Grimaldi's

Grimaldi's Pizzeria - Exterior

People like me call it downtown Brooklyn. Fancy people may call it Brooklyn Heights or whatever the heck else they call these areas downtown. Personally, I don't care what you call it. Get anywhere near the Brooklyn Bridge, start sniffing for pizza and follow the scent. If you find an enormous line near a velvet rope, you've come to the right place.

"Nothing is worth that kind of wait." That's what the ignorant will say without ever having taken a bite of the coal fired awesomeness that is Grimaldi's pizza. Thin, fresh, delicious. There's not much else like this in all of NYC and let me tell you, there's a reason the big G ranks at or near the very top of all the "Best Pizza" lists for the 5 Boroughs.

Grimaldi's Pizzera - You know the rules

Loyal followers know that I am not fond of the pretentious "No slices" places, see Chipp, however there are pizzerias where this works. How? Well, for starters they have the rep to back it up. Secondly, the pizza is that good that you should want a minimum of 8 pieces so that even if you don't gorge you can gladly enjoy them later. Re-heated, not cold, of course.

Call it what you will but I go here for their signature pie with no toppings to litter the taste of the amazing sauce (light, sweet, and full of flavor), fresh mozzarella (this is mmm, mmmm good), and basil. The thin crust, coal fired masterpiece is served fast and HOT as their pizza man churns out pie after pie in record time to serve the masses.


Rating - 5/5 - This is the best of the best. I hear that eating this will make you look younger, act smarter, live forever, and give you cool points with even the most harsh critics. Remember the girl that would NEVER go to prom with you? Should have told her you eat here regularly and she'd have been convinced that you're not the loser she thought you to be.

Their site - Grimaldi's

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys 

Chipp

Ever notice the rash of pizzerias that are so self-important that they dare not serve you a slice of pizza. Some have earned that degree of status (Lombardi's and Grimaldi's come to mind and they often exchange the top slot for the best pizzeria in the 5 boroughs). Some of the New Pizzas On The Block (NPOTB if you will) are coming up and claiming that they too can sell you a full pie, no slices commoner!

Venturing through the old hood, I saw this place Chipp that was on Ocean and Z, right at my old bus stop. Naturally I had to go here. Inside, the place is gorgeous! Very clean, modern, and had a good looking interior. Let's not forget the brick oven. I wander in and gave the menu a once over and was impressed with what they had to offer - particularly this dessert pizza that featured a nice mix of fresh fruits, why more place do not do dessert pizza is beyond me. BE CREATIVE! Chipp gets points there. Where Chipp loses points is when I go to the counter and ask for a slice and the girl said, "we don't do that here." To which I replied, "I figured. That's too bad." She said, "get a pie, it's small. Maybe the size of two slices." I told her, "No thanks. It's a little pricey for two slices." Nearly $9 for the equivalent of two slices of pizza. This aint DiFara's and that's hardly worth it either.

Rating - N/A - I'd love to just say 0. Maybe I'll get here one day. Maybe not. Probably not. That's a lotta dough for 2 slices of pizza.

Their site - http://chippbrooklyn.com/

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

Brennan and Carr

A Brooklyn Classic...
There are huge rivalries all around NYC, typically dealing with sports teams and there are very few that sit on the fence and root for both. It's one or the other. You like the Yankees and hate the Mets. You like the Giants and hate the Jets. You could care less about the Knicks but you still hate the Nets. Rivalries truly do make the things we enjoy that much more enjoyable because we want our favorite to be the best. There are two sandwich giants in BK, most famous for the roast beef offerings, and many people are loyal to either Brennan and Carr or Roll N Roaster (featured here)

As a kid I did what you call the Brooklyn shuffle, moving five times over a span of seven years while being fortunate enough to remain in the same general area. During my most formative years (read rapid growth) I had the luxury of living 4 blocks from Roll N Roaster yet had to take a bus that transferred right in front of Brennan and Carr**

Brothy Goodness

What's a boy to do? I mean, everyone had their favorite and I honestly could not choose. This was not some Mets-Yankees scenario unfolding, this was food. Great food. And great food is one thing I never deprive myself of, in case you hadn't noticed. Since I'm not comparing who has the better roast beef sandwich (I'll save that for another day) I have to go based on burgers. In the burger fight, however,  B&C doesn't quite play fair.

Hard to tell how soaked the bun is.

YES, you can buy their beef burger and be fairly satisfied at their offering OR you can play it smart and order the Gargiulo Burger, have the pour beef broth on it and know that they just did to burgers what should have been done a LONG time ago. The Gargiulo is listed there on the menu and if you don't know and don't ask what it is, you're missing out. But now, you're armed with knowledge that you need to get this burger (NOT cooked to order) topped with delicious, hot roast beef, cheese (optional) and then the bun is smothered in broth. Let it sit a while and have some fun poking the bun to watch broth seep out. This is a heavenly sandwich. It's pricy too but nobody said heaven would be cheap.

I'm a burger with roast beef on top

Rating - 4.5/5 - This is just such an impressive burger/sandwich. Yes it's kinda cheating to add it here but NYC is loaded w/specialty burgers and this is one of the best.

**Editor's Note - While I did take the B3 to the B36 when I knew a sandwich from B&C was in order, there was an "easier" way to get home via the B49 and I tell you this in an effort of full disclosure.

Their site - http://brennanandcarr.kpsearch.com/df/default.asp

For more visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and don't forget to follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys  

Dough

Hibiscus Doughnuts? That's Dough

I think we need a break from all that pizza and all those burgers, don't we? Since we're all in agreement, and since I hinted at this in the last post, I now bring you dessert!

