Californian" fancier pizza), and ate it relatively regularly the first few years.
  
• Then I just stopped eating pizza.  For probably 20 years.  When I'd visit home, the family still had pizza every week.  I didn't participate.
• My final two years in SF I discovered Square Pies Guys, and fell in love with Detroit style pizza.  
• Then I moved to NY and became a cliché who suddenly loves classic slices.  

I've since been enjoying trying more off-the-radar slice shops (although I've of course hit all the bigger names too, e.g. Joe's, NY Pizza Suprema, L'Industrie, Slicehaus, Mama's Too, Prince Street).  My adventures lead me to Grandma's One, in Greenwich Village.

Spoiler: I adored this place.

Setting

Unassuming Storefront.

Located on Bleeker Street, but relatively generic looking storefront, obviously even less appealing with the construction going on the day I visited.

Seating.

Inside has character though with deliberate pizza related signs, a TV that presumably airs something interesting from time to time (it was just set to the music station when I was there), and a few small tables for dining in.

Bar Seating.

The other side of the space has stools along a bar for solo quick dining, more pizza paraphernalia on the walls, and condiments station to add your own red pepper flakes, garlic powder, oregano, or s&p.

Pies.

The layout is classic slice shop, with all the pies on display, all nicely labelled.  Slices are taken from here and heated to order for a few minutes.

Sides.

Besides the slices, they also had knots and pinwheels in the display.

Slices

For pizza, you have your choice of style: classic NY round pies, square Grandma-style pies, or square Sicilian style.  Different topping options are pre-set for all styles, e.g. if you want bbq chicken, buffalo chicken, or baconator, those only comes in square form, similarly veggie or burrata or white spinach come only in round.  Some basics like cheese, pepperoni, margarita are available in multiple styles.  Best I can tell, you can't create your own, even if you get a full pie.

Pepperoni Grandma Slice. $4.50.

"Savor a thin crust square pizza loaded with pepperoni, rich tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and a dash of basil."

For my first slice, I felt like I needed to get a Grandma slice, given the business name.  I adore cupping pepperoni, so the moment I saw that they used cupping pepperoni, I was all in.

I loved this.  It also may have been the first time I've had a Grandma slice ... I've had plenty of other styles of square pizza, but they have a much thicker crust.  This really was just regular NY thin crust, just, square.  Well, huh.  Speaking of the crust, I really liked the thickness, just thick enough to hold shape and not be too fancy seeming, but not too filling.  Very different from Detroit style squares I got rather addicted to back in San Francisco.  It was perfectly crisp, but not too crunchy.

The sauce was a highlight for me. It had such a vibrancy, and I loved the bright flavor.  It was sweet but not too sweet.  It was generously applied but not too saucy. The cheese had a great pull due to the use of fresh mozzarella rather than standard pizza shredded mozzarella (which they do use on some of the pizzas).  The cheese covered the slice, but not too thickly. 

And then of course the pepperoni, 9 pieces visible, but most were doubled up, which delighted me even more once I realized it.  Perfectly cupped.  Not scorched.  Again, better than standard quality.  It was garnished with a drizzle of oil, fresh basil, fresh parmesan.  

I have nothing I'd change about this slice.  The balance of the thickness of the crust + the level of sauce + the amount of cheese achieved great harmony.  The flavors popped.  They really have perfected the craft of making a great slice.  4.5/5.

Grandma. $4.50.

"A thin-crust delight with tangy tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and vibrant basil leaves."

My next visit, it was no question that I needed another Grandma slice, and I decided to keep it super simple with the basic plain (margherita style) slice (side note: I do find it interesting that they don't offer a plain cheese Grandma slice, given that the crust is the same style as the classic NY round, and that comes in plain cheese ...).

This slice was a bit more sloppily made it seemed, a very saucey slice, cheese not fully covering it.  But otherwise it was the same - nicely crisp crust, vibrant sauce, lovely cheese pull.  I enjoyed it at home later with some sliced red onion on top, which really complimented it well.  4/5.

Margherita. $5.

"A classic Margherita with tomato sauce, melted mozzarella, and fresh basil on a thin crust."

