Creamed spinach—the kind you would order on the side of your steak at Peter Luger—along with pools of fresh mozzarella form the base of this knock-out pie, lending it a subtle, sublimely spinachy flavor. And it doesn't stop there. At Nonna's LES, they top the spinach slice with a ricotta-stuffed roasted artichokes, draped with roasted red peppers. More
The genius behind the pistachio pesto recipe is Giuseppe Starita, Antonio Starita's son, who currently operates Pizzeria Starita back home in Naples. The sweet and fruity pistachios give a richness that perfectly compliments the crumbled sweet Italian pork sausage. More
Slightly tart Bing cherries and orange blossom honey are perfectly played against creamy, earthy gorgonzola cheese, milky fior de latte, and sweet and salty prosciutto in Paulie Gee's Cherry Jones. The resulting pizza is rich, intense, and leaves you wanting more. More
The pizza hits all the high notes in terms of flavor. Anchovy and capers bring a brininess and saltiness to the pie. Chile de arbor brings the heat. Aged Pecorino Sardo brings a whirlwind of flavors including grassy, earthy, salty, and slightly sweet. The pizza is finished with lemon juice for acidity, and a generous dousing of good quality extra virgin olive oil, which simply makes everything come together into one beautifully delicious work of minimalist pizza art. More
At Kesté on Bleecker Street, chef and owner Roberto Caporuscio combines roasted, pureed butternut squash with grated smoked mozzarella and creamy ricotta to create the "butternut squash cream" for his Pizza del Papa. The pizza is then topped with pools of gooey smoked mozzarella, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, and fresh basil. All that on Kesté's perfectly bubbly, airy, chewy Neapolitan crust? Man, we just had to make this one at home! More
Known throughout Alphabet City for its solid thin-crust pizza, Gruppo is not truly a slice joint, but it does serve individual slices at lunch and at Happy Hour. The dough-to-sauce-to-cheese ratio is right on for their thin crust. More
Chef Edward Sylvia (the mastermind behind the midtown sandwich mecca Cer Té and their pizza spin-off Pizza by Cer Té), roasts cauliflower—yes, cauliflower—with merguez spices and the Tunisian hot red pepper paste harissa and tops pizza with it. Genius, we know. More
Chef Alvaro Medina of Toby's Public House in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn uses black garlic to top his smoked pancetta pizza, which also features crimini mushrooms, mozzarella, and Parmigiano. The taste combination is a knockout—the sweet, vinegary flavor of the garlic plays against the smoky, salty meat—it essentially blows your mind. More
The Pizza Rustica served during Maialino's happy hour is a creation born from leftovers. Nicholas Anderer, Executive Chef at Maialino, takes Pizza Bianca from Sullivan Street Bakery (a rosemary, olive oil, and sea salt-accented flatbread) leftover from the restaurant's bread service, and elevates it to heights we, frankly, didn't know existed. More
The guys that opened this pizza joint were the first in the iconic Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst to sell pizza by the slice. Sixty one years later, they're still serving a mean slice in a neighborhood where you can find some pretty discerning pizza lovers. More
What is better than pizza? Fried pizza. Or this is the thought that popped into my head when I took my first bite of the Montanara Pizza at Forcella in Williamsburg. It was one of those hit-you-over-the-head good, oh man I need more sort of reactions. Giulio Adriani is the mad creator of the Montanara pizza at Forcella, which he deep fries in vegetable oil and then finishes in the oven to achieve a light and airy crust with the perfect chew, and a crispness only achieved by frying at 375 degrees. He tops the Montanara simply with crushed San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella that he makes in house, Grana Padano cheese, and fresh basil leaves. More
A Roman antipasto celebrating springtime, Vignarola brings together fava beans, artichokes, and peas--vegetables which are traditionally planted in Roman vineyards in between the rows of vines. These vegetables grow in the shade of the grape leaves and help to enrich the vineyard soil. Andrea Dal Monte of Campo de' Fiori translates this Roman antipasto into a pizza perfectly suited for the warm summer months. We visited Dal Monte at his Park Slope Pizzeria where he showed us how he makes the Vignarola pizza, topping the thin and crisp Roman-style square crust with a vibrant tomato sauce, a perfectly sweet pea spread, baby lettuces, arugula, sauteed artichokes, and green beans. Dal Monte artfully finishes the pie with lemon zest and paper-thin wisps of Pecorino Romano cheese. One bite, and you may as well be sitting in a Roman piazza in the springtime, sipping a caffè ristretto, conversing with Fellini. We urge you, do try this pizza at home. More
