Gaby’s Pizza Hollis Queens
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.
(more…)
Brother’s Pizza Fresh Meadows, NY Best Pizza
With my car overheating in 101 degree weather, trapped under the BQE (that’s the Brooklyn Queens Expressway for those unfamiliar with one of the worst roadways in America) one can play the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies in one’s head while the car cools down and recite the old sayings over and over… “There’s no place like home.”.
And so it was today for the Mad Greek. Once home, there’s was only one thing left for his madness to do and that was to end the pain and suffering of a day gone bad. To do just that all I needed was a spot at the counter at Brothers Pizzeria. By 3:00 pm, clear of any further NYC traffic and heat wave jihads, I was home again and sitting in front of Joe, arguable the best pizza chef in all of New York.
(more…)
Best Pizza: Rosa’s Pizza Middle Village Queens
As if the first Rosa’s pizza wasn’t awesome enough, they have a second one not too far away. The Rosa’s Pizza located in Midldle Village, Queens, is located on only like 10 minutes from the other one in Maspeth, Queens.
Although this Rosa’s was seemingly delicious, it wasn’t as good as the previous slices we had at the one in Maspeth. Maybe it was due to the fact that the Maspeth location was busier and had fresh pies coming out all day, and that the Middle Village one had to reheat theirs, but if I had to pick one or the other I would pick Maspeth.
Rosa’s Pizza in Middle Village might have been one of the best slices I had that day, had I not gone to the other Rosa’s before hand. It is important to note, that this pizza was still exceptional, and well worth going to. If you haven’t eaten at Spumoni Gardens or the other Rosa’s Pizza, you might think you have found the perfect slice actually. Rosa’s does server regular slices, but they are known for their Upside Down Sicilian, which they call Red.
The fresh Mozzarella cheese is baked into the dough and the sauce is added on top, with some parm cheese. The sauce is amazingly sweet and tasty, and all-in-all everything about this pizza says quality.
Rosa’s Pizza in Middle Village gets 7 out of 8 slices.
The
Rosa’s Pizza Maspeth Queens Best Pizza
..Let’s just start off this review by saying Phenomenal! I have always wanted to try the original Rosa’s Pizza in Maspeth Queens, since I really enjoyed their pizza in Penn Station after a hard day of work. So when I arrived in New York this time and Sam asked where I wanted to go, I instantly demanded that we try out the original Rosa’s in Queens, unaware if the Maspeth or Middle Village location was the original.
Rosa’s Pizza has locations popping up all over the city and Long Island now, and I can understand why. They serve this delicious (my mouth is watering as I type) upside down Sicilian, which you might also know is my favorite pizza by now.
When we pulled up to Rosa’s, it was nothing I thought it would be. I pictured it to look more like a restaurant, but it was instead just an average building, with a pizza parlor there. I walked up to the counter and immediately made eye contact with the Upside Down (or red Sicilian, as they like to call it). I ordered up a slice and tried to start a conversation with the “too cool to talk to you guy” behind the counter. This guy had no idea about anything relating to Rosa’s Pizza. A simple question if this was the original was even too hard for this pizza thug to comprehend. But all this didn’t matter, cause once that slice came out, and I bit into it, and the crust and cheese melted in my mouth, I was in hea
ven.
I actually even closed my eyes as I chewed on what was left after the melt, picturing myself eating dozens of these slices everyday (for free). To anyone who is looking for a good upside down Sicilian slice, Rosa’s gets how to make it, at this location. The sauce is so nice and sweet, and thin, and the cheese is freshly baked into the dough, which is let to rise in my opinion about 2-3 times. This is a must try, and worth going out of your way to check out.
Rosa’s Gets what very few other pizza places have gotten previously….a PERFECT SCORE 8 out of 8 slices!
Forno Italia Brick Oven Pizza Astoria Queens
Drove all the way into Astoria, Queens to try out one of the Best Pizza spots in Astoria. Named Forno Italia, they serve Brick Oven Pizza, this place has been around forever. Forno Italia is located on 4319 Ditmars Blvd Astoria, NY 11105 (718) 267-1068. In order to judge this place fairly I must let it be known that Astoria was NO WHERE even close to where I was staying. After traffic etc, I was pretty out of it, and in order for this place to be nearly as tasty as everyone tells me it is, it would have to be without any flaws.
We had a small wait, even though it was pretty late at night, and eventually we were seated with some waitress who was well past her prime, even according to Queens standards, but still wore leather stretch pants and a high hairdo. We orderd our pie and then walked over to the oven to see what it looked like, and observe the busy pizza makers system for getting pies in an out quickly.
By the time we sat back down our pie was ready. I couldn’t wait to bite into my slice, and then I remembered I had to wait in order to take a photo. The presentation of this pie was great, but it just wasn’t a perfect taste. The sauce didn’t have much of a taste and the cheese cooled down too quickly to enjoy a hot slice. The crust was very good, that much I could say. On any ordinary day, this place could have easily been a 7 out of 8, but I had high hopes for this establishment and on this specific night, after driving over an hour to find it, just wasn’t as amazing as the hype.
Forno Italia Pizza in Astoria Queens still gets a 6 out of 8 slices. I think after I return, I will give it a 7, since as I said before, when people claim a place is the BEST, it makes an expert biased before they taste it.
Marabella Pizza Queens New York
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
Rizzo’s Pizza Astoria Queens
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
New Park Pizza Howard Beach New York
I have a love hate relationship with New Park Pizza, located on 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd in Jamaica, NY. It is like my White Castle hamburgers of Pizza. The sauce is very good until I get the slice with way to much. The dough is great and then I get the under cooked slice or burnt slice.
(more…)
