Pizza Wars Update: Coal: Who Knew It Was So good?

New entrants since our last battle:

John’s of Bleeker Street: Great crust. Coal oven (new coal ovens aren’t allowed, but existing ones–John’s has been around since the 1920s–are grandfathered), so the crust had a wonderful charcoal flavor with some small burnt spots as a feature. Loved it. Texture was also superb: chewy/crispy combination was excellent. Sauce was fresh with a nice flavor blend of sweet and tangy from the tomatoes. Definitely going to be a high-ranking NY style pizza. Maybe not the top dog, but definitely top third. I paid the price for this one. I walked 1.5 miles round trip in 91 degree heat/high humidity in missionary attire. Maybe the walk made the pizza taste that much better? Probably not.

Joe’s Pizza, Carmine Street, Greenwich Village of Spiderman movie fame. Joe’s is an institution in NYC. While picking up pizza, we saw multiple firefighters and police, so they like Joe’s, a good sign to me. What was not a good sign was Joe’s had a mix-up with our order. I showed up at 11:45. The makers thought it was for 12:45, so order taker corrected them that it was 11:45. Makers started to make it right then, interrupting work on existing orders. 12-15 minutes later, we had a mozzarella pizza and a cheese Sicilian pizza, with 1-2 inch crust. Both were good. Not quite John’s of Bleeker Street (I could have just said “John’s,” but the full name “John’s of Bleeker Street” seems to show the respect their great pizza deserves) good but Joe’s crust was chewy, tasty, right thickness, right baking with some black spots, especially along the edge. The Sicilian (rectangle slices) had olive oil on the bottom of the crust, which added a nice flavor. Sauce, not as fresh as John’s but similar tangy, sweet combination. Cheese was chewy and delicious. Would have preferred more mozzarella on mozzarella pizza. But I can see why people like Joes. Very solid pies. Just ask the First Responders.

Scarr’s pizza. People were waiting in line slightly out the door. Most people ate outside on the street after picking up their slices. We were offered seats at the bar inside (Probably due to our Senior citizen status). Seemed like a way too civilized way to eat a couple slices, and we didn’t mind. The pizza? Wonderful crust, very chewy, not quite bagel-like chewy, but deliciously chewy with hint of crisp and slightly burnt spots. They grind their own flour, which is their not-so-secret secret and makes theirs one of the most sought after and highly rated pizzas in the city. The sauce brought out the taste of crust, not too tangy, not too sweet. Cheese was fresh and chewy. Hotboi with hot honey and jalepenos and pepperoni was excellently flavored. Not quite See No Evil quality, but close. Different than but similar rank to best NY-style pizza other than L’Industrie. Comparable but different than John’s of Bleeker. So good, so tough to rank, but hey, somebody’s got to do it.

Patsy’s Pizzeria. Since 1933. Patsy’s is noted by a number of raters as  a top NYC pizza place. It is the last Upper Westside pizza place on the list of pizza to try. It didn’t disappoint. Patsy is a sit down restaurant serving other Italian fare, but most famous for its pizza, NY style, coal-oven baked. They serve whole pies, not slices. We tried the “White Pie” and the “Old School Round,” the only two pizzas on the menu. Toppings are added separately, all the usual suspects. We elected not to add toppings. White pie: Mix of ricotta (lots of ricotta) and mozzarella was just right, giving the pizza a thick cheese texture and ricotta-ful taste in every bite. The crust was foldable but also crisp enough to not require it. The coal-smoke flavor was noticeable, but not quite as prominent as John’s of Bleeker Street. The chewiness once you bit through the outer crispiness of the curst was airy, medium dense. The Old School (what a great name) was tomato sauce and mozzarella. Both pizzas were dosed liberally with fresh basil leaves, the hallmark of Patsy’s flavor. We liked them both. Very close to John’s of Bleeker and comparable, but John’s hotboi wins.

Prince Street Pizza. On our list a long time, we finally visited last Friday night. The line for slices was coming out the door, but was manageable. We waited about 10 minutes, which gave us time to select our toppings. We decided to choose two Sicilian square slices, the ones that Prince Street is famous for and are their tastiest offerings, and two NY style round slices. The Sicilian slices were the Naughty Pie and the Spicy Spring (I confess my weakness for things spicy). We chose the original (plain cheese) and the fancy (fancier cheese) for the NY style.

