MY FAVORITE
Razza - This is just the best. The obsessive details are always being refined but I’ve never had such consistently great pizza over so many visits. This is my favorite place in the country now. Thin, crisp, balanced perfection from the legend, Dan Richer, and a very talented crew. And FYI, it's very easy to get there from Manhattan! (275 Grove St, Jersey City)
THE SLICE LEGENDS
L'Industrie - Florence native Massimo Laveglia uses Italian ingredients and techniques, along with bold flourishes like cold burrata on hot slices. This is probably the most elevated NY slice in the world right now and the gelato ain’t bad neither. (Brooklyn, West Village)
Scarr’s - The location and vibe shifted a little, but on the right day this still could be the best slice in the city. Things get busy at night so try lunch at the bar (where you can skip the line and order slices from the bartender). The squares also deserve your attention. (Orchard & Hester, Lower East Side)
Paulie Gee's Slice Shop - Paulie serves up Drew Brown's fantastic new school slices in a throwback retro setting. Note: You have to order the Freddy Prinze, an updside down Sicilian with sesame seeds on the bottom. Another note: Also order everything else. (110 Franklin St, Greenpoint)
Patsy’s - The very best pizza value in the country. $2.25 (last I checked) for a true old school coal oven slice that feels timeless. Yeah, you have to add in the cost of getting up to Harlem, but that's your problem, not theirs. (East 118th St & 1st Ave, East Harlem)
REALLY GREAT PIZZA
Rubirosa - If the pizza feels familiar, it’s because Rubirosa hails from the Joe & Pat’s family, which has been turning out excellent thin crust Staten Island style pizza for over 60 years. Just as good are the location, the interior and the vibes. (Mulberry & Prince St, SoHo)
Paulie Gee’s - Neapolitan-ish wood-fired pizza with wildly inventive and delicious flavor combinations, along with another stunner of an interior. Sit down, get out of the heat/cold, get your picture with Paulie when he’s hosting and enjoy. (60 Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Una Pizza Napoletana - It’s not cheap, it’s not easy to get in, and it’s not 100% consistent, but Anthony Mangieri is a legend, his take on Neapolitan is wholly singular, and it’s best to make the pilgrimage before he takes another break. (Orchard & Stanton, Lower East Side)
Juliana's - There's an amazing story behind this coal oven shop (which involves the Grimaldi family selling the business, then opening Juliana’s right next to their original Grimaldi’s location next door), but the pizza is even better. A new classic, worth the long wait in line. (19 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn)
Sullivan Street - Okay, it's a bakery. But Jim Lahey was also one of the first folks in America doing Roman style pizza and it's still the best I've ever had on this continent. It is truly perfect bread with stuff (tomato, potato, try them all) on top. That’s pizza. (Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo)
Joe’s - This is not a bold, surprising pick considering it has become the mascot of NYC pizza, and many well-versed aficionados might scoff, but try a slice after a night of drinks, preferably after midnight, and the come talk to me. (All over but the ones in Lower Manhattan seem best)
John's of Bleecker Street - Much more thin and balanced than I remember. The ingredients are nothing special, and I doubt the prep has been improved much in decades, but I can almost guarantee you will house an entire pie yourself. (Bleecker & Jones, West Village)
Mama’s Too - I always thought they burned the squares, but just had one of the best slices of my life from the UWS location, and I hear the Village spot is already in rare form, so maybe everyone else who worships this place is right? (West Village, Upper West Side)
REALLY GOOD PIZZA
Emmett’s - This is the only place I would order Chicago Deep Dish or Tavern Style in the state of New York. It’s really good. The counter: If I am looking for top shelf Chicago pizza, I’m probably going directly to the source…especially when you have the best pizza in the country around you. (Two in the West Village)
Best Pizza - I never lived in New York, but if I did this would be my dream neighborhood place. Quality slices, never too busy, kind staff, and a couple unique slices like the awesome one with the pickled veggies. Literally the only veggie slice I ever order. (There are a couple in Brooklyn)
L&B Spumoni Gardens - Lo-fi transcendent. Crisp bottom and thick moist crumb that somehow blends with and becomes one with the tomato and cheese. Tastes like pizza from another era, with the added bonus of insane people-watching at the picnic tables. (2725 86th St, Lower Brooklyn)
Joe & Pat's - This legend may very well produce the best, crackery thin crust in the country. The Staten Island location is no frills old school goodness, while the atmosphere at the Manhattan location feels in between that and Rubirosa, which the family also owns. (Staten Island, Manhattan)
