Nuovo York Pizza

I moved to New York, and became a cliché.

After years of not caring about pizza, I suddenly crave it, all the time.

"We focus on delivering authentic New York style pizza built on consistency, quality, and precision. Every slice is designed to meet a clear standard with balanced flavor, proper texture, and a reliable experience you can count on every time you search for great pizza near you. Our process starts with carefully selected ingredients and a dough that is fermented for optimal flavor and structure. From the sauce to the cheese to the final bake, every step is controlled and repeatable. We do not rely on shortcuts or guesswork. We rely on systems, measurements, and constant refinement. That is how we maintain the same quality across every order. Rooted in classic New York pizza tradition, our approach is focused on improvement, not imitation. We aim for a clean and well balanced slice with the right crisp, the right chew, and a flavor profile that stands out without being overwhelming. "

In particular, what I've been craving is classic New York slice shop slices.  Yes, I've also had all the fancier well known places (e.g. L'Industrie Pizzeria, where I was completely blown away, finding their crust to be exceptionally crisped and lightly chewy, and their signature burrata slice to be totally flawless and well worth the hype, Slicehaus Pizzeria, that I noted that while it is far more accessible than its peers with no crazy lines and great 48-hour fermented dough, and Mama's Too!, where I found their heavy Sicilian-style square focaccia bases to be far too greasy and spongy, though I did enjoy the toppings and sauce on slices like the upside-down and poached pear). But lately I've been into trying out random slice shops (ok, not totally random, at least ones that have good reviews, just not ones I see anyone really talking about much).

Setting

Nuovo York Pizza is one such place, located in the East Village.

Slices.

The setup is pretty standard slice shop, with mixed pies on display, and slices plucked from there and heated up to order.

Seating.

They had a reasonable amount of seating, with a few seats at tables, and high chairs along a counter.  Oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce available to garnish.  Slice shop style, so no table service or anything.

Food

Pizza comes in two styles: round or square.  Round has the largest selection with 8 styles by the slice (your standard cheese, pepperoni, margherita, plus common white or vodka, then three more unique ones: pepperoni pesto, "cherry charm" (with cherry tomatoes and fresh burrata), and their signature spinach and mushroom white pie), plus two more that are whole pizza only.  Squares are either plain, pepperoni, or bbq chicken or buffalo chicken by the slice, or a few more whole.  No custom orders.  Pizza is available by the slice, one size only round pie (18"), or one size only square pie (16").

For sides, they offer 3 kinds of dough based products: garlic knots (orders of 3 or 6), parmesan bread bites, or cheese sticks. There are no salads, fries, wings or other options for sides, just more pizza dough based items.

Garlic Knots (6).  $4.

For a side, I went for the garlic knots, not really wanting more cheese along with the very cheesy pizza. 

The garlic knots were great.  Puffy, nice golden edges, great garlic flavor.  Buttery but not overly oily.  I really enjoyed these.  3.5/5.

The marinara sauce was fairly standard, a sweeter style but not overly so, nicely seasoned.  Some small chunks of tomato.  Not necessarily better than a really good jarred sauce, but still good. 3/5.

These are available as a trio for $2 or half-dozen for $4.  I actually ordered just 3, but got 6.  One dipping sauce is included, choice of marinara/ranch/blue cheese.

Spinach Mushroom White Pie. $33.

I'll admit that a white pie was an odd choice for me, as I usually do want the marinara.  But I saw so many reviews raving about this pizza, and I knew it was their signature thing, so, hey, why not try it.

My pizza was ready right as I walked it, plucked from the pizza oven and boxed up on the spot.  Can't beat that freshness.

It was a well executed pizza: NY slice thin crust (not fancy thin crust), thick enough to hold up to being eaten without utensils, but not overly bready.  Nicely crisp, slight char on the undercarriage.  Back crust was sufficient for holding but not bigger, so you didn't fill up on crust.  Fairly classic New York slice, executed pretty well.  The slices were massive, 8 to a pie, and 18" diameter, so these were very big, although not very evenly sliced (which I preferred actually, but for a brand that talks about precision, the slicing was not).

The cheese was a very thick layer, and it had nice cheese pull to it.  The white sauce ricotta was creamy under it all.  Definitely some garlic and seasoning in it.  The spinach wasn't dominant, and was barely noticeable, but I suspect it did add a bit to the flavor, even if I didn't quite detect it.  I liked the hearty style of mushrooms used, but they weren't particularly evenly applied.  The toppings came together well, and I liked how creamy it was, but it was pretty heavy with all the cheese.  I think I'd prefer a little less of it.  

So overall, a reasonably well executed slice, and a slightly unique offering, but, not completely assembled with care, and probably not something I'd get again.  I still enjoyed it though.  3.5/5.

Read More...

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 Bleecker 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).

Read More...

