Groovy’s Pizza South Beach Miami – How Totally Un-Groovy
After sitting through a rather unstimulating tech conference in Miami Beach, I walked away in search of pizza. First place I ended up walking by was called Groovy’s Pizza. Athough quite dirty and abnormally hot inside, I decided to venture inside and try a slice.
The slices displayed are uniquely stacked into kaleidoscope shaped designs. Although this is cool at first glance, and fits into their groovy style name, it is actually quite gross if you think about it. There were approximately 30 slices in this kaleidoscope, all of which had to be cold enough when stacked so the cheese didn’t stick to the crust of the slice that was placed on top of it. What this tells me is that the pizza was made really early in the morning and left out all day. That is right, all day in the sweltering heat and humidty that Miami brings.
Being the adventurous type I ate the slice anyways. It amazed me that I had to eat the slice outside in the 93 degree heat, instead of inside, so I could cool down a bit from waiting for my slice. The slice, was a pretty decent size, but was not cooked well enough. Groovy Pizza puts a lot of cheese on their slices, and I am not complaining, but there was almost zero sauce on the pie, so it tasted like I was eating an uncooked piece of dough with cheese that wasn’t baked.
More likely then not, I will will move onto the next place if I am ever in Miami Beach again. Groovy’s Pizza just did not make the cut as far as I am concerned. It is ok to be in a busy section and cater towards the late night crowd that might come out at 2:00am and not realize they are having a slice of pizza that has been waiting for them to buy it since 9:00am the previous day. The lunch time crowd demands and deserves better, maybe you should stay closed until the evening. I will give Groovy’s Pizza in South Beach Miami 3 out of 8 slices.
Pizza Rustica Delray Beach
Pizza Rustica is located on Atlantic Avenue, in Delray Beach. We previously reviewed Pizza Rustica in Delray several months ago when we ordered in from them during poker night. Since Pizza Rustica is known for their square slices, it seemed odd that we were delivered round pies. In the spirit of fairness, I decided it was time to review the square slice as well.
Pizza Rustica has an enormous selection of different pizzas to choose from. Almost too many. Sometimes having too many choices isn’t a good thing either. They keep their regular square slices in the front window, so they are hard to miss if you just walk into the store and start looking around. If you happen to miss the plain ones, you might end up spending upwards of $5.00 for a slice.
Do not be fooled by my photo here, the pizza is not nearly as huge as it looks. This is one slice cut up in their signature 4 pieces to make it easier to eat. The other thing that made this pizza easier to eat was watching the cute little blond behind the counter who served it to me. Ooops, my wife will kill me for that statement. The pizza itself has a nice tasting crust, and some really good cheese. My issue is with the sauce. Pizza Rustica is definitely using the wrong type of sauce for this thin square style pizza. Their sauce gets very chunky from time to time, which sometimes led to different tastes throughout the slice. I found myself having to wipe off some of the globbed together tomato pieces before eating. It would probably make a better tasting slice if you used less sauce perhaps, and got rid of the clumps.
I am going to give Pizza Rustica in Delray Beach 4 out of 8 slices. Change the sauce, and change the prices, and I will gladly come back for th square. Incidentally I think the pizza we ordered for poker night was much better. This was the regular round style pie and not the fancy square.
Rosa’s Pizza Penn Station New York City
Back when I used to work in Jersey City, I used to take the Long Island Railroad everyday into New York City. Then walk up an avenue, and take the PATH across the river to New Jersey. After working a hard day, my only salvation was arriving back at Penn Station to catch my train home, and grab a slice of some heavenly Upside Down Sicilian (or as they call it Red) Pizza.
I am sure most of you think I am crazy by this point, actually eating at a place in Penn Station, but I was able to forgive all the filthiness of the surroundings and eat this pizza. It was only natural that during my trip to New York, I would take the train into the city and grab a slice. Upon arriving at Rosa’s Pizza after all these years in Penn Station, I realized some things had changed. Instead of hearing the workers speak Spanish to each other, now I was hearing Arabic being used. Not sure if Rosa’s sold this location, but I will have to investigate further and report my findings to you at a later date. Rosas dining room had the same amount of filth, but what can you expect from a pizza place down in a tube station.
I ordered an Upside Down Sicilian and waited at the cash register for about 5 minutes while the girl was having an argument with the customer in front of me. This is kind of shocking considering most folks are trying to catch a train on time, and 5 minutes could mean the difference between going home or having to wait for the next train. This counter girl didn’t seem to care. After FINALLY getting rung up, I proceeded to sit down and bite into this gorgeous slice. The smell of the pizza brought back so many memories of a younger time for me.