Lucali - My favorite interior in the country. So cool that it vaults Lucali from Good (based on just the pizza) to Really Good. This one is real tough to get into, but it's a unique New York pie and often a fairly magical experience. (575 Henry St, Carroll Gardens)
Arturo’s - You know how people act like if something is made in a brick oven then it’s gotta be good? Well, coal oven pizza is like that, except it’s almost always true like it is here. (Houston & Thompson, SoHo)
Wheated - Very tasty sourdough pizza coupled with the best whiskey list I've ever seen in a restaurant, let alone a pizzeria. (905 Church Ave, Brooklyn)
ESPECIALLY GOOD PIZZA FOR THAT LOCATION
Don Antonio - My appetite for true Italian Neapolitan pizza has cooled, but I’m still always happy to end up in here. Legendary pizzaiolos and quality ingredients make for the best pie near Midtown. (50th & 8th Ave)
New Park Pizza - If you’re near JFK, drop in and watch them throw the salt on the oven floor while they’re cooking. Not sure if it actually adds anything but literally seeing it will make the pizza taste better. Also the basis for Do The Right Thing, but that’s another story. (156-71 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach)
New York Pizza Suprema - I’ve never had a breakthrough slice here, and it will feel a bit like a you’re at a busy factory turning out every kind of slice imaginable. Not many other options near MSG though! (31st & 8th)
Sofia Pizza Shoppe - Great owners who love the craft makes for really good slices in a part of town I unfortunately rarely end up in anymore. (54th and 1st Ave, Midtown East)
Luigi's - I am but a tourist, but with that Luigi's sign out front, the owner/employees, the pizza and the atmosphere, this place seem like the most real-ass Brooklyn pizzaeria in the world. Make sure you go to the right one! (686 5th Avenue, Brooklyn)
F & F Pizzeria - Big selection of mostly good slices, but I would probably just go to their full Italian restaurant, Frankie’s Spuntino, which actually IS great. (459 Court St, Brooklyn)
Fini - Feels a little bit like getting pizza at the Apple store, but I’m pretty much in. The slices are salty, sometimes too much so, but I think this shop will be around for a while. (305 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn)
Motorino - Behold, the pizzeria that got me to put Brussel Sprouts into my diet. Order that pie. Other than that, it’s good Neapolitan-inspired pizza that felt revolutionary in a decade ago, but is now pretty much a great standby place. (Upper West Side, Williamsburg, East Village)
Williamsburg Pizza - There was a moment when this was THE place, but I can’t even place when that was anymore. Last couple visits were just okay, thus the new category. (Six locations kind of all over)
Roberta’s - Better vibes than the outdoor mall locations in Los Angeles, but I think they’ve been lapped by other new school places on here. Worth going, but not worth traveling to go anymore. (261 Moore St, Bushwick)
Ops - Love the wine. And the atmosphere. Very happy to hang when I’m in Bushwick. The service is low-key but on point. And the pizza is…pretty good? (346 Himrod St, Brooklyn)
Ace’s - In almost any other situation, dive bar + Detroit style pizza = heaven. But while the pizza is good enough, there are too many world-class slices around that Aces should probably be for locals, not tourists. (637 Driggs, Williamsburg)
Upside Pizzeria - Sort of in-between an old school and new school slice place. Better than a $2 slice, not quite as good as the other newer pizzerias, smart locations, but sometimes inconsistent. Like I said, in a pinch! (Four locations in Manhattan/Brooklyn)
DiFara - I remember everything about the first slice I had here 15 years ago. It was everything the adoring reviews said. But the owner Dom has passed and the flaws are more transparent than when he was cutting fresh basil on to your pie. (1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn)
Lombardi’s - The history is undeniable and it’s definitely worth a visit. But while it’s good enough, the pizza is definitely deniable. Ideally you go here while on Scott's Pizza Tour. (Mott & Spring St, NoLita)
Grimaldi’s - Please google that story on the Grimaldi family and Juliana’s. Anything called Grimaldi’s is a chain. It’s not horrible, but it’s nothing special and the Dumbo location isn’t even really the original space so you can skip. (Brooklyn, Lexington, KY, Witchita, KS, you get my drift)
Sal & Carmine’s - This one has probably held up the best of the group, but nothing lasts forever. Much better vibes than nearby Mama’s Too (as in you can actually sit down), but the pizza seems pretty dated now. (102nd & Broadway, Upper West Side)
HAVEN'T TRIED...
NOT FOR ME
Don't go to Ray's. Don't do dollar-fifty slice places. Don't do chains. Yes, this is easily the best pizza city in the country but there is more bad pizza here than any other place. Protect yourself.
Prince St. Pizza - I don’t normally get into this, but I told so many people to go to Prince Street in the early 2010s that I now have to publicly take it back. What was once a balanced delight has become Instagram stunt food.