[Photographs: Erin Mosbaugh] I recently moved to the Lower East Side and am surrounded by ample pizza shops serving slices that most would write off as 3 am, post-bar, late night sustenance. In an attempt to find pizza that's a step above the rest, I found the spinach-ricotta slice ($2) at Stanton Pizza's. Although not the perfect NYC slice—the underbelly of the crust is not nearly crisp enough—it is a solid slice of pizza, and an out-of-the-ordinary one at that. The ricotta is milky and creamy, set against the ample mounds of spinach that get a little bit of... More
The Vesuviana at Adrienne's Pizzabar, Nick Angelis' lively restaurant in New York's Financial District, delivers an impressive composition of flavors. Spicy pepperoncini comes together with briny olives and salty anchovies to create a savory complexity unmatched by most pizza toppings. Although this pie should be avoided by sodium sensitive pizza lovers, one bite of this baby and we wanted more. Lucky for us, Adrienne's Executive Chef Francisco Martinez demonstrated how to make the Vesuviana step-by-step. More
Leslie Muhlhahn, chef and owner of Finger Lakes Flat Bread stationed at the Ithaca Farmer's Market, is turning out thin crust, wood-fired pizza that Farmer's Market patrons can't get enough of. Leslie's so-called "flatbreads" are more than worthy of the "pizza" title. The dough is leavened with yeast and the crust, despite being thin, has a nice chew to it. But what's intriguing and out of the ordinary about this pizza operation is Leslie's "oven-on-wheels". She's working with a mobile, wood-fired pizza oven (shipped in from Cali) that reaches 800 degrees to produce an even char on the crust.
MoreThe Shiitake Pie at Co. (bread man Jim Lahey's Chelsea pizzeria) is an unusual little number, with a walnut and caramelized onion spread forming the base for shiitake mushrooms. But one bite and you'll find that the tastes and textures of this cheeseless pie are supremely harmonious. The sweet onions and rich, nutty walnuts come together to form something similar in texture to ricotta. Top that with rosemary, bold, smokey shiitake mushrooms (or try it with Hen of the Woods), and herbaceous branch lettuce and you've got yourself one make-at-home-worthy pizza. Just click through the slideshow to find out how! More
There is something alluring about a golden egg yolk running all over your pizza. At Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Greenmarket-inspired ABC Kitchen in New York, Chef Dan Kluger takes breakfast pizza to new heights by placing an oh-so-runny farm egg atop his earthy wild mushroom, Parmesan, and oregano pie. Did we mention that he throws a little homemade ricotta and tangy Tomme-style cheese in there for good measure? It's a pizza I'm definitely going to want to make at home. More
Williamsburg's Best Pizza has been getting a fair amount of attention for its pizza (oh, and these guys liked it, too). But head pizzaman Frank Pinello says he doesn't listen to the hype. He says that if he's doing something right—or something wrong—his customers will tell him about it personally. Seeing how we can't get enough of the Pickled Vegetable Pizza—and everything else served at Best Pizza—I'd say he's doing something very right. So right, in fact, that I raced over to Best to learn how to make the pickled veg for this awesome pie. This is a pickling recipe and pizza recipe in one—the best of both worlds! More
"So is lardo essentially just....fat?" Someone recently asked me. Well in a way, yes, but really, it's so much more—pure pork fatback cured with salt and other spices such as rosemary, pepper, and garlic. The Lardo Pizza at Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca in New York City's Greenwich Village is an ode to the rich, slightly musky, creamy, silky perfection that is lardo. More
Meaty slices of chewy, house-made salami picante share the stage with cavolo nero, similar to common kale in texture and flavor. A drizzle of spicy Calabrian chile oil packs just enough heat to give the pizza an added dimension but doesn't drown out the rest of the toppings. Want to learn how to make this bad boy? Step right this way. More
@John Wozniak, the pistachios are raw, and then they are toasted. The toasting helps to intensify the pistachio flavor.