Rosa, after tasting your slice after so many years, it is safe to say that it is wonderful. Even though the accents have changed, the recipe remains the same. The sauce was perfectly sweet and hot. The cheese was freshly melted into the soft dough. The crust was crispy and tasted marvelous. Deciding whether or not to give this pizza a perfect score was hard, but ultimately I have chosen to give Rosa’s Pizza in Penn Station New York 7 out of 8 slices. I was unable to give a perfect score due to the burnt edge of the crust. Normally I can enjoy a well done crust, but this pie seemed a bit rushed and made without love.
Carnival Restaurant Pizza Port Jefferson Station Long Island
My sister insisted I try Carnival Restaurant – Pizzeria in Port Jefferson Station the day of my departure back to Florida. She said although the place was pretty expensive, I was worth it. So we headed to this dreary looking shopping center out in Port Jefferson Station and tried Carnival Pizza.
Even though they have a pizza counter to order slices from, we chose to sit in the restaurant and relax, since my mother and father were there also. I ordered just one Sicilian slice since I was not too hungry. After waiting what could have been 20 minutes for the slice, it finally arrived after I mentioned something to waitress. Here is just another fine example why the only thing a server can do to pizza, is ruin it. Carnival Pizza certainly has a circus style of service!
The pizza itself was a little cold, since it most likely had been sitting on the counter waiting for the the waitress to have to go and get it. I am aware this was my fault, since I could have eaten at the counter. The slice actually tasted ok, and my favorite aspect was how ultra soft the inside of the crust was compared to the outside. The pizza did not lack on quality, just lacked on the delivery. If my overall experice was better I might have given this place a higher rating. I will give Carnival Pizza in Port Jefferson 5 out of 8 slices. Next time I am in town I will give the counter a try and see if it tastes better fresh from the oven.
Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn – BEST PIZZA
This could be the best pizza I have ever tasted. I know this is a bold statement to make since I try to always stay tough, and make sure never to give a perfect rating to a place that is lacking, even the smallest of areas, but L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, is pure perfection. Their website is kind of ugly, but since I cannot take that into the rating, we will only focus on this incredibly amazing Upside Down Sicilian Pizza.
As my readers are probably aware of by now, since I have stated it time and time again, I love Upside Down Sicilian. Spumoni Gardens was always a place people would talk of when I was growing up, but I never ventured into this area of Brooklyn to try it before. It seemed like my life was missing something until I tried this pizza. It was so good it is hard to even describe it properly. The sauce – Perfect and Sweet. The Cheese – Extraordinary. The Crust – Beyond Belief.
All I can really say to everyone is: Just go try it for yourself to see how incredible this pizza tastes. Spumoni Gardens has a pizza side which has a walk up window (be prepared for a line), and it has a restaurant side. In between the two, they sell Spumoni (what a shocker). At Spumoni Gardens you can order a sheet pie which contains 24 slices, so you can take some home and continue to enjoy this work of pizza art.
Needless to say, I am giving Spumoni Gardens 8 out of 8 slices, and thank them for their remarkable care and quality. It is not easy to obtain a perfect rating from the experts, but this place easily deserves it.
<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/3/31927/restaurant/New-York/Gravesend/L-B-Spumoni-Gardens-Brooklyn”><img alt=”L & B Spumoni Gardens on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/31927/minilogo.gif” style=”border:none;width:104px;height:15px” /></a>
Pizza Supreme Garden City New York
Next stop on my pizza tour was at Pizza Supreme, in Garden City Long Island. Pizza Supreme used to be located in the Roosevelt Field Mall. I have many fond memories of grabbing a slice of their mini sicilian pie while wondering through the mall with my mom. Years ago, for some reason or another unbeknowst to me, they decided to leave the mall and go into a shopping center located a bit outside the mall. Doesn’t seem like the smartest move, since the Roosevelt Field Mall is a highly trafficed shopping destination, but I am sure the owner had his reason.
Pizza Supreme is known for their small slices of sicilian. The slices are very thin and taste extremely unique. The sauce here is great, and they use just the right amount of cheese to make each bite scrumptious. Since the slice is so small and so thin, the crust manages to stay super crispy and is easy to hold up when taking up to your mouth for a bite. Although they are known for their tiny thin sicilian style slices, their regular slice is pretty good as well. They have very garlicy garlic knots, so just in case you grab one or two, be warned!
