Famous Original Ray’s
77 Lexington Ave
(between 25th St & 26th St)
New York, NY 10010(212) 686-2349
I’m getting a real good feel on the NYC standard cheese slice. Famous Ray’s got a dough flavor, maybe not enough cheese or sauce. But it’s got great taste like the ones at Abitino’s and Little Italy. Here’s to hoping for pizza like this in Austin…
(212) 228-2004
Artichoke was recommended by a friend here in NYC. It seems to a popular spot.
Coming in, it’s a tiny little space. But they still have stretch of table directly mounted on the wall that you just stand and eat on. Maybe 3 people at most could fit there. I don’t know what this place used to be before the pizzeria was here, but the ceiling was deep-red and had fancy ball-room like texture to it.
The guy at the front is named Tommy. He takes orders and with his powerful, firm voice just calls out “Margherita to stay!” (another way of saying ”for here”). Tommy told me how the recession is really hitting home as he runs this business.
As I was eating my pizza, a dog was licking the floor near my feet. And chatted with the guy next to me who recommended another place on Bleak St.
So as you can see from the photos, the slices at Artichoke area beastly chunks of awesome. Definitely a man’s pizza. It tasted different than the other pizzas i had so far, which is not a bad thing. Taste was definitely there, but still prefer those thinner cheese slices. Check out the great charred underside!
(212) 674-0707
It was a little stark in this pizza joint, but I really enjoyed the artwork of Mafioso-type portraits. Had their margherita slice, and it pretty good. Compared to the plain cheese slices I had so far, I’d still rather have those. Something about simplicity. Anyhow, the pizza did look great just not completely impressed.
New Amici
88 3rd Avenue
(212) 979-9686
This place had a sign out front: “Recession Sale – Two cheese and soda for $4.75″
Friends, that is a whopping good deal. I’ve had slices that cost that much in other places.
This had lots of cheese taste, but light on sauce. Dough texture good but lacks flavor. Almost like Little Italy and Abitino.
(212) 730-7575
This pizzeria was on the same street as the hotel I stayed at. They served pizza til late, a good evening snack. Very similar to Abitino’s that I ate earlier, very good stuff! I think I’m getting a feel for the basic NYC cheese slice.
Abitino’s Pizza
1435 Broadway(212) 768-0043
Went here after perusing Times Square. Crossing Broadway was really fun, you don’t see streets like that many other places!
This looks like one of your basic pizza joints, but their cheese slice was freaking good. It doesn’t look like anything fancy, but we don’t even get stuff like this in Austin (even the ones we call new-york style over there).
Angelo’s Coal Oven Pizzeria
117 W 57th St(212) 333-4333
This was the first of my NYC tour. Had a plain pizza, the base being a Margherita complete with basil. Cozy venue, wood floors with an upstairs seating. The pizza was good, but when compared to the perfecto Margherita at Delfina in San Francisco, this one pales. Service was ok. Everyone working there could have smiled a bit more. I felt like I was walking into a dead zone, everyone emotionless, expressionless. Not a great first experience, but looking forward to the rest of NYC!
Because you can find pizzerias serving them alongside baklava. Here’s a rando pizza place I don’t remember quite well since it was at about 4am after bar. Baklava and a fresh cheese slice. Badass.
My friend Abel is going to Guyana to teach Algebra for the next year. As his last summer here in austin was drawing to a close, a couple friends Seth and Dave decided to surprise our Vegan friend with some company, food, and laughs.
Abel is a really awesome dude. He always looks angry, but trust me, he’s an awesome dude. He’s one that sets his mind on things and completely makes a killing out of it. He’s a talented musician, and loves intellectual conversations that I can’t follow all the time. He has a heart for helping people. And his minimalism and simplicity has inspired me.
I brought over vegan pizza from Hoboken pie, which we reheated in his oven. Teese is supposed to be the best vegan cheese out there, and it requires to be cooled down a bit after heating since the food texture is a lot more liquid-y than regular cheese. Overall it tastes like Mexican food in pizza form. Hmmmm. Not so much a fan, but good times with good friends.
Follow the adventures of my friend here.
CraigO’s seems like a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but is pretty popular in the local neighborhood (I live less than five minutes away). Lots of people come in to order, pickup pizza, or get seated in this pizza joint.
I ordered the Pesto Parmasean: Pesto sauce, parmesan chicken, red onions, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese & fresh parmesan. Pesto sauce, parmesan chicken,red onions, tomatoes, mozzarellacheese & fresh parmesan.
You wouldn’t think this pizza is great from the photos. And I was surprised that a non-thin-crust pizza would be this good. But let me say CraigO’s makes excellent pizza. Tasty ingredients, and doughy crust in a tasty artisan-bread-like way. And oil drizzled nicely atop. It’s defnitely a different type of flavor pizza, a good break from NY-style pizzas.
Look forward to getting more pizzas here!
