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June 9, 2008

StreetLevel: Brooklyn's Young Pizza Upstarts

New York Mag's Underground Gourmet sizes up a few newish pizza joints in Brooklyn to see how the latest crop of slice purveyors is faring in a landscape dominated by old masters like Di Fara and Totonno’s. Here's the rundown:
South Brooklyn Pizza, Carroll Gardens: An "unabashedly amateur approach has given rise to a distinct style: ovoid in shape, medium-thin-crusted, with a simple sauce of crushed San Marzano tomatoes and a medley of cheese, including fresh mozzarella, fontina, Asiago, and Parmigiano-Reggiano (but not, McGown takes pains to ensure, all in the same bite). It’s not the cheese combo, tasty as it is, that sets South Brooklyn apart, but its signature char."

Toby’s Public House, South Slope: "Toby’s twelve-inch pies are much more satisfying than your typical pub grub, and the olive-oil-anointed Bufalina D.O.C., in particular, demonstrates an ideal sauce-to-buffalo-mozzarella balance. Toby’s pies are wet toward the middle, thin and crisp around the edges, and nicely kissed with wood-smoke flavor."

Roberta’s, Bushwick: "The aesthetic is part Franny’s and part Queen’s Hideaway, to invoke two other celebrated Brooklyn restaurants, and even without the pizza, Roberta’s would be a worthy destination. Its pies, like those of Brooklyn itself, might not be easily categorizable, but they’re eminently unique and handcrafted, with attitude to spare."

Pizza, New-Brooklyn Style [New York Magazine]
Photo of a Roberta's pie by jwh3000.

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Comments

Amateur is right, ie jim mcgown's pizza.

he is a sleazy landlord that is being sued by the bank that holds his mortgages for nonpayment of funds.

please dont put money in this man's pockets!

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 2:51 PM

Why is di fara's considered the best pizza in Brooklyn? I grew up in Brooklyn and it was never considered one of the best. It's good but not $4 per slice.

I guess they hired a good PR company.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 3:08 PM

3:08 -- You have clearly never eaten at DiFara's. Truly exceptional slices -- particularly the aquare slices. Great ingredients, extraordinarily well prepared.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 3:24 PM

It should also be noted that Marco Polo Takeout in Carroll Gardens is making a damn good Neopolitan-style pie.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 3:59 PM

Peppino's on 5th Ave gets my vote.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 5:07 PM

Like a tourist I waited in line in the hot sun on Saturday for a pizza from Grimaldis on Fulton Landing. I was was willing to brave the line for that saucy cheesy goodness that I get the hankering for every 8 or 9 months because it used to be the best pie in the 5 boroughs. I gotta tell you, disappointment doesn't begin to summarize my experience. I've never had a crust so burnt, cheese so rubbery, or sauce so rancid/tangy in my many days of eating pizza in Brooklyn. Thanks for the new options.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 5:35 PM

Lucali's get my vote. Not as new as the others, but great nonetheless.

Posted by: Carol Gardens at June 9, 2008 5:54 PM

3:24 - i ate at Di Fara's about 200 times before football practice at Midwood field when i was in high school 15 years ago. Definitely not the best in Brooklyn. It's good but not deserving of all the hype.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:34 PM

3:59.

Shhhhhhhhhhh. Thats MY secret!

Now you've done it...Oh well, they need some business.

I say best undiscovered NYC pizza of 2008.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:38 PM

You must be mistaken my friend Difara's is the best in NYC.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:40 PM

7:40

Fine...but it is "discovered".

And overrated.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:43 PM

forninos on Bedford. amazing

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 7:43 PM

Didnt Forninos close weeks ago? Just asking if you mean the one at Bedford and Greene Ave?

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 8:30 PM

Luna Rossa on Court betw 9th and Hamilton is great.

Thought the new pizza place next to JP Hanley's was part of Hanley's as an attempt to get the families/kids out of the outdoor area. Hanley's for a short while had decent food and great brick oven pizza. Now it's totally mediocre bar food. Hope the pizza is better.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 10:23 PM

DiFara makes a tasty, crisp, if not burnt pie with fresh, quality ingredients, but the experience of waiting fifteen to forty minutes in that filthy, dilapidated shop amid a tight, sweating crowd for a four dollar slice is abominable.

I'm glad I tried it. The myth is busted. No need to go back.

Posted by: Hal at June 10, 2008 10:17 AM

Best round pizza is no longer in Bklyn or any of the boros - LI and NJ is where it's at. Station Pizza in Stony Brook is a slice of heaven just 50 miles away.

But L & B Spumoni Gardens in Gravesend makes a great square.

Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 11:55 AM

Luna Rossa kicks South Brooklyn's ass. It's a travesty that those guys do such a great job and get so little attention from the press.

Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 12:25 PM

8:30

I think you're thinking of Focaccino - closed.

Posted by: guest at June 10, 2008 2:11 PM

I have to second the first comment.

Jim McGown is a sleazy horrible landlord, and should not be supported. As a former tenant, he never made any repairs (let rats and pigeons infest our building despite repeated requests to fix), stole our security deposit and last month's rent. He is being sued by his bank for defaulting on 10 mortgages - I got served by the papers.

Please head to Lucali's and support an awesome pizza place. Or better yet - head to DiFara's.

My stolen security deposit helped pay for his "Antique Italian Brick oven."

Posted by: guest at June 16, 2008 4:22 PM

The pizza is mediocre at best. It seems like Jim McGown hasn't quite figured out how to make a good pie. Our pie was late, bland and burnt - not a good combination if you want repeat customers.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 10:38 AM

I guess it is a small comfort knowing I'm not the only one who Jim McGown screwed. As a tenant, I had to sue for my security deposit back. I won my case - but am still waiting for my money and it has been a year.

Maybe I should head down to SBP pizza to get my money back.

-Miriam

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 12:01 PM

Inconsistent seems to be the flavor of SBP. Bland one night - late the next - burnt to a crisp the next - the one thing that remains consistent is the overcharged pizza.

If it were awesome, I wouldn't might - but this is just robbery.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 2:18 PM

have they finally added some toppings?

when i went they told me they were in the "works." other the pizza is not so memorable.

Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 3:07 PM

I'm gonna have to try it again - because the night I went the oven was acting up according to the staff - maybe that explains the charred pizza.

Posted by: guest at July 15, 2008 1:13 PM

Jim McGown is a crook and he should be in jail, not making pizzas!
Period.

Posted by: ipotato at July 19, 2008 10:10 PM