What I like most about Pizza Supreme is that they are unique. At a time when Coal Fired places are popping up all over America, they have kept true to their original recipe and haven’t deviated with the flow. They do not even use a pizza cutter for the sicilian, but rather a 2 prong fork and knife. I do recall eating another
slice of pizza similar to Pizza Supreme in Brooklyn once, in Caesars Bay Bazaar. Not sure who copied who, but either way they were both equally great.
One thing I would change about Pizza Supreme… The small slices are priced a bit high. They are a bit high, as I remember, I think they were $1.99 a slice but I could be wrong since I forgot the write it down. I will give Pizza Supreme in Garden City Long Island 7 out of 8 Slices.
Lombardi’s Pizza New York Not Worth The Wait
One of my next stops during the pizza journey in New York was at Lombardi’s Pizza in Manhattan New York, located on Spring Street. Lombardi’s considers itself one of New York City’s oldest pizza places. It appears that they have almost doubled in size from my first time eating there, and appears much more cosmopolitan then a pizza place should be. Since I hadn’t had this pizza for about 17 years, I was curious if it could live up to its reputation.
After waiting about 45 minutes in the heat to get in, we were finally seated in the basement, as if they wanted to keep me out of public viewing. Would hate to be a server at this establishment since you have to walk up and down a steep stairwell to access the downstairs crowd. Since this would be like my umpteeth slice of pizza this day, we got a small plain pie.
While waiting for the pizza I came to realize that every person eating there had an accent, from some foreign land. I hope they do not think this is part of the sites to see in New York City! Our food came and it was nice and hot, and although it tasted ok, it was nothing in comparison to Spumoni Gardens, or Di Faras 
Pizza. The sauce was decent, and had a nice taste to it, and the cheese was quality, but I just didn’t think it should be considered one of the best in New York.
Maybe it isn’t fair to rate Lombardi’s Pizza in New York after having such amazing pizza elsewhere around the boroughs. But I know the best pizza when I taste it, and Lombardi’s should not be classified as the best. Maybe for a tourist visiting Manhattan for the first time, it would appear it is the best the city has to offer, but just a short distance away from Spring Streeet, there are many other delicious places. Places like Arturo’s on Houston. I will give Lombardi’s 6 out of 8 slices.
The Real Umberto’s Of New Hyde Park Long Island
My actual first stop when I landed in Long Island was at Umberto’s of New Hyde Park. When I lived in Long Island, this used to be my favorite place. Their Sicilian is certainly one of my favorite slices of pizza. This is the true original Umberto’s pizza, and not the phony Umberto’s of Long Island one located in Deerfield Beach.
I ordered 2 Sicilian slices and one regular. The Sicilian was just as I remembered it. Crispy on the outside, airy in the middle and one of the best sauces I have tasted on a pizza. Their cheese is top notch, and the display of the pizza is equally as wonderful. The regular slice is above average, but after having the Sicilian it was hard to compare. Maybe I should have just tried the regular slice first. In my humble opinion, I think this pizza mixes fantastically with grated cheese. Not that the pizza itself doesn’t taste close to perfect without any help, but there is just something about the combination of their fresh grated cheese on this Sicilian that mixes perfectly.
Last time I was in Umberto’s of New Hyde Park, Umberto told me he was planning on opening a place in Boca Raton. I will keep my fingers crossed that he finds a place, and doesn’t change a thing about his current recipe. There is very no reason to ever wonder why Umberto’s became so successful. Umberto’s uses the finest/freshest ingredients he can buy, and puts care into each and every pie he pulls out of the oven. I am giving Umberto’s of New Hyde Park 7 out of 8 slices.
Di Fara Pizza Midwood Brooklyn Great Pizza
During my travels to Long Island, I always make it a point to go on a pizza excursion with Sam. This trip brought us into Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. Our first stop in Brooklyn was at Di Fara Pizza in the Midwood section.
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Joe’s Famous New York Style Pizza – Very Unfamous
UPDATE TO THE STORY: We hear Joe’s is under new ownership so the pizza might have changed. Check it out and let us know if you beat us there.
I pass Joe’s pizza 2 or 3 times a day. So why don’t I eat there more often?
I couldn’t remember. So I stopped by, and was instantly reminded. The
Pizza was awful, in my opinion.
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After sitting through a rather unstimulating tech conference in Miami Beach, I walked away in search of pizza. First place I ended up walking by was called Groovy’s Pizza. Athough quite dirty and abnormally hot inside, I decided to venture inside and try a slice.
