Famous Amadeus Pizza

Famous Amadeus Pizza

Followers of my other blog Gothamburgers know of my recent run-in at Jimmy's Burger Shack. While I left Jimmy's full of sorrow, I made a left onto 8th avenue where someone famous was calling. That someone was Sean Combs. Are you doubting me Thomas? Well, go to Famous Amadeus Pizzeria on 8th Ave. and tell me that Mr. Combs' picture is not on the wall, calling you.

Interestingly, I was a bit confused by the name. Maybe it was Famous Amos but that was taken by that cookie guy? Or maybe it's just meant to be Amadeus? I hear the name Amadeus and Falco comes to mind. Falco and this guy.

Famous Amadeus Slice

In my undying quest to eat at every pizzeria in NYC, I ventured into Amadeus, not expecting much but knowing it was light years ahead of the competition across the street. Armed with a few bucks and low expectations, I gave Famous Amadeus a shot. How was it? Well, it was actually good. The sauce was tasty and had nice layers of flavor to it. The bottom had a nice crunch and the crust was good. My only issue was the copious amounts of cheese on the plain slice.

Rating - 3.25/5 - It's a bit pricy at $2.75 per for a plain but overall it's good, even with all that cheese. It's definitely better than that other place across the street so if you need pizza after a night at the garden, give Amadeus a shot. Be sure to ask the guy behind the counter to, "Rock me Amadeus."

Their site - http://www.famousamadeus.com/Welcome.tpl

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Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Grimaldi's Pizzeria - Exterior

People like me call it downtown Brooklyn. Fancy people may call it Brooklyn Heights or whatever the heck else they call these areas downtown. Personally, I don't care what you call it. Get anywhere near the Brooklyn Bridge, start sniffing for pizza and follow the scent. If you find an enormous line near a velvet rope, you've come to the right place.

"Nothing is worth that kind of wait." That's what the ignorant will say without ever having taken a bite of the coal fired awesomeness that is Grimaldi's pizza. Thin, fresh, delicious. There's not much else like this in all of NYC and let me tell you, there's a reason the big G ranks at or near the very top of all the "Best Pizza" lists for the 5 Boroughs.

Grimaldi's Pizzera - You know the rules

Loyal followers know that I am not fond of the pretentious "No slices" places, see Chipp, however there are pizzerias where this works. How? Well, for starters they have the rep to back it up. Secondly, the pizza is that good that you should want a minimum of 8 pieces so that even if you don't gorge you can gladly enjoy them later. Re-heated, not cold, of course.

Call it what you will but I go here for their signature pie with no toppings to litter the taste of the amazing sauce (light, sweet, and full of flavor), fresh mozzarella (this is mmm, mmmm good), and basil. The thin crust, coal fired masterpiece is served fast and HOT as their pizza man churns out pie after pie in record time to serve the masses.


Rating - 5/5 - This is the best of the best. I hear that eating this will make you look younger, act smarter, live forever, and give you cool points with even the most harsh critics. Remember the girl that would NEVER go to prom with you? Should have told her you eat here regularly and she'd have been convinced that you're not the loser she thought you to be.

Directions, hours, menu at - Grimaldi's own site.

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Luigi's Pizza - 8th Ave b/w 55th and 56th

Luigi's 8th Ave

Another day, another Luigi's. There are literally a million pizzerias in NYC and I seem to keep stumbling upon new ones named after the Nintendo icon's not-so-famous other brother. In honor of the death of Luigi's on West End and 61st is another Luigi's for you.

The sign says they've been there since 1975. That's somewhat impressive because that's totally like forever ago, it's older than me, and there's another pizzeria that's like 3 doors down (no not the rock n roll band, literally three doors away) so it must be good. MUST BE!

Or not. I mean, when you live my life you gotta eat pizza and you gotta eat pizza from places named Luigi's. You just gotta. Or I gotta. Whatever. Don't confuse me here. So I go to this Luigi's, basking in my accomplishments in the deaths of WSBS and the aforementioned West End Luigi's. Before you go all soft on me, just remember that saving the world from bad food is part of my super-hero code of ethics.