Mama's Too!, NYC

I grew up eating a lot of pizza.  Generic, homemade pizza, with the crust made from one of those packages you add water to, jarred sauce, basic mozzarella, a sprinkle of oregano, maybe some kind of topping.  It was one of the very few things my dad could prepare, and he was responsible for feeding us several nights a week while my mom worked nights.  We had it at least once a week.  I never particularly liked it, but, it was what it was.

Like most kids, I got excited about pizza parties for birthdays, although my town had only Papa Ginos (which I remember liking?) and Pizza Hut (which I never liked), plus your classic New England "Village Pizza"/"House of Pizza" Greek style pizza place.  We never had frozen pizzas really, so it was a treat when I was at a friend's house and we got Ellios.  I remember really liking that.  Or one particular friend had a mom that made what I thought were amazing English muffin pizzas.  So I had my share of not great pizza, for many years, and then, post college, just really didn't have pizza again (besides a few trips to Little Star for deep dish) for many, many years.

2023 or so woke up the pizza enjoyer in me.  Not sure what changed, but my basically 15-20 year pizza hiatus was over.  So of course when I'm in New York, the pizza capital of the US, I seek out pizza.  Yes, I had L'Industrie and had my mind kinda blown by just how good a NY slice could be.  But I've even enjoyed no frills places like NY Pizza Suprema.  One place I was well aware of, as people talk about it quite a bit on "best pizza in Manhattan" lists, is Mama's Too! (excitement, theirs!).

Mama's Too! is known for their square pizzas (more rare in NY) and their sandwiches too, in addition to traditional round pies.  Square pizzas obviously aren't classic NY style, so it is curious that they wind up so well regarded by the locals.  I became a huge fan of square, Detroit style, pizza the past few years at Square Pies Guys in SF, so I was quite curious to see how this would measure up, even though I know Mama's Too is a Sicilian style square, not Detroit.  They have two locations in the city, one in the West Village, the other Upper West Side.  

Visit #1: December 2025

I didn't visit in person, but rather, got delivery at my office.  I had some "fresh" then, and also heated some up later at home for better results.

Ooooh!

I was delighted when I walked into the microkitchen to see someone had extra pizza, and the boxes were from Mama's Too!  I got to cross another place off my list that I'd been wanting to try!

We had a variety of pizzas, all the square style.

And ... well, I think in this case, the square pie style, I'm going to say that SF wins.  NY definitely wins at the pizza scene overall, but actually, for this style, SF has a number of great contenders, and ones I actually enjoyed considerably more than this (Square Pies Guys is my #1).

Overall, I found the focaccia bases to be too greasy, too spongy, and just too heavy.  Don't get me wrong, Square Pies Guys, my gold standard, is a very indulgent heavy pizza with a crispy cheese crust and all, but these just felt greasier and off putting.  Yes, these are a different style, SPG is Detroit style and these are Sicilian focaccia style, but somehow, even though Detroit style has the crispy cheesy edge, this was significantly heavier.

The square pies here are double the size as those from similar places in the Bay Area.  Cut into only 8 slices, so each kinda huge.  I can't imagine eating two slices of this.  I wished I had tried their round slices for comparison.

Cacio e Pepe. $38.

"Whipped marscapone, aged mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, parmigianno reggiano, cracked black pepper."

I didn't know what kind this was, nor that it was one of their famous slices, when I grabbed a piece.  There was just a lot of it left over (several pizzas) and it looked unique, so, why not?

The toppings were decent, obviously very cheese heavy, but it was flavorful.  Not really what I'd normally pick, but, certainly interesting and different.  But ... I just didn't care for the base at all, which made it hard to enjoy. 2/5.

Poached Pear ($36) & Upside Down ($34)

"Aged Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Grated Pecorino Romano, Extra Virgin Olive Oil"

I also grabbed what I thought was the regular House Slice, but turned out to be the upside down (which I learned once I went to write this up).  The House Slice would have fresh basil on top, and big gobs of motz on top too.  

It had the same focaccia base that I just didn't love, although it wasn't quite as greasy in this one, and I tolerated it more.  It was nicely crispy, light char, and did seem to have a bit of a crust. It had a nice malty taste too, that verged on sourdough territory for me (that I don't like) but, it was decent.

The sauce wasn't too sweet nor too acidic, was pretty good, and I liked the amount of it applied, it added a lot of moisture to the slice.  The cheese was good, I greatly preferred just the aged mozz here to the Parm and others on the previous slice.  The upside down style was different, I didn't have particularly strong feelings about it either way.

Overall, this was a slice I was happy enough to eat, but I still prefer my Square Pies Guys.  High 3.5/5 though, maybe 4/5, as it really was a nice slice.  I'd like to try more of their red sauce pies in the future.

Also pictured here is the poached pear with gorgonzola and hot honey. Definitely a unique, signature offering as well, but I passed that up.

Bufalina. $50.

"Beer-battered fried chicken, red devil sauce, gorgonzola crema, roasted chili powder, chopped scallion."

What a wild looking pizza.  I could tell it had chicken though, I didn't take any.

Visit #2: July 2025

Another day at the office with extra pizza, and this time I went straight for the signature poached pear, now that I knew it was a thing.

