I Didn't Know We Were Related - Uncle Mario's (9th Ave)

Apparently there's an Uncle Mario in my life and he resides on 9th avenue. Uncle Mario, no relation to Super Mario as far as I know, is open for business. Like incest, I keep it all in the family so I paid Uncle Mario a visit to see what he was offering. 

Armed with a brick oven, some flat screen TVs, and a saucy, middle-aged waitress who gave me the bedroom eyes, Uncle Mario's is definitely going to be an eatery to be reckoned with - even on the packed landscape up and down 9th avenue by restaurant row.

Entering Uncle Mario's is like entering a pizza porn shop. There were so many options sitting there waiting to be eaten it was nearly impossible to choose one. They all looked so good - from the regular pies to a chicken marsala pie that looked better than anything I ordered but I was on my 3rd meal of the hour so I had to take it easy.

I also needed a baseline, one that I'm using to gauge what a pizzeria can do so I sampled a Margherita slice and a white slice. Why a margherita? Well it's 5 o'clock somewhere was my rationale. Truth be told, if I have to pick between a regular slice and a margherita, I'll go with the latter at every chance. It's usually lighter and less salty and it gives me a chance to compare to good ol' Lombardi's.

White pizza is a guilty pleasure. It's less overwhelming than a calzone and tastes just as good. The margherita was crispy, thin, fresh cheese, fresh basil, and a delicious sauce that was not muddled down with too much seasoning to detract from the overall medley of flavors that Uncle M was bringing. As another example, take a look at the mac-n-cheese pizza to the left. I'll go back and let you kids know what I think. I saw this and thought of Kevin. Kevin, you know you thought of yourself too.

I will definitely be going back to try these and any other pies they've got. Especially you chicken marsala siciliano. I've got my eye on you.

Rating - 4.5/5 If they can consistently churn out pizzas like these, look out. Everyone will know their name if they don't already. They immediately enter the NYC pizza scene as a contender for the best in town.