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You mention that one of the differnces is that Peppe's uses Grande cheese. Actually Dom at DiFara does use Grande whole milk low moisture aged mozzarella.

well,ordered for the first time from this pizza shop,and i can honestly say that it's an experience i won't be repeating. pizza arrived very soggy,undercooked,the cheese floating on a layer of water that had nearly soaked through the bottom of the box. (i'm only 4 blocks away,btw) the dough in the middle of the pie was either very undercooked or had become so wet as to amount to the same thing. any attempt to eat it would have had to have been made with a spoon.

i know some people have raved about this place-i'm certainly not the most picky eater myself,esp when it comes to pizza,good enough is fine by me. but any place that would send out such an inedible mess and call it a pizza doesn't get a second chance in my book.

Samersova's been spamming every message board she can find about not getting her delivery, even though as stated by joelpy, she's asking for a ridiculously huge delivery zone. If I were Peppe I'd be hugely happy I didn't have to serve her anything from my restaurant again.

Went to Peppe last weekend and enjoyed our pizza very much!
Unfortunately, we just called for DELIVERY and they refused us because we were too far, and they wouldn't just deliver a PIE!
I spoke directly to the owner PEPPE , and told them that their menu clearly states a $10 minimum and when I asked them last weekend if they deliver to Union Street they said "Of Course"....
Now Peppe is telling me he "plays it by ear" when and where they want to deliver.
Now lets see, this place is TINY with 4 stools and a counter and MOST of their business is take out AND delivery, so wouldn't a smart business owner organize so that he had enough man power to deliver to all of Park Slope?

On the bright side, the very lovely and amazing MIKEY (the man who actually makes all that delicious pizza) called us just minutes ago to apologize! What a sweetheart! This man deserves his own pizza parlor!
I would follow him to any pizza joint!
Too bad! We were going to be a very regular customer!

I was looking forward to finding a decent joint in Park Slope after reading this review, but it was a huge letdown! I had a regular mushroom pie and while the ingredients are definitely above average, the crust was weirdly spongy, and not crispy at all. The crust also doesn't hold up well to the toppings and stuff slides off pretty easily. I can't recommend this place unless you live in the immediate neighborhood.

I tried Peppe's again last night and was much happier this time. As others have said, the chunks of garlic in the sauce on the grandma slice are a great touch. I also had a white slice with some veg toppings and, while parts of it did get a bit soggy from the toppings, everything was fresh and the rest of the crust had a nice snap to it. It's not my favorite style of pizza (I prefer it very thin with a little char, like they serve in New Haven) but it's easily better than any other slice place I've tried in Park Slope.

Norman -- you are correct, it is between Prospect & 17th.

Thanks for the review Adam. Went there tonight and had a great pie (the 18" pie was about 21"). But I had a spot of trouble finding the place as it isn't between 17th and 18th. Maybe 17th and Prospect? Mike is a great font of knowledge about where to shop for food in our neighborhood!

Just found your blog. I love the concept (as I also love pizza). I'm all for good pizza in The Slope!

Do you have any info on the place that's opening at 3rd Ave and 9th St? I've heard it might be owned by the same guy who owns Bar Toto.

Good point about the size, that pie is a beast and barely even fits in the box. I'll definitely try it out again when I'm back there and let you know how it turns out..it would be just my luck that a good slice place opens up RIGHT after I move out of the neighborhood.

Those Di Fara pics really got my appetite going....

I tried this place a couple of weeks ago and wasn't very impressed. I remember it from it's previous incarnation when it was a dump with dollar slices and, after that, when it was shuttered with a sign out front announcing that a new place was going to open with "real Italians making the pizza" (not something that really matters to me, btw). While it's clearly better than it was then, it isn't nearly good enough to make me pretend that I was on Wooster st. (h/t Eliz). I only tried the regular slice and it was no better than one from an average pizzeria with a bit of fresh basil dropped onto it. Half the slice was endcrust, leaving only a few bites that were even close to having the proper balance (and even those were off -- I could barely taste sauce or cheese, only crust and basil). I know better than to judge a place based on one visit so I'll definitely stop in again the next time I'm in the neighborhood. I'll also make sure to try the grandma slice this time and will hope that I just got one from a bad/old slice pie.

One thought I had about the Di Fara mention -- aren't Peppe's prices pretty much the same? I'm not a full member of the Dom cult like a lot of people around these parts and haven't been there since they reopened but I seem to remember him charging around 16 bucks for a pie. I guess there are scale issues that could account for the difference, it just seemed like an odd comparison.

Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what these guys are trying to do and that they are putting care into the food, I just don't think they are there yet, or at least they weren't when I was there (for the benefit of those who read through the Chowhound thread, it was a Thursday, not a Monday).

On a more general note, I second famdoc's praise. You always do a great job giving us a feel for the places you review. Without you and Ed, I can't imagine that I'd be trying to figure out an excuse to go to Trenton just so I could sneak in a tomato pie.

Adam: I nominate you for a Pulitzer in Pizza Journalism. This review is your shining moment. You have captured the essence of the joint:
the product, the history, the people involved. Excellent photography.
The rhythm and pace of your writing, leading to the concluding statement: "...this is it" is pizza journalism at its best.

On a personal level, I have now made two trips to Peppe's, the second of which with my better half. We agree that the sauce is the thing here: the garlic content distinguishes it from other sauces. We also agree that the personalities involved (Peppe and Mike) add to the attraction of the place.
The grandma's pie is outstanding. There is an inverse relationship, however, between the number of toppings and quality: a veggie pie became a bit watery, owing to the water content of the veggies.
Stick to grandma's, otherwise, one topping at a time (shrooms, spinach or eggplant are excellent choices).

One comment about the Chowhound thread: at last count, there were more than 60 posts on the Peppe's thread. I declared an embargo on further posts once some contributors got into esoteric discussions about "pizza arcs," predicting Peppe's downfall long before most even became aware of the joint. A little too analytical for my tastes.

OrsonRP: I'll go back and focus on the grandma slice. I must confess that I ate it rather quickly and failed to take notes (actual or mental). I do recall it having a nice garlicky flavor and that it was sauced a bit more than the regular. It was definitely worth eating and seemed to be above and beyond the grandma slices or Sicilians at other pizzerias, where squares are often an afterthought.