I also got to try the toppings from the Vodka pie - all that was left in the box, but there was a lot of the vodka sauce, mozzarella, and basil, so I scooped it all up to either stuff into a bun or throw on top of pasta later.  The vodka sauce was creamy and had a fairly robust tomato flavor, the mozzarella had a great chew, and the basil was a perfect match.  I was sad to not get to try the actual slice, but the toppings were all great.  3.5 / 5 or higher, toppings.

Poached Pear. $36.

"Aged Mozzarella, Poached Pear, Sweet Gorgonzola, Hot Honey."

This is definitely not a pizza I would have ever ordered blindly off a menu, but I knew when I encountered it that it was a signature item of Mama's Too, and I was pretty intrigued.  

This pie has no red sauce, as that would definitely clash with the toppings.  The pear was really quite delicious, nicely poached, and it went very well with the gorgonzola (and the mozzarella).  I enjoyed the toppings, but I felt it definitely needed more hot honey (I ended up drizzling maple syrup on top, as that was the only thing I had similar), and I sorta thought it would benefit from something like red onion. Tasty, but not perfect.

The crust was ok, I'm just not particularly into their crust.  It worked well for these non-traditional toppings though, because it felt more like a topped focaccia and less like a pizza.  This was nearly a 3.5/5, but, a little more honey or a better crust would really be necessary for me to give it a higher rating.

Read More...

Prince Street Pizza

My first day in New York after relocating my team had a pizza party.  It was not something I planned, nor even knew about, until right then.  I had other plans actually, but, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to at least grab a slice.  It felt like the proper NY thing to do.

"Our pizzas are available by the slice and as whole pies and are prepared using the freshest ingredients and handcrafted sauces made daily from scratch.  To get the same dough texture in markets outside of New York, we even use a water filtration process that replicates the water used in New York."

The host ordered from Prince Street Pizza, which I had certainly heard of, but hadn't tried before.  They have a few locations, in NY, and strangely in Miami and California.  I remember thinking that it seemed like people generally find it decent, not amazing, not the sort of place people line up for, but, a decent option for takeout or delivery for an office celebration like this.  They make both classic NY Style Rounds, and Sicilian squares, which I think is what makes them a bit more unique than most similar places.  They also have a couple token salads, motz sticks, garlic bread, and generic desserts (cheesecake, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie). 

Since then, I've stumbled into their leftovers at various events in my building, so I've had the chance to try it several times.

New York Style Rounds

"Thin, crispy crust for those that like a round-or-bust kind of pizza."

Our group started with a couple of the most basic NY style rounds.  

The Fancy Prince.

"Original Pizza Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, Fresh Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

First up, the Fancy Prince, or as all other establishments call it, the margarita.  I'll admit it looked pretty good.  I almost grabbed this just to have a good baseline.  But I only wanted one slice, and this wasn't my top choice.

The Boozy Broome.

"Vodka Sauce (contains Prosciutto) and Fresh Mozzarella."

The host's favorite pizza is the Boozy Broome, e.g. their vodka sauce pie.  I didn't try it however either.  

Sicilian Soho Squares

"Sicilian-style squares with a thick, crisp and fluffy crust."

The Soho Squares are their Sicilian style rectangular pizzas.  Cut into 8 slices.  I'm not usually one for Sicilian style, but I think this is what they are more known for.  

I didn't really care for this crust.  It was exactly the style I'm not into - it looks like Detroit style at first glance, which I do love, but then I taste it, and ... yeah, Sicilian style.  It tastes like the pizza I grew up with: airy, chewy in the wrong way, way too much crust, no interesting base flavor, and greasy.  Not the crust for me.

Spicy Spring.

"Fra Diavolo Sauce, Pepperoni, Fresh Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano."

I almost grabbed the Spicy Spring, as the fra diavolo sauce sounded interesting, and hey, what's not to like about fresh mozz and pepperoni?  I appreciated the use of cupping pepperoni.  I have to say though that not much care seemed to be used to apply the toppings, they looked pretty haphazard (which seemed the case on the prior pizzas with uneven application, but was much more clear here).

The Naughty Pie.

"Spicy Vodka Sauce (contains Prosciutto), Pepperoni, Fresh Mozzarella, Whipped Ricotta, Zab's Hot Honey."

Instead, I went for the final choice: the Naughty Pie.  It also featured vodka sauce, so I felt that was honoring my host's recommendation for the vodka pie, yet it was a spicy version of the vodka sauce, which is more my style, and it had the same pepperoni and mozzarella as the previous square, AND it had hot honey (trendy, I know, but it works) and ricotta.  Ricotta I can take or leave, but the rest sounded like clearly the best of all the pizzas.

I eagerly plucked a pepperoni off that fell off as I took my perfect slice (I had first pick!). Again though, toppings were kinda all over the place.  The pepperoni was thick classic cupping pepperoni.  No more, no less, but good.  The little bit of hot honey drizzled on it gave it a delightful sweet and spicy element.  I plucked off a few more.  I really liked them.