I think you just "topped" my last pizza oven shot with slide 6
Slide 5: SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!
Thanks jimmyg. And thanks Kelly--I thought my camera was going to melt!
@jimmyg: You noticed right! Chef Edward puts mozz on the dough, par bakes it for a couple minutes, and then takes it out. He then adds the fennel, sausage, roasted red pepper, and more mozz, and cooks the pizza until it's done.
Chef says he does this because he likes the cheese to be extra bubbly, but in a home oven this step would probably prove superfluous.
@age136: Thanks for the reblog!
God i love cactus. But since were talking about birria here-head to El Parian on Pico (near downtown). The meaty, aromatic broth...the tennnder pieces of goat...the handmade tortillas...it's just insane.
...and next time you go you should get the dinosaur bbq pulled pork sub
SO. MANY. MEMORIES.
@meredith, thanks for doing shortstop justice ;)
This place is across from my apartment and it is THE BEST.
For dessert the other night, I got green tea affogato with red bean, corn flakes, and mochi. Excellent after the stamina soba.
@John Wozniak: poetic license?
@square_pie: I paid $2.50 for the slice.
@everybody - You're right, that was not their plain slice. It was a slice with fresh mozz. My B! I'll need to pay J&V a few more visits to try everything, including the plain slice, because this place is awesome.
..jealous
The mozz how-to I (attempted to) link to is Adam's from a while back: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/02/how-to-make-homemade-mozzarella.html
But I can tell you Giulio uses cheese curd from Grande, and it is AMAZING to watch his make mozz. I caught him at the tail end of making a batch.
@morganoliver, They're all kind of oblong-shaped and never perfectly round. This one does look like a big slice...didn't think about that.
@monopod, Very similar to Finger Lakes Flat Bread's oven. Do you know if the Boulder Farmer's Market vendor built his own mobile oven? Kind of looks like it, in a good way.
@monopod: AGREED! And no matter if this pizza is more Italian or Chicagoan in character, it tastes freaking delicious.
@Cary, Sounds amazing. Leeks and ricotta with chives and lemon zest...yes please!
@Bkhuna, Chef Dan Kluger at ABC Kitchen is adamant about sourcing a majority of his ingredients from the Union Square Greenmarket and from small NY State farms. I personally believe this adds to the overall quality and taste of the food he is serving. Either way, helping out NY State farmers who are growing a variety of beautiful, fresh ingredients is pretty cool.
Yea, coffee filters will work just fine. So will medical gauze.
@pizzaverde, What/where is your pizza joint?? That sounds fantastic!
@dhorst, Pickled banana peppers and thai chiles would be GREAT, as well as pickled calabrian chili peppers and jalapeños (which they did at Best Pizza last summer).
@lemonfair, Good eye! They did use cider vinegar to pickle the red onions. White vinegar can be used to pickle veg, but cider vinegar tends to have more of a mellow flavor. I would say use white vinegar when pickling cauliflower or light colored vegetables because cider vinegar could discolor the veg. And when using cider vinegar, make sure it has an acidity level of at least 5%.
Personally, I can't wait to pickle a whole bunch of spring veg--specifically ramps and asparagus--and put it on EVERYTHING.
