G Wiv wrote:

Ram4 wrote:I keep adding more joints for my main list as well. It's going to be crazy.

You are crazy in the head! I love you

You have a favorite of the Chicago joints? I'd pick Jimmy's from that list but have not had Paulie Gee's NY slice yet.

I always thought Jimmy's was the best but IMO Paulie Gee's is a tad better. Obviously gotta have it asap once you order from the menu.

Once you've had Corner Slice, you will of course need ice cream to wash it down. Unfortunately, OddFellows has closed in Gotham West Market. Fortunately, it's been replaced by Mikey Likes It, which I can recommend based on last week's visit. The man has an interesting story, but more importantly the ice cream is quite good.

DKoblesky wrote:On my trip, I was able to get to Dhaulagiri Kitchen. As cilantro stated, delicious and cheap. If I lived near there I would go once or twice a week. Thanks again.

Dhaulagiri Kitchen
124 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10016
(917) 675-7679

Unfortunately, Dhaulagiri Kitchen has closed.

WhyBeeSea wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

Ram4 wrote:I keep adding more joints for my main list as well. It's going to be crazy.

You are crazy in the head! I love you

You have a favorite of the Chicago joints? I'd pick Jimmy's from that list but have not had Paulie Gee's NY slice yet.

I always thought Jimmy's was the best but IMO Paulie Gee's is a tad better. Obviously gotta have it asap once you order from the menu.

Sorry I forgot to check in on this thread. Jimmy's is definitely not my favorite for NY style. In fact, while I think it's a very good slice, it was actually making me DOUBT that NY style pizza was really that good because if people around here think it's that good and I don't - then NY style pizza is overrated. I now know that it definitely not the case and I still like Jimmy's (I had a great margherita slice last time). So which is my favorite? I really liked Craft, Paulie Gee's, Boiler Room and Gigio's on Broadway. The only one I was not impressed by was Cafe Luigi of the places I went to recently. Their sauce was weak. I have heard Stopalong is great but not sold by the slice. Up next are Pizza Serio, Nonna's, Pizza Friendly Pizza (Sicilian), and a few more.

cilantro wrote:Once you've had Corner Slice, you will of course need ice cream to wash it down. Unfortunately, OddFellows has closed in Gotham West Market. Fortunately, it's been replaced by Mikey Likes It, which I can recommend based on last week's visit. The man has an interesting story, but more importantly the ice cream is quite good.

Are you nuts? No more sugar! There is no way I'm wasting my caloric intake on ice cream vs glorious pizza. Seriously though, I am just about finished with sugar. It's poison, I just lost 50 pounds, I am at a normal BMI again and I'm not going back. Don't get me wrong, I always liked ice cream but I never had a true sweet tooth. I'm the guy who buys a container because I have a sweet craving, eats a little that night and never touches it again. I can't believe people buy full sized chocolate bars and eat the whole thing. I didn't eat sugar for over a full year and didn't miss it. Sugar will be a rare treat from now on.

Cilantro - I really appreciate your help but you are not paying attention. I am on this trip for pizza and will be trying to hit 4-5 joints a day so no, not "naturally I have to get ice cream if I got to Corner Slice." I am slightly curious what the cronut of the month at Dominique Ansell will be when I'm out there! Di Fara I am absolutely going for the square slice and the regular. We just added a night in Brooklyn to the trip, and another one on the front end in Philadelphia so I can see the Cubs play the Phillies. So this is going to be a 11-12 day trip at the minimum when you factor in the driving. And I might extend it after New York if I want to. I'll decide when I'm out there. Who knows? I'll probably be drained and sick by then.

Ram4 wrote:Cilantro - I really appreciate your help but you are not paying attention.

Sorry, I didn’t realize! Please ignore that part of the recommendations.