It was oozing sauce everywhere, so that definitely dominated.  

I wish I could tell you more about this slice.  But I actually wasn't hungry for pizza in the middle of the afternoon when this party happened, so I saved my slice to heat up in my toaster oven later for dinner.  But ... I put it in a fridge that failed, and I decided not to risk food poisoning and thus sadly had to throw it out (I was soooo tempted to still eat it ...).

Houston Jalapeño.

"Spicy Pepperoni + Jalapeño + Hot honey."

A few weeks later, another event, so I got another stab at (spicy) pepperoni and hot honey, this time with jalapeños too (although regular sauce, not vodka).  I was thrilled to see how ridiculously loaded up with toppings it was, three of which were spicy.  Bring it!

I did really like the pepperoni.  It was quite flavorful, thick slices, lightly curled up, and indeed spicy.  A great pepperoni, but because the pieces were so thick, and there were sooo many of them, this was obviously an exceptionally pepperoni forward pizza.  The pepperoni gave it actually plenty of heat, so the extra kick from jalapeño almost felt unnecessary.  And then of course, the hot honey, which was delicious, as expected, a bit of sweet and spicy, and always goes so well with pepperoni.  I did like all these toppings.  

It was a very topping heavy pizza, obviously, with the pepperoni and jalapeno so visible, but also underneath all that.  Lots of sauce.  Sweet, tangy, kinda in your face red sauce.  Too much sauce for my tastes.   Full coverage of cheese, this was a good element, it melted well, had good cheese pull, etc, but, definitely a cheesy pizza.  

And then the aforementioned Sicilian style crust, which I just don't care for.

Did I really enjoyed the pepperonis?  Absolutely. Was I happy to take any extras that fell off of slices?  Absolutely.  Did I think the cheese was good?  Yep.  But ... did I actually like this pizza?  Not really.  When I disliked the crust and the tomato sauce, and they were so dominant (well really, every element was so dominant!), it just made it hard to really like it.  4/5 pepperoni, 2/5 crust and sauce, 3.5/5 cheese, so, yeah, probably just a 2.5/5 for me.

Mercer Margherita.

"Fresh mozzarella, basil, fresh garlic, and extra virgin olive oil, also pecorino romano."

I also tried a small piece of the margherita, but it was even less enjoyable for me.  Just so much of the sauce that I don't care for, the crust I don't care for, and some decent cheese.  Meh. 2/5.

Read More...

Joe's Pizza, NYC

Joe's Pizza is a known place in NYC.  If you've spent time there, you've likely walked by one of their locations, and seen a few folks on the sidewalk with relatively attractive looking slices in their hands, devouring on the spot.  The location near Times Square has ridiculous lines, and hoards of people, but the others don't tend to.  My impression is that locals don't hate it, but they don't consider it destination worthy.

Joe's started in Greenwich village in 1975, and now has a handful of locations in Manhattan and surrounding areas, including Boston, but also randomly Miami and Ann Arbor.  It is a very classic NY pizza joint.

Joe's has a no frills, basic menu.  This is not a place to get fancy toppings like burrata, prosciutto, or hot honey on your pizza, not a place to even get pineapple and/or ham if those are your thing.  Nope, this is a place to get the simple toppings: pepperoni, sausage, or meatballs for meat, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, spinach, and, perhaps the most wild one, artichokes, for veggies.  And that is it.  Pizzas come with red sauce the majority of the time, although they have a white sauce option.  And that is it, no bbq sauce, no buffalo drizzle, etc.  You can upgrade to fresh mozzarella.  No vegan cheese.  Whole pizzas come in one size, cut into 8 large slices.  Round is the majority of their product, although they do a Sicilian style square as well.  Regular crust only, no gluten-free.

And that is the menu.  There is a house salad with all the pizza veggie toppings, and that is it for appetizers/sides.  Not even garlic knots.  No desserts.  No interesting drinks, just soda or Snapple.  Don't expect anything else.  And really, you don't need anything else.

Joe's Curb Appeal.

At the shop, slices are a main attraction, served on paper plates, eaten on the street out front where there are a few tables. I've still yet to have that experience, but instead had whole pies, delivered.

I was very pleased with my experience, and I understand the staying power.

Pepperoni. $32.

Here you have it.  Iconic NY Slice.  For good reason.  This isn't a fancy slice, but it is a good one for this style.

Right level of char.  Crust is chewy in a good way, holds up well to being held/folded.  Sauce is well distributed, not too thick, not too sweet, not overwhelming in any way.  Generic cheese that is not in excess, but not skimpy.  Each element plays a supporting, but necessary, role.  Generic pepperoni, not cupping style, just basic. Slightly haphazardly applied.

Like any 1-topping pizza, this is priced at $32 ($4 more than plain cheese).

I liked this about the same as my previous favorite basic NY slice, NY Pizza Suprema, 4/5.

Veggie Pie.  $35.