I grew up on this sandwich, I love this sandwich, reading this article makes me want to fly home from nyc RIGHT NOW to eat this sandwich.
@Time Kang, gonna need to go try the bottarga pizza as I am a HUGE bottarga fan.
@rodalpho, I agree--the crust at Mozza is awesome (beats Otto for sure).
I'm glad I tried this pizza, but little compares to sneaking a warm tigelle (an Emilia-Romagna-style english muffin made with--get this--lard) straight from the oven at work and topping it with lardo. Lard on lardo...mmm.
And thanks Adam and hungrychristel!
Gloria, hallelujah! Among Queens residents who've been around long enough to remember it, the second coming of Gloria Pizza is kind of a big deal. The stuff of Chowhounder legend, the original Gloria, in Flushing, closed in the mid '90s but lived on in the memories of fans and on the message boards of the foodiesphere. The reincarnated version opened in Forest Hills on Tuesday of last week. More
The genius behind the pistachio pesto recipe is Giuseppe Starita, Antonio Starita's son, who currently operates Pizzeria Starita back home in Naples. The sweet and fruity pistachios give a richness that perfectly compliments the crumbled sweet Italian pork sausage. More
Bowien stretches biang biang mien-style noodles. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] My friends in San Francisco like to point out all the advantages their fair city has over mine. The pleasant weather, the superior produce, the three-hour time advantage, the... More
Here's a shortcut to a seriously good cassoulet knockoff featuring crispy sausage, garlicky white beans, and toasty breadcrumbs. More
This One-Pot Coconut Chicken over Jasmine Rice from Poulet simmers a whole chicken in a coconut milk with a host of veggies that cook with the chicken, soaking up all of its wonderfully savory flavors. Truly a one-pot meal (if you're not counting the rice), the chicken emerges from the pot incredibly tender. More
Slightly tart Bing cherries and orange blossom honey are perfectly played against creamy, earthy gorgonzola cheese, milky fior de latte, and sweet and salty prosciutto in Paulie Gee's Cherry Jones. The resulting pizza is rich, intense, and leaves you wanting more. More
It's no surprise that the menus at Kesté and Midtown Manhattan newcomer Don Antonio are similar, but there are some exciting new pies at the Midtown joint — including the Montanara Starita, a version of the deep-fried pizza that's been cropping up among the newer Neapolitan places. Slice got a sneak peek at some of the items exclusive to Don Antonio. Peep the slideshow here to get the skinny. More
The Gilt Taste-Serious Eats Holiday Gift Shop features all sorts of products that the Serious Eats editors love, brought to you by Gilt Taste. Every day we'll be featuring a different item from the gift shop. Today? Mikuni Wild Harvest Black Garlic. More
At Kesté on Bleecker Street, chef and owner Roberto Caporuscio combines roasted, pureed butternut squash with grated smoked mozzarella and creamy ricotta to create the "butternut squash cream" for his Pizza del Papa. The pizza is then topped with pools of gooey smoked mozzarella, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, and fresh basil. All that on Kesté's perfectly bubbly, airy, chewy Neapolitan crust? Man, we just had to make this one at home! More
In celebration of their one year birthday, the fellas at Epic Meal Time have upped the ante in a tribute video to the original Fast Food Pizza video that started it all. 35 White Castle, 3 bacon weaves, 4 Domino's Meat Lovers pies, sauce, lots of cheese, all beer battered and fried. A year recap kicks off the video and the pizza and burger madness starts at around the 4 minute mark. So what did they do with the extra 145 burgers? More
The Shortstop Deli in Ithaca serves the legendary "hot truck"—required eating in this area. The "deli" is more convenience store than sandwich shop and out of their conveyor belt style, maxi-sized toaster oven comes the original French bread pizza. Making what was once only late night grub from a roving food truck available 24-7. More
The Pizza Rustica served during Maialino's happy hour is a creation born from leftovers. Nicholas Anderer, Executive Chef at Maialino, takes Pizza Bianca from Sullivan Street Bakery (a rosemary, olive oil, and sea salt-accented flatbread) leftover from the restaurant's bread service, and elevates it to heights we, frankly, didn't know existed. More