Anyway, here are my rankings of the best chocolate babkas in NYC:

#500:

Hey, Ram4, if you really want to calibrate your palate for the standard NY slice, start with Joe’s. If you’re lukewarm on that, you’re probably not going to be a fan of the style in general. I will say that the Joe’s in the Village is a mite better than the one in Union Square, if only because the former gets so much business that fresh pies are constantly flying out of the oven. Both are quintessential representations of the genre, though.

Can also confirm that Prince Street’s Spicy Spring is as great as ever and the lines are really not too bad these days, *except on weekends, when you should absolutely avoid it*.

If you’re in Brooklyn, Paulie Gee has a slice shop in Greenpoint (his original pizzeria is also there and is great, but it’s Neapolitan, which you’re not a fan of; if you change your mind, Motorino is amazing). Go for the Sicilian slices.

Ram, you lost 50 lbs by cutting out sugar which you did not have much of a taste for before anyway? Seems like there must be more to the story. What else did you cut out and what did you add?

Maybe by following the only LTHForum-approved diet plan?

Katie wrote:Ram, you lost 50 lbs by cutting out sugar which you did not have much of a taste for before anyway? Seems like there must be more to the story. What else did you cut out and what did you add?

Folks -

To nip this in the bud, this is not the thread to have this conversation. Thanks.

For the mods,

And I am back... I was on the road for 16 days and hit 29 pizzerias (4 of them twice). I only ordered plain cheese (or if it came with basil that was ok) as I am a sausage guy but the East Coast is not usually known for sausage and I don't do pepperoni or other toppings. On the way out I stopped in Toledo at Schucker's (since 1948) for their Hot Roast Beef sandwich (I think was brisket) with mashed potatoes and brown gravy all over the plate. It was fantastic. They are also know for their pies with at least 20 of them daily so I got my go-to a chocolate cream which was great. I stopped at Schmucker's on the way home too.

The first destination was Detroit where I took a friend to two places I have had many times. Tomatoes Apizza (Farmington Hills) for a coal oven New Haven style pizza. Then my favorite for Detroit style - Buddy's Pizza which I have had a couple dozen times by now. He lives in LA and said he had a great Detroit style pizza out there called D-Town Pizza. He said Buddy's blew it away.

Up next was an afternoon in Buffalo where I had beef on weck sandwiches at Charlie The Butcher (very good) and Schwabl's (amazing). I also squeezed in a so-so slice at La Nova Pizza which is a big deal in Buffalo. Reminded me more of Costco Pizza which I like as a guilty pleasure.

Then I had pizza slices near Scranton in Olyphant (Armenti's) and Dickson City (Basilico). Regular classic slice at both plus one grandma slice (the first place I went to was sold out of them). Both slices were solid and the grandma slice was very good. Later my friend in Philly picked me up at my hotel and we drove down to see the Cubs play the Phillies. He had a box of tomato pie pizza from Corropolese Bakery (open since 1924). This was a room temperature rectangle of dough with a thick sweet sauce on top and a sprinkling of Romano. That's it. I really liked it. He said it's common to just have it on your kitchen counter all day and you grab a square anytime you feel the urge.

The following day I took a ride to Princeton, NJ to have a New Jersey bar pie at Conte's. It was heavy on the cheese (which was very tasty) and had a different crust than I expected but I really liked it a lot. For dinner we went to one place I had on my radar for many years - DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, NJ (formerly Trenton). It was so good we ordered a second pizza. The dough was the star - crunchy (beyond crisp) with a fantastic rich flavor (olive oil?) plus the crushed tomatoes on top were nice. When we came back from New York a week later I went to DeLorenzo's in Yardley, PA and it was just as great (I did get half sausage as it looked good but it was decent at best). We also had a pizza at Angelo's in South Philly. It was delicious but too bready on the edge after a while. I loved the atmosphere of waiting for Angelo's on that side street. They would be yelling the names of the people waiting outside the door to come and get it. I saw a no parking sign with the handwritten added threat, "You take-a my space, I break-a you face!"