I also got to try the "veggie pie", even though the menu gives no description of what veggies it will be. The answer seems to be mushrooms, onion, peppers, black olive, broccoli.  Basically everything but the spinach and artichoke.  This is one of the three predefined options (along with supreme or meat lovers), no other curated selections are offered.

This pizza reminded me of my childhood.  My family always got green pepper and onion pizza, and if my mom was making it at home, she always put black olives and mushrooms on her side (my dad was strictly peppers and onions).  I used to love black olives.  At Subway, our frequent family dinner out splurge, I'd get extra black olives (and extra pickles!).  I used to be all in on the family favorite green peppers and onions.  And somehow, probably about 20 years ago at this point, I just simply stopped liking black olives and green peppers, in any application.  Not cooked, not raw, not in salads, etc.  I actively avoid bell peppers at this point, and pick around black olives.  And yet ... I was really drawn to this pizza.

And I kinda loved it.  It was part nostalgia for family pizza night, just, with a far superior base product that we ever had, and perhaps just a crazy mood I was in, but, I really enjoyed this slice.  The toppings were even less well distributed than the pepperoni, some bites were all black olive, others were all green pepper.  There were very few mushrooms, and not nearly enough onions.  And again, I still loved it.  I'm not sure about the broccoli on pizza, at least, not with these other basic veggies, but all the toppings were well cooked, and seemed fresh. 

The base product, the crust, the sauce, the cheese, were all the same as the previous, great char, great chew, no dominating elements.  Another 4/5, higher side, and I liked this one even more.

Read More...

Ziggy's Pizza, Lebanon NH

Ziggy's Pizza is a small chain in New Hampshire, with a location in the town my parent's live in.  I had heard about it when it first opened, lauded for introducing a new style of pizza to the area (*not* the super cheesy, greasy, fairly awful "Village Pizza" ... yup, really).  But I certainly never sought it out, I'm not really a pizza girl (and, I'm not in town that often).

But summer of 2020, I went to stay with them for a couple months to enjoy fresh air, warm weather, and, "escape" from the COVID lockdown in San Francisco.  My family has a ritual: pizza night.  Every week.  Basically without fail.  Usually when I'm visiting, I can convince them to skip that week, or sometimes mom will make pizza, or more often, I choose to go visit a friend on pizza night.  It just isn't my thing, and they generally order from the closest place (yup, Village Pizza, or the even worse Mickey's - review coming soon!), and they complain about the quality every time.  After a few weeks of such orders, I proposed trying somewhere new, even if it was a bit further away.

I picked Ziggy's, since I remembered people praising it, and it seemed to have some staying power, in business for a few years, and with a location in Sunapee too.  (I couldn't convince them to get Ramunto's, which at least has decent garlic knots - and cinnamon sugar dessert knots! - as it is even further, sadly).  So Ziggy's it was.

This review is for takeout only, so I cannot comment on the dine-in experience.  

Ziggy's has a larger than average menu for a pizza joint, in addition to the pizzas (both hand tossed or chicago style, including tons of ridiculous custom creations), they have calzones, wings, burgers (with *many* custom creations), hot dogs, a decent sandwich lineup (ranging from BLTs to warm cheese steaks to meatball/chicken parm), classic pastas (meatball parm, chicken broccoli alfredo, a very well known mac and cheese made with local dairy cream), salads, and a very unique menu of starters.  Oh, and desserts.  There really were many things I'd like to try.

Update Review, June 2025

I don't intentionally seek out Ziggy's, but my parents order from there/dine in usually once a week, so, of course I encountered it when visiting.

Sweet Potato Fries.

My parents love Ziggy's sweet potato fries, so when they went out to get pizza one night, I asked them to bring me a few home to try.  I ... don't understand the hype, although yes, I realize I had them reheated later (in air fryer), but I regularly reheat fries and enjoy them more than this.

They were just pretty generic fries, fairly soft (even when air fried) and ... I know this sounds strange, but, they were too sweet potato tasting for me.   Like, really sweet.  And kinda mashed inside.  Some skin on.  Just not my style at all.  For me, 1.5/5, but my parents do love them, so clearly, I'm just one data point.

These are available as a side order for $4.99 / basket for $8.99.  My parents got the basket and I tried the leftovers, so the portion here is not representative of either of the sizes.  They come with honey mustard to dip as well.

Honey Mustard.

I was excited to try the honey mustard too.  This is described on the menu as "our honey mustard", which I think means it is housemade.

It was ... fine?  Definitely pretty sweet, and very creamy (likely mayo? based).  3/5.

Update review: I had it again a few months later.  Yes, it is a very sweet honey mustard, but I love how creamy it is.  I wouldn't want it as a salad dressing as it is just far too sweet, but it was good with sweet potato fries. 4/5.

Original Review, September 2020

First Time Ordering. Wonderful!

The first time we had Ziggy's, it was really quite good.  I am not a pizza person, and lamented that my family does pizza night so regularly, but this I was impressed by (granted, mostly by the non-pizza items), and I admit the Margarita pizza was good.  It inspired me to suggest ordering from there again, a few weeks later.

