Ohhhhh! Rated #1 by Rachel Ray? Having been born and raised in Fresh Meadows, Queens, its hard not to head south on Frannie Lew (that's Francis Lewis Boulevard, as in Francis Lewis the American hero and Patriot), and head straight to Gaby's Pizza for some great pizza every now and again.

Doug Heath and I were busy this past weekend gabbing about Gaby's Pizza. It says something. Doug, arguable the greatest bounty hunter in NYC history should know a thing or two about finding things. But what makes Gaby's Pizza in Fresh Meadows telling to guys like Doug and myself is that we grew up with great neighborhood pizzerias ourselves. Doug, living near Gino's of Flushing (Kissena Blvd.) and me within a 30 second sprint to Brothers in Fresh Meadows.

So, what's with all these great pizza parlors in Queens? That's what I'm tryin' to tell ya! Here, again, in the long line of awesome pizzerias is Gaby's. Since 1964 they have been serving their faithful at the same location, with the same fantastic recipe.

And Benfaremo! The Lemon Ice King of Corona to boot, rounding out New York tradition, Queens style. Fugghedaboutit! And fugghedabout Brooklyn while your at it.

Gaby's Pizza slices of Neapolitan pizza are a perfect 1/4" thick of crust loaded with sauce and cheese to perfection earning Gaby's Pizza top honors as the heartiest plain neopolitan slice you will ever have.

Most Neapolitan thin crust New York style pizza is generally thinner than 1/4". The attempt to cook a 1/4" pie and have such a rich and fully cooked taste is often attempted but rarely perfected. Gaby's Pizza has perfected this fine art and delivers solidly.

The crust is cooked to a nice browned bottom and the art of creating a perfect circle of a browned crisp piping as the finish line crust is simply awesome. It is a perfect circular crostini around the pie.

Hearty slice. Crispy crust. Cooked through. No doughy under cooking. Not burnt, with a crispy buttery finish makes Gaby's a home run 7 out of 8 slice rating, and worthy of the praises from Rachel Ray. But #1? Come on Rachel, that's an impossible claim. Every pizza lover knows exactly who and where to find #1.

Gaby's Pizza in Fresh Meadows gets 7 out of 8 slices.