Next up was 5 glorious days in New York where I had the following:
Brooklyn:
Best Pizza (slice and grandma)
Di Fara (slice and grandma)
L'Industrie (slice)
L&B Spumoni Gardens (Sicilian)
Manhattan:
99 Cent Fresh (slices)
Joe & Pat's (half of a full thin pizza)
Joe's (slice and fresh mozzarella slice)
John's of Bleeker St (two visits - full pies)
Lazzara Pizza (half of a thin square pizza)
Mama's Too! (upside down pizza)
Patsy's Pizzeria (slices)
Pizza Collective (two Roman squares)
Sauce Pizzeria (slice)
Scarr's Pizza (slice and Sicilian)
Upside Pizza (Sicilian)
Zazzy's Pizza (slice and Sicilian)

Everything was very good to excellent. The lowest rated were Lazzara and probably Upside. The best slice was Di Fara but John's was our favorite overall for a full pizza. L'Industrie had an amazing crust. Joe's fresh mozzarella slice is better than their classic one. Patsy's was fantastic. Pizza Collective was the shocker - their Roman style squares were incredible. You really couldn't go wrong at just about any of them. Even 99 Cent pizza was very good.

We did want to hit Lucali but decided it wasn't worth the effort to get there and have to wait in line or be there at an odd hour on this trip. Looking back we could have gone there after L&B Spumoni Gardens but c'est la vie. Prince St Pizza was another I probably should have gone to (we were so close) but I don't eat pepperoni and since that's all people raved about, I wasn't interested. I loved Joe and Pat's (original is on Staten Island) but I was unable to try their grandma which I will next time. You can't hit them all... Of course I had to go to Katz's Deli for my one non-pizza meal which did not disappoint. Saw all the main attractions as well. Now that we've done a lot of the main pizza joints and truly know how to do this right, we can branch out to Queens as well next time.

I left Philly with another Corropolese Tomato Pie on the passenger seat and headed south to the Baltimore area where I tried a pit beef and gravy fries at Pioneer Pit Beef. Great meal with super thin tender charcoal smoky meat on a kaiser roll. Spent most of the day at Gettysburg and then hit a Chaps Beef location in Frederick, MD for another winner. My last day was walking around the DC area at Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall with a friend. Had a mid-Atlantic favorite fast food chain for breakfast twice - Bojangles. Spicy chicken biscuit and a chicken fried steak biscuit (I added country gravy).

If that wasn't exciting enough, I am likely going right back to the East Coast this month to Cape Cod for 2-3 weeks and you know what that means... New Haven apizza here I come. In addition I will try the "red strips" aka Rhode Island tomato pie along with grilled pizza in Rhode Island. Rhode Island pizza! Who knew?

Holy wow, you did good. Was Dom working at Di Fara? I heard he retired, so good that the pizza is still great if true. And how long was the wait at Katz's? When I was there a month ago it basically took up the entire block, so I kept walking.

Ram4 wrote:You can't hit them all...

You came close!

Really nice, enjoyable and enviable read.

I've been wondering about your trip! If you have any pics, we would love to see your slices. Great re-cap!

cilantro wrote:Holy wow, you did good. Was Dom working at Di Fara? I heard he retired, so good that the pizza is still great if true. And how long was the wait at Katz's? When I was there a month ago it basically took up the entire block, so I kept walking.

I didn't see Dom, but the store was closed so you could only order through the window off the sidewalk. After I ate the two incredible slices I asked the woman at the window how they allow a mediocre Di Fara at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. She laughed and said it was her brother's place. My experience at Di Fara Las Vegas in 2018 left me wondering if all NY pizza was overrated but I knew I had to go to the source before making my conclusion.

We waited 10-15 minutes inside Katz's and could have been seated immediately had we done table service. It was around 7:30-8:00 which we did on purpose to avoid the dinner rush.

