Greenwich Village in New York City is a pizza lover's dream, with three outstanding parlors within a few blocks of one another: Bleecker Street Pizza, Joe's, and John's of Bleecker Street. We begin with Bleecker Street Pizza. A good pizza slice should be crisp yet soft, light, and hang off a plate. Immediately, we knew we were in luck.
We shared each of their famed slices, the Nonna Maria and the square, thick Sicilian style. I would never get the Sicilian again, because it fills you up and you don't have room for more! The Nonna Maria has an amazing thin crust with a bit of cornmeal on the bottom. This place is amazing. The next day, I ended up going back and having my own slice!
No better late-night treat than Joe's. (Although, this was where Regan's pizza fatigue almost set in.)
This is right around the corner from Bleecker Street Pizza and, while I love the Nonna Maria, Joe's plain cheese slice is even better! It folds easily; it's super thin, crispy, chewy, and huge: a proper slice of NY pizza. If I lived on this corner, I would have pizza stains on all my clothes.
Take the Q train to Avenue J in Brooklyn for DiFara Pizza. You'll arrive in Midwood, a predominantly Orthodox Jewish community where Woody Allen went to high school and where many great movies have been filmed, including scenes from The Godfather. It is also home to one of NY's most expensive and loved slices. Owner and pizza guru Domenico has been serving beautifully thin crust slices drizzled with olive oil and torn basil for over 40 years. At $5 a pop, it's a bit much for a humbly sized slice. It is more cheesy and smaller than most NY slices, but it left me searching in my wallet for another Lincoln.
Midwood is an interesting area to take a long stroll after a slice or two. You are also just a few subway stops from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. We had a good time in this part of Brooklyn -- and I am glad I tried DiFara's -- but with so many great places in Manhattan, you may want to save your subway fare for another slice. We continued on our Brooklyn journey all the way to Coney Island for a bite at Tottono's, but they were closed! Supposedly, The Warriors were there for lunch and ate the last slice!
Ahhh! John's Pizza -- the first stop on our last few trips to NY. This is as good as it gets, although you have to commit to a whole pie. They do not do slices, nor do you want them to. If you can't finish it, then you shouldn't be in NY. John's is the perfect slice of pizza.
Once the glorious cheese pizza hits your mouth, you want to sleep in the booth only to be awakened by another pizza, perhaps topped with their Italian sausage or meatballs. John's of Bleecker Street is the best every time. Next time you are in NY, go to the triangle at Bleecker Street, and be prepared to loosen your belt.
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