Luigi's Slice - 8th Ave

Luigi's Slice - 8th Ave - Floppy

Back to the slice at hand....well, it's $2.50 for a plain which is essentially the de-facto price in NYC (unless you go to 2 Bros. Pizza and we're going there soon kids!) and it's a big enough slice to justify something or other with the price point. However, the slice must deliver. Does it? Size does matter so it gets a point there. That's a heck of a lot of cheese. Did I order extra cheese? I didn't think so but whatever, Trevor. I'm hungry and ready to eat. First bite, not bad. Not much flavor at all, but not awful. Trust me I know awful. But, this Luigi does not deliver and what's the nail in the coffin? Look at that flop. I haven't seen a flop like that since I won that hold 'em tourney at the Trop last summer. Oy vey Luigi. You have not rescued the Princess with this one.

Rating - 1.5/5 - Size matters so that's all the points you get. Flavorless and floppy are the F words I'll use since I keep this PG.

Their site - http://www.luigispizzanyc.com/ 

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Broadway Pizza

Broadway Pizza - 99th and B'way

Broadway Pizza - Good Size

My most recent eatercising adventure included a 3 mile jaunt with 5 stops along the way. One of the five was Broadway Pizza, conveniently located on Broadway and 99th. The medium sized pizzeria features entrees and sandwiches as well but we all know why I was there. The competition is plentiful, but not so fierce when venturing up and down Broadway from Lincoln Center to say 110th but you need to know where to spend your pizza eating dollars.

The slice offered at Broadway Pizza is good size and is comparably priced to the rest of the joints on B'way (Sal & Carmine's, Cafe Viva, Cheesy Pizza, Two Boots, etc.) The difference here is that Broadway Pizza may in face have the best slice of them all. The plan, cheese slice had really good sauce and the perfect sauce:cheese ratio, thin crust, nice crunch.

Of all the pizza I've had in this area, Broadway Pizza has the best tasting slice, not the biggest since Sal & Carmine's takes that honor, but the slice at Broadway resembled pizza, all the way through as opposed to that slop I got at S&C. More importantly, it tasted good. The sauce really jumped out at me here and I enjoyed the slice as I strolled down B'way to my next destination...

Rating - 3.5/5 - Nothing overwhelming here. A good slice at a decent price. $2.50 seems to be the going rate around most of Manhattan but I'll soon show you how we buck that trend to get an absolutely DELICIOUS slice (along with one that is not so delicious so buyer beware and stay tuned)!

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Chipp

Ever notice the rash of pizzerias that are so self-important that they dare not serve you a slice of pizza. Some have earned that degree of status (Lombardi's and Grimaldi's come to mind and they often exchange the top slot for the best pizzeria in the 5 boroughs). Some of the New Pizzas On The Block (NPOTB if you will) are coming up and claiming that they too can sell you a full pie, no slices commoner!

Venturing through the old hood, I saw this place Chipp that was on Ocean and Z, right at my old bus stop. Naturally I had to go here. Inside, the place is gorgeous! Very clean, modern, and had a good looking interior. Let's not forget the brick oven. I wander in and gave the menu a once over and was impressed with what they had to offer - particularly this dessert pizza that featured a nice mix of fresh fruits, why more place do not do dessert pizza is beyond me. BE CREATIVE! Chipp gets points there. Where Chipp loses points is when I go to the counter and ask for a slice and the girl said, "we don't do that here." To which I replied, "I figured. That's too bad." She said, "get a pie, it's small. Maybe the size of two slices." I told her, "No thanks. It's a little pricey for two slices." Nearly $9 for the equivalent of two slices of pizza. This aint DiFara's and that's hardly worth it either.

Rating - N/A - I'd love to just say 0. Maybe I'll get here one day. Maybe not. Probably not. That's a lotta dough for 2 slices of pizza.

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Brooklyn's Finest

Now That's Buffalo Chicken

Brooklyn this, Brooklyn that. Want the best sandwich? Go to Brooklyn. Want the best bagel? Go to Brooklyn. Want the best pizza? Go to Brooklyn. What to do when you're not in Brooklyn but want the best? Do not be tempted to go to the places that reference Brooklyn in their store name. It's not just a New York phenomenon because you can go to most any state to find New York style something, and sometimes more specifically, Brooklyn style.

