If you like burnt pizza then Tony’s Authentic Brooklyn Pizza in Boca Raton is just the place for you. I couldn’t believe how every single sliced pie looked burnt there. Almost like they burnt them from other orders, and just put them out to sell as slices. Tony’s is located on 23269 State Road 7, Boca Raton, 1-(561)-483-6464.
Went to Mario the Baker on 2220 N. University Drive in Sunrise 954.742.3333 with my sister and her family the other day. Long known as having some of the best garlic knots in South Florida, as we passed this place I figured we should give it a try. Many of you might have read my previous review on Mario The Baker in Boca Raton. This is owned by different people, and is considered the flagship location alongside the one in Miami.
The place was almost totally empty outside of us and another table. Maybe this was due to the fact we were on an off hour, or perhaps cause their quality has been slipping. Since I hadn’t eaten here before, I would like to guess it was due to the hours we ate there. Everyone at the table decided upon a pie with meatballs, and some of those supposedly delicious garlic knots (or rolls, who knows what they call them down here from place to place). Our waitress took our order and then pretty much disappeared. Now I understand that there was nobody else to tend to, so it was frivilous to be sitting around doing nothing, but it might have been nice to get a refill and some napkins or something if we needed them. Luckily another waitress who brought out the garlic knots took care of our needs.
In my opinion these garlic knots were not even close to the best in South Florida. So for all of those who have bragged about them for years (Tiffany) you need to have your taste buds examined. I have had plenty of better knots around South Florida. Places like Pizza Time, and Luna’s come to mind immediately. Since this isn’t worstgarlicknots.com, we will not focus on them anymore then we already have.
The pizza came out and looked presentably. What was odd is that Mario The Baker puts their meatballs on top of the pie, and then rebakes the pie with some cheese. Personally, this is not the way I like it. For those who enjoy picking off the toppings as they are eating, this type of pie makes it difficult. Although it is “different”, different doesn’t always make it better. The cheese:sauce ratio was decent, and the taste of both were pretty good. The big issue with Mario The Baker in their Sunrise location is their crust. As you can see by the above photo, this pizza was almost raw, and the crust was un-enjoyable. This pie needed at least another 2+ minutes in the oven. Seeing how the top was pretty melted, I am going to guess that their ovens are not set at the accurate temperature. If they say they are, then they have some serious cold spots in the oven and should focus on rotating the pies. Both the Mario The Baker’s I went to in Boca Raton, and Royal Palm Beach taste much better.
Mario The Baker in Sunrise, gets 4 out of 8 slices.
I’d eaten at Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza once before, but since I have a new purpose when I eat pizza (not that I needed one!), I thought I’d head back. Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza is located on 6641 Arlington Boulevard, Falls Church, VA. It’s in the corner of a shopping center on Rt. 50, and it’s designed after the many beach boardwalk pizza places up and down the coast. Bright colors. Neon signs. Bit of a 50’s diner feel.
My husband and I went in the night after a snowstorm, so business was slow, and the staff was using the opportunity to rearrange some things in the store. From what I could tell the improvements were going to make the place more user friendly. The young man taking our order was friendly and helpful, and even with the rearranging the atmosphere was pleasant. The walls were covered in photos of famous boardwalks. I ordered two slices of reasonably priced cheese pizza ($2.50 per slice) and sat down to wait.
I should preface my comments by saying I’m partial to NY style pizza, and I consider the true measure of any pizza to be a slice of plain cheese. Nothing fancy, just the basics: crust, cheese, sauce. Do those well, and it’s pretty hard to screw up the rest. As for Boardwalk Pizza, I’ll start by saying the slices were obviously reheated. Not uncommon, and not necessarily the end of the world. Actually, the first bite was quite good. And the second.
Overall, the slice had good consistency. It was greasy, but not too much so, and it had good foldability (yes, I’m making up words). If I can’t fold a slice in half, length wise to eat it, now, that’s the end of the world! The cheese was good quality (part-skim mozzarella, I’m fairly certain) and balanced well with the sauce. I like a relatively thin, even layer of mild tomato sauce that complements the cheese. Check.
