Pizza can be a very personal decision. Personally, I’m a thin crust pepperoni & green pepper kind of girl, but you might be a thick crust sausage & pineapple kind of person. Many people associate New York City closely with pizza, after all it originated there in the early 1900s. I’ve had a lot of slices during my visits to New York & below are three of my favorite pies in the city: Grimaldi’s, Rays, & Co.
Grimaldi’s– traditional, coal fired pizza The line is always long, but the pizza is so darn good, it doesn’t even matter. Grimaldi’s pie is made the same way it has been forever: in a tiny restaurant under the Brooklyn Bridge in a coal fire oven. When you order here, you have to go traditional: straight pepperoni. Just remember the rules: No Credit Cards. No Reservations. No Slices. No Delivery.
(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved
Famous Original Ray’s– thin crust, hand tossed
Jerry: [Talking over the phone about Kramer being lost] What’s around you?
Kramer: I’m looking at Ray’s pizza. You know where that is?
Jerry: [Looks surprised] Is it Famous Ray’s?
Kramer: [Looks] No, it’s just original.
Jerry: [Looks even more surprised] Famous ORIGINAL Ray’s?
Kramer: It’s just original, Jerry!
There are a lot of variations of Ray’s pizza around Manhattan, but the one I’m particularly a fan of is Famous Original Ray’s right off of Times Square on Broadway. My first visit to Ray’s was at the end of a food stuffed trip to NYC in December 2008. Despite all the pretzels, cannolli, pasta, & steak we had over the weekend, we still hadn’t had a traditional New York slice – I couldn’t let my husband get away with leaving NYC without one jumbo slice to line our arteries. So in we went & three greasy, pepperonni-y, sausage-y jumbo slices later (shared, not each!), we rolled down Broadway for our train ride home. It was a decision I don’t regret.
(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved
Co.– traditional with a twist I learned about Co. (pronounced “company”) from fabulous New York blogger Joanna Goddard & had an excellent lunch there during my last visit to New York. Tucked into a cute storefront in Chelsea & the brainchild behind the guy over at Sullivan St. Bakery, the lightly wood paneled space is warm, inviting… & often packed (although we snagged a table with no problem around 2pm on a Friday). The conversation is lively as pizzas in a perfect sharing size come out, dotted with yummy, ashy air bubbles & whole host of toppings. If you’re not in the mood for carbs, try a bowl of meatballs that taste close to what my great-grandmother used to make.
Photo courtesy of A Cup of Joe Blog
Photo courtesy of A Cup of Joe Blog
Grimaldi’s Under the Brooklyn Bridge 1 Front Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 718.858.4300
Famous Original Ray’s 1710 Broadway New York 10019 212.247.7901 Co. 230 Ninth Avenue (24th Street) Chelsea 212.243.1105
Leave a Reply