Pizza Tour - Part 1

I consider this the beginning of my pizza tour. The first place I went to was Grimaldi's - a place that I was familiar with and the standard up to this point. Going back there and re-familiarizing myself got me prepared for the real tour. Let's get started!!

Luzzo's
211 1st Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 473-7447
www.luzzos.com

On my second day back, I met up with my buddy Siu at a bar near Union Square in the early evening for some catching up and talked about the state of world affairs and other interesting topics. After a couple of hours and a few beers we decided to search for some real food. Since it was my time back, Siu deferred to me to choose a restaurant for the night. I told him briefly about the pizza excursion that I was to embark on. He was OK with it and I thought it would be a good idea to find the place closest to Union Square. Luzzo's was only a few blocks from where we were and it became the destination for the night.

The restaurant was small and cramp - typical by Manhattan standards. I noticed the hostess and many of the servers spoke Italian and for me that was a good sign. I ordered a personal size Funghi ( tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, basil) for $18. The large version was $23. It was a bit pricey for a personal size but being that we are in Manhattan, my only trip to NY this year and a for taste of the future, I happily plunked down the money for it.

When my pie came, I immediately noticed that this was very different from what I am use to. The crust was the first thing that I noticed... it was not dense like the typical New York pizza but airy and light, enveloped by a crispy exterior. There were some burnt spots on the crust which I expected from reading about 900 degree oven that these pies cook under for about 1 minute. I took my first bite into it and immediately entered my personal pizza nirvana. I feel as if I had broken out of consuming mediocre pizza and realized a new realm of possibilities. The crust was as it appeared - crispy and yet light and airy on the inside. The texture reminded me of my favorite bread - nan. I had always imagine that pizza made on nan bread would be a marriage made in heaven and I think this was close. The mozzarella was just enough in quantity and not piled on thick like some pies and most importantly it tasted fresh. The sauce, fresh basil and mushroom just enhanced the whole experience.




The one thing that spoiled the whole experience a bit was the service. They were friendly most of the night, but by the time we were close to finishing up our meal they were kept coming by trying to clear our tables. It became quite annoying as we were still trying to finish up our conversation while this was happening. It really gave the evening a bad ending. However, I was not going to allow the service get in the way of my evaluation of the food since these are separate aspects of the experience.

Here is a link to the menu of Luzzo's

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/luzzos/menus/main.html