G Wiv wrote:

Ram4 wrote:You can't hit them all...

You came close!

Really nice, enjoyable and enviable read.

Thanks Gary!

HonestMan wrote:I've been wondering about your trip! If you have any pics, we would love to see your slices. Great re-cap!

Thanks! I know... pictures or it didn't happen! I will look into that.

Oh I figured someone would ask - what about my weight? It barely went up. The main reason being we walked an average of 10 miles per day in New York (plus a lot in Philly and I walked over 10 in DC/Northern Va). A couple of days did half marathons at 13 miles. I know that most people won't be able to do that (or want to) but my friend already does 10 miles a day and I knew I had to walk a lot to rev up my metabolism. So I insisted we walk from Penn Station all the way to Central Park North on the Upper West Side and then over to Spanish Harlem to Patsy's. My knee was really hurting me after day one and I wondered how I could go on, but I went into Eskimo mode. People assume Eskimos have more natural insulation to tolerate the cold better than we do but it's a myth. They simply expect to be cold. So I simply expected my knee would hurt. I bought a compression sleeve for it (kind of helped - barely), iced it at night, took ibuprofen and sucked it up. It got better the more I walked. I walked the Brooklyn Bridge and the Williamsburg bridge with the bad knee. Pizza comes first!

Oh, I did have a bagel and cream cheese at Best Bagels and Coffee on 35th St. Good, but I've had better.

As to the sites - we went to the Top of The Rock(efeller) Center, Central Park on two different days, the Dakota, the Battery, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, 9/11 memorial at night and in the day (didn't go inside the museum this time), World Trade Center subway station (amazing - from the future!), Grand Central, Times Square, the Flatiron building, Coney Island, the Tenement Museum, San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy, and of course the Ralph Kramden statue! Loved it all. I am a huge WWII Pacific Theater buff and I knew the Intrepid museum was nearby but that takes hours and I didn't want to miss walking around the city. Maybe a Broadway show next time as well. Can't wait to return again.

Ram4 wrote:Oh I figured someone would ask - what about my weight? It barely went up. The main reason being we walked an average of 10 miles per day in New York.

I was going to. Impressive determination to walk that much. I've done the same thing for months at a time. Your legs are really sore for the first quarter/half mile, but once you're in stride it isn't bad until you're near the end around 12 miles or so when the muscles are completely exhausted. Important to have quality socks and shoes to protect your feet.

I am heading back for more pizza madness this summer. I mentioned that I hit 29 pizzerias (4 of them twice) and then I ended up going to New England a month later hitting another 22 joints (3 of them twice) so last year was beyond amazing. I mentioned the joints I hit on the second leg in the New Haven thread, but I can post what I had here if you want.

So I will be doing a similar setup (Philly, central NJ, Manhattan, Brooklyn) as last time but this trip will include Queens, and the Jersey Shore as well. I don't know how long I will be out there so who knows where I may end up. Once again my friend Eric from Philadelphia will be my partner in pizza for the first part of the trip. My goal is to hit a minimum of 30 pizzerias.

Once you have had a lot of great places, you naturally want to have them again (and I will) but I also need to try new ones so it's going to be interesting. We are definitely shooting for these new stops in NYC:
- Lucali (Brooklyn). This is a special place and we know the drill. Get there by 3, pick you seating time, go on a weekday. Shouldn't be an issue.
- Lombardi's (Little Italy). I am not expecting anything special. I know they coast on the "first pizzeria in America" thing. We'll have to order a full pie but we don't have to finish it. I still have to try it just to check it off.
- Totonno's (Brooklyn). One of the oldest in NY and like Lombardi's they have a coal oven. They are expected to be better. The only question is will it be open? They've been closed since Covid hit in 2020 but are not permanently closed yet.
- Corner Slice (Hells Kitchen). Dying to try their square slice.
- Impasto (Brooklyn). Roman squares. If they are anything like Pizza Collective, I am going to love it.
- Biga Bite (LES). More Roman squares. See Impasto.
- Luigi's (Brooklyn). Legendary classic slices.
- Prince Street Pizza (Little Italy). It gets a lot of love and we missed it last time.
- Johnny's (Mt Vernon). This would be a very long schlep up north of The Bronx but we may have to do it.
- Philomena's (Queens). Another legendary joint.
- DaVinci (Brooklyn). Known for Sicilian and Grandma squares.
All this plus a bunch more that we went to last time and maybe some surprises. I would consider a place like Una which is well known for Neapolitan but that is not a high priority style for us. Never say never because I was blindsided by the margherita I had at il Canale in DC. And this doesn't include many more Jersey spots and some around Philly. I'll be reporting by August.

