restaurants

Lombardi's and Grimaldi's

We began our journey for the best pizza in the region on a mild Friday evening in May.  We first met at Lombardi's on Spring Street in Manhattan.  Lombardi's claims to be the oldest pizzeria in the United States and we felt this was an appropriate start.

After a light salad to wet our beaks, we ordered one pepperoni and one plain pie.  For the most part, everyone enjoyed the pies.  There was a solid consensus that the sauce, crust, and pepperoni was all very good.  There were a few complaints regarding the overall rigidity of the pie.

Let me diverge for a moment to clarify an important qualification of a pie.  Quite simply, we believe that an important aspect of a good pie is the ability to easily manipulate slices with one hand.  This is for a few reasons:

1.  Good texture is a vital part of the overall consumption experience.  Studies have shown that a crisp texture in the mouth provides an emotional satisfaction like no other.
2.  Salvatore needs one hand free to tell stories, and talk on his 3 band cell phone (with background lighting).
3.  The Big Man has only one good arm due to recent surgery.
Back to Lombardi's: 

To conclude, there was overall satisfaction with the pies, with a slight negative on texture.

After finishing up at Lombardi's, we all jumped in the Big Man's Montero (aka The Urban Gorilla) and drove to Brooklyn to Grimaldi's.  It took us a few extra minutes to arrive at Grimaldi's because the Big Man can only make left turns due to his recent shoulder surgery.  Eventually, we found ourselves standing in line outside of Grimaldi's anxiously anticipating a delicious pie or two.

After ordering cokes for the table, primarily to calm Greer down, we ordered a couple of plain pies.  With the exception of Salvatore, we were all generally disappointed with the hyped up Grimaldi's.  The Big Man was "left feeling limp", as if he had ordered "pizza fajitas".  The sauce was good, but there was a serious backlash against the fresh mozzerella and the limp texture.  A few of us agreed that if we lived in the immediate neighborhood, we might come back to Grimaldi's on a rainy day (I emphasize the word might).

As it currently stands, Lombardi's is number one, with Grimaldi's a distant second.

See you on Wooster Street in New Haven.