Now that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's actually somewhat flattering and definitely a sound business plan. All that aside, there's a new contender for your pizza buying dollars on Staten Island and the theme is Brooklyn Dodgers based. The restaurant? Brooklyn's Finest. Why Brooklyn's Finest is on Staten Island is curious. Why there's no Richard Gere photos is beyond me too. The restaurant has sandwiches themed for the various neighborhoods of the best borough. BF is relatively new (opened April 2011) and is located really close to the Bridge but being so close to the bridge that separates SI and BK, you better be really good to want to entice me not to cross the bridge.

Grandma's Boy

The pizza offerings were vast, so vast that three needed to be sampled because I was my usual slovenly self and I was also feeling rather indecisive. That all being said, the buffalo chicken pizza really was an eye opener. This was like one of my most favoritest buffalo chicken pizzas ever. EVER! Two things made it great: 1) the buffalo chicken was actually spicy 2) the pizza dough was thick, no sauce (pizza sauce that is), and the perfect amount of cheese.

Hmmm. You look familiar.

The other sampled pieces were a grandma slice (good taste, GREAT sauce, but lacked the crunch at the bottom) and an L&B style square that delivered with the same great sauce, overall good flavor, but very thin in comparison. Thickness was about double that of the grandma square but still too thin to replicate the L&B square. Not that I am saying the goal was to replicate said square but they went through great lengths to make it look like that square.

Rating - 3.25/5 Lots of stuff to try and the specialty pies really seemed to be the way to go. There was cheesesteak, buffalo, marsala, ziti, etc. The buffalo was really good and I think the rest looked to be worthy of a second look.

Brooklyn's Finest is located at 1250 Hylan Blvd in the same shopping plaza as Bocelli's.

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The Square - Hylan Blvd (Staten Island, NY)

The Square

Square Sign on Hylan Blvd

Someone once said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. What took someone over 60 years to imitate the magic created at L&B Spumoni Gardens is beyond my comprehension. 

I was recently told that I "had to try" this because it's as "good as L&B." That's a VERY lofty statement in my world because L&B serves up the only Sicilian I willingly eat and I think that has to count for something. L&B also is the home of the triple parked car, the outrageously long lines, and can serve all the slices in a square pie (24 in total) in about 2 minutes on a slow day. But this is not about L&B, this is about the Square and how it measures up.

Square with Menu

At left is a pic of the menu and the overhead shot of the Square. My first impression was "Wow! They look like they really nailed it." Then I bit into it and those thoughts vanished. Sure the texture is similar with the cheese having been melted directly into the dough, hidden beneath a layer of thick, sweet sauce. The similarity between the imitator and the originator end there. The dough seemed dry and overdone compared to what L&B serves (I should know, I was there an hour later). The crunch on the bottom was a little extra crunchy compared to L&B and I actually liked the extra crunch. I did not like the dryness of the rest of the dough and the sauce, while sweet, was spread rather thinly and lacked other flavor beyond parmesan cheese.

Square - Side Angle

The Square also serves a slightly smaller piece than that of L&B but the size difference is marginal when you consider the $13 toll on the Verrazano Bridge. In the pic at right, you might be able to note the relative dryness in the dough, especially towards the left side of the piece (the right side has extra e.v.o.o. seeping into the dough. The Square is a decent alternative when taking the Bridge toll into consideration but to compare the two, there's ultimately no comparison. L&B was imitated and not duplicated by this small pizzeria with a very unassuming store front right off of Hylan Boulevard, ironically within 5 minutes of the aforementioned Bridge.

Rating - 2.75/5 - Maybe it was a bad day for the Square? Maybe eating there at lunch time  was not a good idea? Maybe the sauce needs a little work? Maybe I'm just a huge L&B fanboy but I'd welcome any pizzeria to make Squares the L&B way because it just tastes better. This is good but not great and I'd say if you are on SI, this is worth a look.


**Editor's Note - rating is based on the Square experience alone and the resulting score has nothing to do with the Pizza served at L&B. References to L&B are strictly made because of the obvious comparison.


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