Second Time Ordering: MEH!

The next time though ... wow, quality difference.

Same pizza, this time over cooked and lacking flavor.  Missing a dressing I ordered.  Salad much smaller.  

Eh.  Some things were fine, don't get me wrong, but, the quality difference was striking.

Starters

The starters is where Ziggy's menu really called out to me.  If I was dining in, I'd be in a world of indecision, with fried pickles, sweet potato fries, rings, etc, etc, all with house made dipping sauces.  I still was able to find starters that would work for takeout, and gladly tried several.

Buns & Oil. $3.99.

"Basket of freshly baked buns served with a side of homemade garlic oil for dipping."

Perhaps the most boring appetizer available, but, sometimes, I like a good roll, and I love a good dipping sauce.

I'm so glad I ordered these.  I really liked these rolls, my favorite dish that we got.

The bread was soft, fluffy, slightly crisp, not too much flour on the outside.  And the garlic oil?  DELICIOUS.  A bit of herb, plenty of garlic, and seemed high quality.  Seriously, that oil.  I still think about it.

I kinda could not stop eating these, particularly with that oil.  Would get again in a heartbeat! 4/5.

Ziggy's Sticks. $4.99.

"12 inch freshly made dough brushed with garlic oil and Romano cheese. Baked up golden with a side of marinara."

The next time we ordered it took all my willpower not to just order the buns & oil again, as I had loved them so much last time.  But I was eyeing the "Ziggy's Sticks", their version of garlic bread sticks, also made with that signature garlic oil.  Available with or without mozzarella cheese on them as well, and served with a side of their (pesto) marinara.

We got without the mozzarella.  I ... was not pleased.

They make the sticks by taking a medium 16" pizza crust, but only stretching it to 12", so its thicker and puffier than the regular pizza.  But otherwise, it's the same pizza dough.  It was ... um ... just pizza crust, kinda overcooked.  Too crispy.  I missed the soft, puffy buns.

But the real reason it failed is the utter lack of garlic flavor.  We were excited for the garlic oil, and it was ... not detectable in any way.  Yes, it was slightly cheesy, at least most pieces, from the romano, but otherwise, this was just oily (it clearly had oil soaking into the top, it just sure didn't taste of garlic), and crispy, boring pizza crust.  And the dipping sauce had spilled in, because the lid melted. 1/5.

I liked the dipping sauce at least, but would never get the sticks again.

Pesto Marinara.

The pesto marinara though was quite good actually.  I'll give them that.

Nice tomato sauce, not too tangy, not too sweet, just, pretty good marinara.  It is what they use on the pizzas.  I really liked the cheesy, herby touch the pesto added as well.

Another good sauce at least. 3/5.

Soup & Salad

My parents always order a basic dinner salad when they get pizza, but Ziggy's does have a decent lineup of salads, some entree style.  All are available with your choice of ranch, blue cheese, house vinaigrette, thousand island, or maple mustard vinaigrette.  The dressings are all made in-house.

The soup lineup is even more interesting, they feature one kind of base soup, a chowder.  A cheesy chowder.  Available in two forms: the basic cheeseburger, or, the "Cowgirl", which is the same base cheeseburger based chowder, but with differing toppings (onion rings and bbq sauce for the Cowgirl, lettuce, tomato, ketchup for the regular).  I couldn't resist going for this ridiculousness (which you can also get over fries).

Basic Salad, Large. $6.99. House Vinaigrette and Mustard Vinaigrettes.

"Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber and red onion."

This was for my parents, as I had no interest in a generic salad from the pizza place, and had my own fresh greens from my sister's garden, along with her heirloom tomatoes, but I did try a few bites, and it was a decent salad, I was impressed, above average for a pizza place.  Everything seemed quite fresh.

I did try the mustard vinaigrette, and it was, well, mustard vinaigrette.  Very tangy.  I'm not one for vinaigrettes.  They do make all of their dressings (except the ceasar), in house.

Basic Salad. Large.  $6.99. Thousand Island.

The next time we ordered, same salad, the onions were white rather than red.  I really liked them, sweet white onions, for some reason, I just loved the flavor.  And stole them all to eat dunked in dressing.  #sorrynotdorry.

The salad was much smaller the second time it seemed, fewer cucumbers and tomatoes, and much less lettuce.

Marinated Mushrooms / House Made Thousand Island.

The salad lineup also has a salad, the "Merry Mushroom", that includes marinated mushrooms.  These sounded good to me, so I asked for a side of them, knowing my dad hates mushrooms, and I shouldn't put on the salad directly.

I liked them, just chunks of mushroom, in some kind of herbs and oil, but, they were tasty enough.  Nice to add in to my salad. 3/5.

I also opted to try the thousand island once I learned they make most dressings in-house.  I also ordered the ranch, but alas, we paid for it, but our order did not include it.  Wah.

It was fine thousand island, creamy, balanced well enough, although a touch on the sweet side. Not to much mayo or anything.  Decent.  It went great with my sister's heirloom tomatoes I had on hand. 3/5.