As with any good NY style crust, it was not bready, just short of chewy and had a nice crisp on the very bottom. There was one bubble, but I don’t really mind that. Always thought they made things more interesting. So far so good, that is until I got to the outer edge at which point everything fell apart. I think had this not been a reheated slice my next comment would be very different. The outer crust had the taste and texture of stale melba toast. You know, those crackers you find on the salad bar?
Anyway, I would have rated this pizza better if not for the outer crust, and I’m tempted to order a whole pie to see what it’s like fresh. The 2 slices I had were good, so I’d expect a whole fresh pie to be better, but I’ll get back to you on that. As it stands, I’ll give pizza by the single slice at Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza 4 out of 8 slices. The outer crust is pretty key to the entire experience after all.
Until next time, pass the Parmesan!
From Wall Street, Main Street and the various Side Streets of New York, our streets have been occupied by pizzerias since the turn of the twentieth century. And while the current financial crisis has been debilitating to our economy and consequently consumers, pizza has remained an inexpensive staple of our modern time. That is why I have recently started eating pizza more frequently. Pizza has been a part of my life since early childhood in the living, breathing Smörgåsbord that is Brooklyn. That is precisely why I find it more intriguing to discuss Little Joe’s III of East Setauket… Long Island!
Yes, Long Island. Located on 30 Route 25A in East Setauket 631.689.8800, I recently found myself upon recommendation enjoying several of their slices, including their regular, white slice, and now my favorite, Grandma. Do not get me wrong, I mean no disrespect to the pizzerias I have frequented during my time in Brooklyn and New York City – Grimaldi’s, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Nino’s Pizzeria, DiFara’s, and Totonno’s. But I am convinced that the only thing separating Little Joe’s III from the above mentioned is proximity. If Little Joe’s III were located in Brooklyn, or Manhattan, it would be a household name to many pizza lovers.
This comes as no surprise to me. The owners are originally from Brooklyn and pay fair respect to details, using the finest and freshest ingredients regardless of cost.
As I alluded to before, the Grandma slice is my favorite, and I dare to say it rivals any competitor’s. The owner informed me that the tomato sauce, which makes the slice, is his own recipe. And unlike other pizzerias whom have failed to find the right balance of dough to make the perfect Grandma, Little Joe’s slice holds up – Literally.
I recommend anyone try this slice.
Little Joe’s III in E. Setauket gets 7 out of 8 slice!
editors notes: I also recently tried this pizza upon a recommendation. Although the Sicilian slice was average, I found the regular slice to be delicious!
I’ve eaten at Marabella Pizza in Queens, NY a few times now and really have enjoyed it. I live pretty far from their pizzeria and they still deliver to me. Marabella offers a typical NYC slice. I like the sauce to cheese ratio and I find their crust to be well put together.
I usually get the personal pizza (round the hood we call this a mini pie) which for just cheese is $6 and I can get two meals out of it. The large cheese pie is $11.50 which is reasonable considering it’s 18″.
The actual pizzeria is also a typical NYC pizzeria. Nothing fancy, just a bunch of tables and some music. When I’ve picked up food, they are always working on huge orders for what looks like catering.
I also enjoy their baked ziti. But the best thing I’ve had from Marabella is their garlic knots. They aren’t greasy and pack a strong dough and garlic combo. They are 20 cents each and I would recommend grabbing some no matter what you order.
The only negative thing I have to say about Marabella is that one of their delivery people isn’t very friendly. He threw a fit on me the second time because I only gave him a $2.50 tip after he came all this way. I was shocked considering that a tip isn’t mandatory and frankly $2.50 was more than I usually tip!
I will give Marabella Pizza 6 out of 8 slices
My wife suggested a pizza place she passed by the other day while driving through Deerfield Beach. When I finally found the shopping center a couple of days later, I assumed she meant All Star Pizza. All Star Pizza is located on 1315 S. Military Trail in Deerfield Beach, Fl 954.481.3455.
Upon walking into this establishment, I wasn’t too impressed with the decor. After waiting a couple of minutes at the counter, someone came and asked me “yes”, now I am not sure if this meant something like “what would you like today”, or even “what can I get you”. So just taking a guess that Yes meant one of these, I asked for a slice.