I finally tried a classic NY slice too.  I went back and forth on getting the simple cheese as that is definitely their biggest seller (while I was there waiting for my other pizza to be finished, I saw quite a few slices get sold, and the plain cheese NY slice was probably 70% of the orders; the pepperoni NY slice was another 20%, and then the rest assorted grandma slices) or this fancier option, the margherita.  Given that I had loved the fresh mozzarella so much on my previous slices, I decided to stick with that.

I had this slice literally right out of the oven, as I was there waiting when it came out.  Removed from oven, basil thrown on top, sliced, handed over.  Doesn't get fresher than that.

The crust was absolutely perfect, you could fold it in order to eat it one handed walking down the street, but it certainly wasn't floppy.  I think it was the same thickness as the grandma slices, so thick enough to hold its form, but not heavy, and not overbearing. The back crust was easy to hold onto, and the flavor was so good I did find myself really wanting the crusts, which is somewhat rare for me without a dipping sauce.  This seemed more back crust forward than the grandma to me, but I'm not sure why, as I don't think it actually has more. 

It had the same great sauce as the grandma slices, just such a bright sauce that I truly enjoy.  It covered the slice well, but it wasn't saucy.  The cheese also covered it well, and had a great cheese pull.  Fresh mozzarella really is perfect for that.  The ratio of sauce and cheese were excellent.

This was a simple slice, but every element was really well executed, the ratios were right, and it was enjoyable to eat.  I'm really not sure which format I prefer, round or grandma, as they are so similar in components and taste, just, a different eating experience.  This one felt more "right" to eat walking down the street though.  4/5, and I'd gladly get it again if I wanted a simple slice.

Meat Lover. $6.

"Loaded with tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, meatball, and fresh basil on a classic Sicilian pie."

I know I don't like Sicilian style pizza normally.  But ... 1) I like to challenge my sense of dislikes every so often in case I've changed and expanded my horizons, 2) I was so happy with every other style Grandma's One makes that I thought if I was ever going to like Sicilian, this could be the time for it, and 3) I adored their cupping pepperoni and really wanted to try more meats, and this is the only style a loaded meat slice comes in (you can get pepperoni only in several styles, or sausage or meatball only, but nothing else loaded up).

This pizza wasn't ready when I arrived, so I waited for it to finish cooking, and got it hot and fresh.  It really was loaded up with meats: just as much pepperoni as the pepperoni slices had, plus a few slices of a very pale looking sausage (I think that was the sausage? Or a very pale meatball), and crumbled meatball (or was that the sausage?).  I'll admit that if I had seen this in person I probably wouldn't have ordered it, as the sausage wasn't the style I was thinking it would be (definitely thought ground hunks), and it just looked kinda unappetizing, greasy, and not well cooked (the cheese was very lackluster looking, not fully melted, but the crust looked overly brown).

The pepperoni was incredible as in my previous slices, and I loved it so much.  Thick cupping style with great flavor.  So good. The other meats, which I could barely guess which was which, were far less good.  The crumbled one was very dry and greasy and not good at all, the pale slices were better but still not something I would want more of, although I did eat it all.

As for the base pizza, it was ... yep, Sicilian style.  The crust was much thicker, more focaccia-like, very oily, quite crispy on the outside, yet very soft and doughy and almost undercooked within.  It instantly transported me back in time, as this was the style of crust my family always had.  The taste and doughiness, at least in my memory, was uncanny.  I still didn't like it all that much, as I prefer the other crusts, but this was serious nostalgia for me.

I'm not sure if this is sicilian style or just a less well made pizza, but it had minimal sauce, and only that blob of cheese on top here, so there wasn't much to mask the dough forward nature of it (even with all those meats).

I'm glad I tried this, and I did get some enjoyment out of it, but I wouldn't get it again.  I might still rate it 3.5/5 as the pepperoni is so amazing, and it did bring back so many memories.

Sides

Appetizers/sides include the pizza place standards of garlic knots and wings, plus a few flavors of pinwheel. 

Spinach Pinwheel. $4.25.

"Delight in layers of fresh spinach and creamy cheese spiraled into a savory pinwheel!"

I went for the spinach pinwheel, very randomly, but I wanted to try something totally different.  It too was garnished to order with fresh parmesan and basil.