Cheeseburger Soup (toppings on the side). $4.99.

"A creamy chowder with chunks of beef and onion, topped with crisp lettuce, chopped tomato and a drizzle of ketchup."

I was craving red meat.  Ground beef.  Very clearly.  But I didn't quite want a burger.  But cheeseburger soup?  Chowder with cheeseburger?  Now that sounded fascinating!  I tried to order the Cowgirl version, but alas, they were out of it (which I guess means they just didn't have onion rings?).  Regular version it was.  It came with two more rolls (no dipping sauce).

When you dine in, this comes with "Ziggy's" written across it in ketchup, and garnished with the lettuce and tomato, but I asked for the toppings on the side.  And since I couldn't have the Cowgirl with the bbq sauce and onion rings, I also got a side of the bbq to try mixing in.

The toppings were fine: diced tomato, really, they were classic burger tomatoes, in that they were pretty generic, not quite ripe, etc.  The "crisp lettuce" though was just fine shreds, and not much.  Ketchup was, well, ketchup, and the bbq was fairly decent, tangy and sweet.

But this really was all about the cheeseburger soup, right?

Cheeseburger Chowder: Inside.

So, what was it.  Well, a cheese chowder base.  Very cheesy, basically like, uh, mac and cheese sauce?  It really reminded me of mac and cheese sauce.  But, with chunks of ground beef crumbled up inside.  It was pretty rich, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and it lacked seasoning.

I heated some up, and then got to garnishing.  I added the lettuce provided, plus some from the salad that I chopped up.  My chopped tomatoes.  My crispy fried onions and bacon bits.  Lots of pepper.  The toppings definitely enhanced it, but it was still fairly bland, besides the cheese nature.  I mixed in spoonfuls of ketchup and bbq, and those added more to it, but, yeah, its, uh, cheeseburger chowder.  

Dunking bread into it was good, I could imagine a bread bowl working well.  But I loved the oil too much to "waste" it dunking in here.

I think it would be good to use as a mac and cheese base though - if no one else in my family wanted it, I would have turned it into mac and cheese.  3/5.

Pizza

So, the main attraction, the pizza.  Most of their pizzas as standard hand-tossed style, but they do a legit sounding Chicago deep dish too - "A deep-dish pie stuffed with 6 cups of cheese sealed with a top crust and then covered with sweet and spicy Chicago sauce."  Yup.

My mom almost was going to order the Chicago style, at my urging as it was the one I'd really like to try, but, when she read the bit about it being stuffed with a full 6 cups of cheese, she got scared away.

Ziggy's also has an, um, impressive line up of curated pizzas.  While you can build your own, their speciality line up is ... well, fun to say the least.  Bbq cuicken, philly cheesesteak, greek, thai chicken, those are on there, but child's play compared to the Mandarin Beef and Broccoli pizza, the Mac and Cheese Pizza, the Lasagna Pie, um, the Crab Rangoon Pizza (yes, it has cream cheese, imitation crab, wonton crisps, sweet chili sauce ...).  Most of the crazy pizzas are available as calzones too.

My family though?  Not exactly adventurous.  

Margherita. Medium. (16"). $19.99.

"Garlic oil, tomato, fresh basil oil, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese."

This was my parent's order, as my mom really wanted something different (not regular saucy pizza, as they get pizza basically weekly).  She loves Ziggy's Margherita apparently.

I tried a small piece, and I see why.  It's all about the garlic oil and basil oil!  Really, excellent flavorful oils.  This was much like the rolls and dipping sauce, and, if I wanted cheesy pizza, well, I would actually have more. 3/5.

Margherita. Large. (24"). $25.99.

The next time they got it though ... it wasn't the same. They were not pleased.

The pizza was overdone, too crispy, and dry.  It ... didn't taste like garlic.  This pizza is all about that garlic!  My main said it had way too much cheese. 1/5.

Cheese Pizza. Small 12". (Normally $8.49, free with deal).

We also got a small cheese pizza, because they have an online deal for a free small cheese pizza if you order a medium or large specialty pizza.

I'm glad we did, as it was dramatically better than the margarita.

A classic cheese pizza, marinara sauce, cheese, but, it was good, the style I like. Thin crispy crust, good sauce level with sauce that was not too tangy nor too sweet, and plenty of greasy greasy cheese.

The kind of pizza I'm not normally in the mood for, but when I want a cheesy bomb, this is exactly the style I like. Low 3/5.

Dessert

The desserts are not made in-house, but are locally made.  Or so they said.  As a dessert-lover, I had to add on a dessert to each ord, particularly when I saw the lineup.  A slew of cakes (triple layer chocolate, chocolate mousse, carrot cake), cheesecakes (raspberry or cotton candy (!!!) the day I ordered), cookies, crispy treats, and, whoppie pies.  I kinda wanted them all.