After paying I asked if I could have a receipt (you know all these pizza tastings add up come tax time) and he looked at me like I was some sort of idiot. Like by me asking for a simple receipt, ruined his day. Oh no! What is he supposed to do, actually take out a pad and manually have to write 1 slice $…. ? If this is the Yes guy that works there with the bald head, sorry to have troubled you this day by making you do something extra. Excellent customer service buddy!
Eventually he left to go do something else that must have been very hard, like maybe moving a can of soda from the counter to the trash, or maybe figuring out how to use the phone. When the slice came out a more energetic guy gave me it and actually smiled, which was very unique for this place. If the pizza sucked, I would have enjoyed continuing on the things I disliked about this place, but the pizza was actually pretty good. It was nothing amazing that would make me travel out of my way to go there, but if I was in the area, compared to the other places located around it, this place would be my place of choice.
All Star Pizza has bubbles in their pizza, which I do not care for. The guy making the pizza seemed to actually care about the pies and ingredients he was using on them, so I am a bit shocked he didn’t open the oven to pop the bubbles. The crust had a nice taste and was crispy. The cheese was adequate and the sauce was put on perfectly and evenly!
All Star Pizza gets 5 out 8 slices. Hopefully during my next visit I will not ask for a recipt and things should go better.
Also guys, spend a few hundred bucks and redo your website, it looks terrible!
I hadn’t been to Eddie’s Pizza in New Hyde Park for what seems like 10 years! Eddie’s Pizza is located on 2048 Hillside Ave, New Hyde Park, NY 11040 (516) 354-9780. Eddie’s has long been known by the locals as the best Bar Pizza in New York. Ed Levine describes what a bar pie is:
What defines a bar pizzeria? They’re usually family-run businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation. It’s pizza served in a bar (of course), which means minors are not let in unaccompanied by adults. Bar pizza is served by waiters, waitresses, and bartenders who, let’s just say, have been around the pizza oven more than a few times. There’s a good chance that the choicest tables are booths.
What is bar pizza like? It’s usually very thin-crusted to (I’m guessing) leave plenty of room in the eater’s stomach for beer. It’s baked in a gas oven that may have replaced a coal oven if the bar is old enough. You will not find any fancy-pants ingredients or toppings in or on a bar pizza.
Last time I ate at Eddie’s Pizza, I loved it. It was delicately thin, and had a delicious sweet tasting sauce, which was cooked perfectly under the tasty mozzarella cheese. This time we went to Eddie’s, it was with great excitement, as I wondered if the food still tasted the same. We arrived at Eddie’s Pizza on this frigid night, only like 15 minutes before they were closing the kitchen. Unlike Rizzo’s Pizza in Astoria, they made us our food, and without an attitude I should note.
When the pizza came out, it looked exactly how I imagined it used to. Perfect amount of cheese and sauce, and a super crisp thin crust. When I say thin, I meant thinner then you could possibly imagine. When you eat there you will understand. I had the plain pizza, and my friend had the Potato, Bacon, and Cheddar pie. My pizza was really good, but not as good as I recalled it to be. The only reason I could think it tasted the way it did, was because of the time. Something tells me they had to re-fire the ovens for us, and just really didn’t put the time and effort into making it perfect. Normally I would rip a place apart for this kind of treatment, but in their fairness it was like close to 11 I think, and they were nice enough to give us any food. It is hard to be angry at a place that still managed to give us a pretty damn good pie right before closing. Everyone looked tired that worked there, and the pizza reflected it.
This will in no way prevent me from going back to this well known establishment. Eddie’s definitely deserves another chance, and will get one. For this visit I am going to give them 6 out of 8 slices. So it could only get better from here! Try this place if you can!
Seeing Hall & Oats perform can work up quite an appetite. Lucky for me, Pizza Rustica in Delray Beach keeps their doors open until 3am so I know I could score a somewhat hearty slick of pizza. However the counter service I received that night was one I never would have expected.
Since it was very late, I figured I’d go for a slice of their wheat crust plain pizza. The price of the slice displayed was $4 which is on the cheaper side at Pizza Rustica. The slice was thrown into the oven and I proceeded to wait in line for my slice. I was stoked.