While traveling through northwest France, I was on the hunt for new, nutty discoveries in Brittany. Strolling through the tiny historic tourist village of Rochefort en Terre, I stumbled upon a tiny shop, L'Art Gourmand, and was blown away by all the nutastic treats. Almost every nut is represented here: almonds, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, even humble pignolis, not to mention one of the largest, most playful assortments of marzipan I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of marzipan). Puppies, dinos, bunnies, pigs, and an assortment of fruits—all in marzipan form. More
We'll let the photos speak for themselves, but aside from the excellent array of foodstuffs, the New Amsterdam market was a pleasure to peruse: few long lines, plenty of space, and a sheltered space to keep out the sun. Not that we don't love all outdoor markets here at Serious Eats, but compared to some of the chaos out there, this is certainly a pleasant way to eat your way through through your Sunday afternoon. More
Ice Cream Sandwiches from the Coolhaus truck, a recent newcomer from Los Angeles, are $5 each and easily shared between two. Mix and match cookie and ice cream flavors among the many offerings which change daily. More
On Slice, we've always resisted the urge to do numerical rankings of pizzerias. How can you possibly post a credible Top 8 list that's anywhere near accurate? There are so many factors involved in making a great pizza — the temperature of the oven at any given moment, the humidity of the air, the age of the dough, the amount of time (down to the second) the pizzaiolo keeps the pie in the heat. You may eat pizza nirvana one night only to go back the next and find pizza mediocrity. More
The James Beard Foundation will launch a one-of-a-kind pop-up called JBF LTD at Chelsea Market from April 12th to May 14th, bringing in celebrity chefs for unique dinner experiences and offering culinary demonstrations, tastings and book readings during the day. More
Williamsburg's Best Pizza has been getting a fair amount of attention for its pizza (oh, and these guys liked it, too). But head pizzaman Frank Pinello says he doesn't listen to the hype. He says that if he's doing something right—or something wrong—his customers will tell him about it personally. Seeing how we can't get enough of the Pickled Vegetable Pizza—and everything else served at Best Pizza—I'd say he's doing something very right. So right, in fact, that I raced over to Best to learn how to make the pickled veg for this awesome pie. This is a pickling recipe and pizza recipe in one—the best of both worlds! More
In an era of foams, squeeze-bottle plating, and miniature courses, some chefs have staunchly stood by their comfortable, hearty menus. Gabrielle Hamilton, the chef/owner behind Prune restaurant in New York City, is just such a real-food advocate. A glance at her restaurant's menu reveals pancakes, lamb chops, collard greens, and a variety of other delicious, accessible plates. Her new memoir, Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, details how she went from coddled child to college dropout to writer and finally to excellent chef—all by the age of 35. Hers is a story of disappointment, growth, success, and the power of food to transform even the most troubling life. More
In Los Angeles, the prevailing sentiment seems to be that the sandwich has gone the way of our beloved La Brea Tar Pit mammoths. But the "Godmother" sandwich from Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica is a testament to old-world sandwiches still being done right, as the perpetual line in front of the deli counter can attest. Genoa salami, prosciutto, mortadella, coppacola, ham and provolone cheese are all thinly layered inside a crusty length of Italian bread. Be sure to give it "the works." More
Meaty slices of chewy, house-made salami picante share the stage with cavolo nero, similar to common kale in texture and flavor. A drizzle of spicy Calabrian chile oil packs just enough heat to give the pizza an added dimension but doesn't drown out the rest of the toppings. Want to learn how to make this bad boy? Step right this way. More
@John Wozniak, let me know how the pie turns out! I'm very curious to see if raw then toasted pistachios trump roasted ones in the flavor dept.