Looking forward to the report.

I should know Philly pizza better than I do... like, is Tacconelli's still good? Anyway, on your way from NYC to Philly, you should consider stopping at DeLucia's in Raritan, NJ. One of these multi-generation places still running an oven from the early 20th century that puts out a tremendous crust: simultaneously light and crispy. Never been impressed by any of the toppings, but that crust is itself well worth a visit. Unfortunately, I can't think of any other reasons to visit Raritan, so this would be a real detour.

cilantro wrote:Looking forward to the report.

I should know Philly pizza better than I do... like, is Tacconelli's still good? Anyway, on your way from NYC to Philly, you should consider stopping at DeLucia's in Raritan, NJ. One of these multi-generation places still running an oven from the early 20th century that puts out a tremendous crust: simultaneously light and crispy. Never been impressed by any of the toppings, but that crust is itself well worth a visit. Unfortunately, I can't think of any other reasons to visit Raritan, so this would be a real detour.

So funny you should mention it - I was already planning/hoping to stop at DeLucia's on my way to my hotel in Princeton. I have already had Conte's in Princeton which was great, but I have to hit DeLucia's this time. Around Philly we hope to go to: Pizza Jawn, Pica's and Tacconelli's. I know my friend will have a box of tomato pie squares waiting in the car from Corropolese Bakery (room temp) which I had twice last year. I also will definitely return to DeLorenzo Tomato Pies in either Robbinsville, NJ or the second location in Yardley, PA (had both last year - both fantastic). The other joint I'd like to try is Papa's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville. I had Angelo's Pizza in South Philly last year and it was very good, but I don't feel the need to return.

Ram4 wrote:I am heading back for more pizza madness this summer.

...

- Totonno's (Brooklyn). One of the oldest in NY and like Lombardi's they have a coal oven. They are expected to be better. The only question is will it be open? They've been closed since Covid hit in 2020 but are not permanently closed yet.

I'm planning on going to Coney Island next Tuesday, on the, gotta go there once, plan. I was thinking a Nathan's hot dog and then Totonno's. Now, I'll need a plan b, but open to suggestion.

I've been wanting forever to try Uzbek-Jewish in Rego Park, so maybe that's what we'll do. Bamontes is another idea, but again, suggestions appreciated.

Ram4 wrote:So funny you should mention it - I was already planning/hoping to stop at DeLucia's on my way to my hotel in Princeton. I have already had Conte's in Princeton which was great, but I have to hit DeLucia's this time. Around Philly we hope to go to: Pizza Jawn, Pica's and Tacconelli's. I know my friend will have a box of tomato pie squares waiting in the car from Corropolese Bakery (room temp) which I had twice last year. I also will definitely return to DeLorenzo Tomato Pies in either Robbinsville, NJ or the second location in Yardley, PA (had both last year - both fantastic). The other joint I'd like to try is Papa's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville. I had Angelo's Pizza in South Philly last year and it was very good, but I don't feel the need to return.

Sounds like you know what you're doing. Tacconelli's and DeLucia's are very similar (although admittedly I've had much more of the latter). I'd be curious to read a side by side comparison.

Jawn is good!