The girl behind the register, with her blank stare and jaw hung out charged me $5.36 for my slice. I raised my eyebrow and protested. I told her that price can’t be right because the display price for the wheat cheese slice was $4. She said the price of the slice was in the computer and that’s what I owed. I told her to go look at the display sign and she just stared back at me with a lifeless stare. A few seconds later she asked for assistance and another guy, who was busy making pizzas, reset the register. She rang it up once more and $5.36 came up.
I was floored. This girl didn’t care to check the display price nor did she care to remedy the problem. I gave her my $20 bill and she gave back the change that was displayed on the register because chances are, she can’t do simple arithmetic much less remedy a pricing error.
As I sat eating my slice and conversing with my friends regarding the glory of the Hall & Oats show, I noticed that there was a price for a wheat ‘special’ pizza slice which was $5. The girl punched the wrong key in twice. Instead of hitting the plain wheat slice, she kept keying in the wheat special slice key. I just shook my head.
To the owners of Pizza Rustica, listen good and listen well. You never know when a worstpizza expert will walk through your doors. And don’t think it’s just pizza we are reviewing. Getting ripped off by the girl running the register earns you a 1/8 slice rating. The one is for the slice. I actually liked the wheat crust because it had a hearty flavor.
My name is Walter and I walked out of Pizza Rustica feeling that the management don’t care about their customers.
Rizzo’s Fine Pizza located on 3013 Steinway Street in Astoria Queens 718.721.9862 would have probably been a great place to try when I was in town. The reason I say WOULD HAVE, is because I called them up from down the road and asked them what time they close? The guy who answered the phone responded 10:00pm. So I was psyched that I would get to try this highly praised pizza place, known by the locals as one of the best.
I called at approximately 9:15 when I was told 10:00pm. I arrived no later then 9:25, only to find the door half down and the staff counting the money already. Why wouldn’t the genius mention to me, that even though they close at 10:00pm, we are closing early tonight. Also why would they say they are open to 10:00pm, if they close before 9:30pm? This left a bad taste in my mouth, considering I was looking foward to having a good taste from the quality pizza I should have tasted. Not sure I will attempt going back to this place, since I went an hour out of my way in the first place to try it and find they were closed. Maybe one of my readers will be more symphatetic to Rizzo’s Pizza and send in their own review.
Shame on you Rizzo’s Pizza
I met up with pizzaexpert for some pizza at the Brick Oven Pizzeria on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. 5869 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach – (561) 496-5300. It was chosen specifically because neither one of us has ever tried their pizza. We were curious if they could do brick oven pizza right.
The first positive quality I noticed about this place were their prices. It seemed very fair, especially for the large cheese pie. I was surprised. I would say their cheese pie was about $3 dollars cheaper than any other place I’ve been to in the area. Hopefully this pizza wouldn’t taste as cheap as its price.
Our brick oven pizza came out and it was hot but not too hot to quickly take a first bite. My first reaction was the crust of this pizza. It was very tasty. It had a thin yet firm feel. It wasn’t doughy nor did the crust fold to the bottom as I was holding it. The cheese tasted fresh and the first slice was worth the wait. This pizza stayed warm for almost the whole meal and two to three slices were all you needed to fill up so there were leftovers to take home.
I took a few slices home and the next day I heated them up. I prefer my leftover pizza well done so I overcooked it just a bit. It didn’t hold as well as I would have hoped but then again, I’m no expert in reheating pizza that was already cooked. Still, I’ve had worse leftovers in my lifetime.
My only complaint about the pie when it came out was that there was just a touch more sauce. I’m a pizza sauce fan so this is just a preference of mine. The restaurant’s ambiance isn’t the hippest place but it serves its purpose. Let’s just say that your grandma and grandpa will love the restaurant and free valet parking. The service was adequate but not the type you’d expect if you were eating in downtown Delray. It’s definitely a slower pace at the Brick Oven Pizzeria.
I’d go back to the Brick Oven Pizzeria. I enjoyed their pizza. 5 out of 8 slices. Oh and I forgot to mention, the Parmesan cheese on the table tasted fresh so give that slice a little sprinkle. Stay away from the garlic rolls (just ask pizzaexpert) at the Brick Oven Pizzeria and as always, eat a cheese pizza.