This was actually considerably more filling than a slice of pizza which I didn't expect.  I was thinking "oh, a little appetizer pinwheel" but the dough is so much thicker it is like eating a full order of garlic knots or breadsticks, as the size really is hefty, bigger than the slices in girth (and obviously much thicker).  It did give me a chance to really appreciate their dough quality, and could imagine liking a slice with a more substantial crust too.  

I loved the cheese skirt around it from where cheese had seeped out, as it was crazy crispy and obviously cheesy, and fun to pick off.  The bottom of the roll though was quite greasy from all the cheese.  Again, this ate a lot heavier than actual pizza.  The spiral itself was fine, filled with a decent amount of spinach and cheese.  It basically was just a more fun form of a garlic knot that happened to have spinach for extra flavor.  I did desperately want something to dunk it in though, and would recommend getting a side of marinara (or ranch or blue cheese or whatever your dip of choice is, they have them all).

This was good, and I am glad I tried something different, but I wouldn't get it again unless I had a specific craving.  3.5/5 without a dipping sauce, I'm certain it would be a 4 with one though (and that's just my bad for not ordering one).

Domino's Pizza

I realized I don't know anything about Domino's Pizza at all, as I've probably only had it once or twice in my life, perhaps at an event in grad school or something.  I know it exists, and has generic pizza, but that's about it.  Just not something I've ever ordered, or lived in a city with (not growing up, not in college, not near me in SF for the 21 years of my adult life ...).  But I moved to NYC during the summer of the $10 Paze promotion (spend $10, get $10 credit back if you pay with Paze), and Dominos was one of the launch partners.  I can't resist a freebie.

But I was in NY, surrounded by amazing pizza, I was most certainly not getting pizza at Dominos.  Did you know Domino's has pastas? (and sandwiches, and many other things, it turns out). I didn't, but the pasta is what jumped out most to me on the menu once I started browsing.  They have three pastas: 5-Cheese Mac and Cheese, Spicy Buffalo 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese, or Chicken Alfredo.  All use the same penne pasta, and all use alfredo sauce as well, the mac and cheese just loads on more cheeses (white American, cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago). 

Chicken Alfredo Pasta. $8.49.
(-chicken).

"Try our savory Chicken Alfredo Pasta. Grilled chicken breast and creamy Alfredo sauce is mixed with penne pasta and baked to creamy perfection."

I was drawn to the mac and cheese, but was actually craving alfredo, so, chicken alfredo it was.  I got it without the chicken, which is easy to do from their online ordering page (side note: why don't they just have a regular alfredo option?  And then make it possible to add chicken, or bacon, or any pizza topping you want?).  I arrived at the specified time, but it wasn't ready yet, so I was able to see it being baked to order in the pizza oven.  It was handed over insanely hot and fresh, inside a small pizza box, which turned out to be quite useful as the foil bowl was extremely hot, as it was baked in it.  I can't say it won any awards for how it looked, a bit meager in the pasta department, and drowning in very cheesy sauce.  I did appreciate the slightly crispy top.

I was fairly confused by this though, as it seemed really cheesy, in a way you don't expect in alfredo, and in a way that didn't seem like it could be from just parmesan and asiago.  The pool of melted cheese on top really screamed out mozzarella, but, they say it only has the hard cheeses.  I believe this is the same alfredo sauce they use on the pizza.  

It ... was pretty underwhelming, fairly thick and gloopy, and didn't have much flavor to it (it has a bit of garlic, but barely noticeable), and it desperately needed salt and pepper ... and red pepper flakes ... and, well, anything.  The flavor was bland and flat.  I realize I'm talking about alfredo sauce from a generic pizza franchise, but even jarred alfredo from a grocery store is better than this.

The pasta too was underwhelming, as generic as can be, just, basic penne.  It wasn't too mushy, but it certainly wasn't al dente.  While it had a tiny bit of color on top, it wasn't really crispy.  

Overall, um, meh.  I could imagine this being better with other pizza toppings added in, and a drizzle of their buffalo sauce, but, at the end of the day, it is low end penne and alfredo sauce, mixed together and put in an oven for a few minutes.  2/5.