The Naughty Pie (spicy sauce, mozzarella, clumps of ricotta), and Spicy Spring (Fra Diavolo Sauce, Pepperoni, Fresh Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano): Crust was delightfully crispy on the bottom, chewy on the inside. Spicy sauces, one tomatoey and one not, were both delicious, mozzarella was fine, but the ricotta clumps were outstanding melt-in-your-mouth tasty. Nicely done Prince Street.

The NY style pieces were not only nothing to write home about: overcooked, as in very crispy to the wiping out of any chewiness in the thicker outer crust. The crust had no flavor, maybe a little cardboard taste. Sauce as nice combo of sweet and tangy tomato–no complaints about the sauce. Cheese was OK.

The Sicilian slices put Prince Street in the top third of pizza places, but NY style puts them near the bottom. We were warned to stick to the Sicilian, but just like the boy who overfed Otto the fish, we didn’t listen. We paid the price.

Now the tough part, ranking. Drumroll please:

1. L’Industrie. Burrata is amazing. NY crust, freshness, toppings. All first rate.
2. See No Evil. Really a tie with L’Industrie. Excellent crust, toppings, spiciness combo.
3. Scarr’s. The crust really is that good, ground fresh on premises. The spicy Hotboi pizza is excellent.
4. John’s of Bleeker Street. So tightly bunched at the top of the list. Hard to see Mama’s Too drop to #7, but that charcoal flavor.
5. Patsy’s Pizzeria. Fresh basil leaves on top of ricotta and coal-fired crispy, chewy crust. Verrry nice!
6. Upside Pizza. A surprise with delicious NY style sourdough crust, tangy sauce and not just plain old cheese. Currently #2 NY style
7. Mama’s Too. Mama knows pizza. Crispy Roma crust with sharp tasting toppings and plenty of fresh mozzarella.
8. Song ‘E Napule. Excellent Neo crust.
9. Lucia. Did not disappoint. Crunchy, chewy crust is similar to L’Industrie. Ricotta cheese base (instead of tomato sauce) was creamy and tasty.
10. Prince Street Sicilian slices. Please don’t order NY style slices here. Sicilians are a very close second to Mama Too’s with some nice spice.
11. Ribalta. Still great pizza. Crust is outstanding. Cheese is still the best, but not by much. Probably should be higher but recency bias hurts it.
12. Joe’s. Maybe the institution boosts it a little, and maybe the police and firefighters eating there when I picked up boosted it. But good pizza.
13. Don Antonio. What’s not to like about a deep-fried crust.
14. Made in New York Pizza. Excellent crust, toppings, cheese combo.
15. La Traviata. Crust pushed it above the others.
16. Rosetta Bakery: treating the mini-battle as an aberration and hoping (they’re very close to us) they are still delicious.
17. Baggios. Tasty but no big differentiators.
18. Little Italy III. The crunchy coarse semolina sprinkled on the crust boosted this one.
19. Two Boots. Great toppings with good crust, good cheese, OK sauce. I think fresh vs. reheated (by the slice) makes a difference.
20. Francesco’s (FranJessica’s). Very close finish to 3 and 4.
21. Max Brenner’s. First pizza in NY. We liked it, but it’s quickly fading from memory.
22. Roma. How dare they burn the bacon? Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?
23. Pop’s pizza. Same with Pop’s. Remember it as good but fading from memory.
24. Rosetta pizza. Not Rosetta bakery. OK pizza. Nice to have ham and pineapple again.
25. Pizza Collective. Roma style with good crust (we like Roma-style crust), but lacking in the toppings, cheese, sauce. Good but not great.
26. Soho Pizza. The 18 inch $8 pie did them in. Young missionaries are very sorry to see them go.
27. J’s Pizza. Takeout steams the crust while in the box, rendering it non-crispy. Expected more and better from J’s.
28. Little Caesars. Had some on quick visit to Utah for our granddaughter Chloe’s blessing. I guess I’m becoming a bit of a pizza snob. I still like Little Caesar’s pizza, but it doesn’t compare well with NY pizza places. Maybe it was from sitting in the box, but the crust lacked crispness and was bland. Cheese was just OK, sauce was scarce and run-of-the-mill.