I asked for recommendation and the guy taking our order said the triple chocolate layer cake was his favorite, followed by the chocolate mousse, and said the carrot cake was really good.  Really, he said, they were all good.  And were fresh.  Well, that did it.  I had to order something.  I almost got the cotton candy cheesecake out of curiosity, but really had just had cheesecake for two days in a row, so that didn't seem right.  If it wasn't night time, I would certainly have gotten chocolate mousse, or, a whoopee pie as they had a peanut butter filled one (but with chocolate cookies).  So many great options, and I almost ordered the chocolate based ones for the next day ...

I ordered the carrot cake.  However ... it did not come with our order, and my mom did not notice until she was home, and I asked about it.  Sadness.

The next time we ordered, I was certain to order it again.  I've since tried several others, but have become convinced of something.

These desserts are *not* all made locally.  The cotton candy cheesecake, and the "Grand Slam" pie most certainly come from Sysco.  Their names and uniqueness tipped me off.  Pretty sure most of the chocolate cakes do as well (e.g. the "Ultimate Chocolate Cake").  And yes, the carrot cake.  I do believe the whoopee pies might be made locally.

Gourmet Carrot Cake. $5.49.

"Three layers of moist carrot cake loaded with shredded carrots, pecan pieces, and crushed pineapple, filled and iced with real cream cheese frosting and topped with chopped pecans."

So, about that carrot cake.  Finally.  They told me that people love it, and come there for it explicitly.

It is a 3 layer cake, with nuts.  

It was highly, highly mediocre.  It was moist enough, and the shredded carrot and pineapple were pleasant.  Yay for crunch from pecans (also on the back frosted layer).  It did not have too much spicing.  But ... it really did not shine in any way.

And the frosting?  Didn't taste like cream cheese at all.

Overall, very, very, very generic, and not something I'd get again. Low 3/5, maybe 2.5/5.

The online menu listed a lower price, but I saw we were charged $5.49 per slice, which ... is kinda just crazy for a thin slice of the Sysco product.

Grand Slam Pie (Top). $5.49.

"A Chocolate cookie filled with custard, brownie pieces, peanuts, and chopped Snickers bars. More brownies, caramel, and both white and dark chocolate cover the top."

"Chocolate cookie crust filled with custard & brownies, topped with Snickers bars, more brownies, caramel & peanuts, and then drizzled with dark and white chocolate."

Um, yeah.  This is what tipped me off to the desserts being from Sysco.  A pie called "Grand Slam" and Snickers as an ingredient.  The "Grand Slam" it turns out all revolves around the Snicker's concepts: peanuts, chocolate, caramel.  The two descriptions I pulled from the Sysco site differ slightly, is the custard filled with peanuts and chopped Snickers or not?  Is it topped with Snickers and peanuts or not? Maybe the product changed at some point?

Also, um, how crazy did this sound?!  A chocolate cookie (crust).  Brownies (inside and on top).  Snickers (inside ... and on top?).  Caramel.  Chocolate sauce. Dark chocolate.  White chocolate.  Peanuts.  Custard.  It also had whipped cream.  WAT.

I approached this with slight fear, to be honest.  I assumed that at least some component would be tasty, but kinda doubted that they'd come together all that well.

It actually turned out to be pretty tasty, although, yes, there was a lot going on.

Starting at the top.

The whipped cream on top was fluffy, sweet, and tasty enough.  The chunks of brownie, perched on top and falling off the side were rich, thick, chocolately, smoist chunk of brownie, but ... I'm not really a brownie girl.  They were a bit lost in all the very sweet, very gooey caramel sauce drowning the whole thing. The caramel sauce poured over it was perhaps a bit too generous (ok, pretty sure Ziggy's added to that part). The chocolate elements on top were also fairly lost, just, sweet caramel it was.

Grand Slam Pie: Base.

Ok, moving to the base, the chocolate cookie crust. It was fine.  Not to hard, which I appreciated.  Intensely chocolately.

Above that was a layer I couldn't quite understand.  It looked like cookie dough ... but studded with. peanuts.  It almost even tasted like cookie dough.  The description really didn't help here, but it actually was pretty good.  Maybe it was supposed to be like the nougat in a Snickers? And the peanuts?  There were TONS of peanuts.  Very, very, very peanut forward.

Above that is the ... custard, not as thick as a cheesecake.  I liked the custard, it was smooth and creamy, and the peanuts in particular were really nice integrated into it.  I didn't find actual Snicker's bars inside my piece, but that was fine with me.

So add up a chocolate cookie crust, tons of peanuts, a creamy custard, way too much caramel, brownie bits, chocolate sauce, and some kind of cookie dough like layer ... and you get a complete overload.  Overload of sweet, overload of textures, overload of SNICKERS, ZOMG SNICKERS.  Why is this not called Snicker's Pie?

So overall, this really wasn't bad.  I quite enjoyed bites of creamy sweet custard, with crunchy nuts, and a *little* sweet caramel.  But it was an overload, and you definitely need to like Snicker's flavors.  And, well, not have a peanut allergy.  Higher 3/5.

Read More...