Put it to you this way, if you don't know Dough than you just don't know. Bo knows Dough and Bo don't know jack because Bo can't rap.

Back to the DOUGHnuts, these things are BIG, these things are FRESH, and they sell FAST. On this visit, the line was long but it moved quickly. The DOUGHnut makers were working at a feverish place, making delectable treats right before my very eyes. I was happy. I was hungry. I ate GREAT.

Lots of variety and it's your not so run in the mill doughnut shop.

Rating - 5/5 - big, delicious, light, full of flavor. This is a true DOUGHnut hot spot for me.

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

Tony's (Dekalb Ave)

Tony's

Word on the street, that street being Dekalb Ave, is that Tony has been rockin' the spot since 1969. He's a one man show, cooking up hot and delicious pizza inside his tiny pizza joint that's big enough to hold a handful of people at most, including Tony on his side of the counter. You want no frills, this is no frills. But do not mistake no frills for no good because that's just silly, you silly goose.

Red Drink

A staple in the BK pizza scene is not the crunchy, thin crust I've raved about. It's not the delicious sauce. For me, it's actually the machine you see at right. This is not a common find outside of Brooklyn and I'm not sure it's truly, fully appreciated by the transplants. There are three things that I want from my pizza spots. Pizza, red drink, and ices. It's a very simple formula that I was spoiled by as a child. Moving away from BK, one thing became strangely obvious, red drink was really hard to come by (same goes for orange and purple but I'm a red fan myself).

That's a damn good slice

Seeing this machine puts me right back to my childhood when, many moons ago, you could get a cup of red and a slice for a buck. At Tony's, that same combo ran my $3.25 and I was not complaining. I visited here right as I finished my slice from Luigi's (the good Luigi's) and I was ready for what I had heard was another good slice. Tony delivered. Hot, fresh, delicious. The sauce really stood out as the flavors really popped when it hit my mouth.

Rating - 5/5 - Red drink and pizza. A big slice that might be good enough to fill you up with a large drink.

Editor's Note - Eatercising at it's finest is taking the train to downtown BK and hitting up Luigi's and Tony's for some great pizza. There's a lot more to do and if I may sneak something non-Pizza your way, it's filled with Nutella and it's from Dough...


Their site -  not a chance

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

67 Burger

I get a message one day telling me that I need to try this hot burger

Fly your flag 67.

spot in Brooklyn and then I find myself there. It's that easy. Not far from the soon to be home of the Nets is 67 Burger, located in Fort Greene, amidst some other really good eateries, Smoke Joint and the landmark Junior's immediately come to mind, 67 Burger has been building a really solid reputation with a fairly tough crowd.

When I am told something is a "must have" I usually am a skeptic. When this particular friend tells me it's a must have, I'm there without hesitation. Why? Usually because it means he's buying, both the burgers and the coke and by coke I mean nose candy and by nose candy I mean cocaine.

Hi, I'm the 67 Burger. I wear bleu cheese.

Hi, 67 again, profile shot. I sit on bacon.

All gone.

I absolutely love their menu. It's simple to the point of being short bus but deep to the point of being Grand Canyon. Sounds oxymoronic or just plain moronic, I know but let's examine what I'm trying to say. You start with the meat of choice though in reality there's only one meat for a hamburger but you can choose beef, turkey, chicken, or veggie. From there, it gets fun. Well, fun for me but I'm a bit of a slob. When I am presented with the amount of choices a place like 67 presents, I do a lot of pre-planning and show up in sweatpants. Not so stylish but certainly spacious. Since choice one is so simple for me, choice two made things tough. My brain does not work in a manner that says, "just go back another time or two or four to try all the things you want to try" rather my brain says "you gotta catch 'em all, Pokeman" or something along those lines. NO I cannot eat 12 burgers in one sitting, YES I can try. My eyes shifted to the specialty burgers and I immediately crossed one of the 12 off the list. "The Ranch" was my Judas and was quickly crossed off the list of 12. Not sure if "The Ranch" proceeded to hang itself but I don't do ranch so I skipped that offering.

The choices are abundant and there's just too much to list here so I've opted to give you a link instead - http://67burger.com/assets/67.menu.06.14.09.pdf It's a link to a pdf so you can print it and plan your course. I'm not going to say exactly what I had because my photos are not up to my usual standard but I can tell you that I vouch for the 67, the Cajun, the Southwestern, and the Western.

Multiple visits are recommended, especially if you care to dine al-fresco. If you choose to eat the opposite of al-fresco (or indoors) that's ok too as there's ample seating.

Rating - 4.75/5 - Cooked to order, fresh not frozen, nice sized bun. Lots of toppings and options if you so choose and it's all just done right.

Their site - http://67burger.com/

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

Luigi's (Dekalb Ave)

Luigi's on Dekalb Ave

Sticking with yesterday's theme, I needed to give the plumber in green a shot at redemption. No, I'm not crazy and did NOT return to that Luigi's. Instead, I found my way to the train, found my sister on said train, and hit up BK. Brooklyn, not NYC at large, has a reputation for the BEST pizza your precious pennies can buy. It has that rep because it earned it. It earned it from the most discerning critics you can imagine. It's often emulated but unless you eat some real deal Brooklyn pizza, you know it's rarely duplicated. Please keep in mind that our other Luigi's is NOT related to this Luigi's, things don't work that way thankfully, just ask the folks at Ray's in NYC. In my world, we call this, the build up. Well, we're building up to Luigi's. A tiny, neighborhood spot on Dekalb Ave (near Pratt if that means something to you) that's not much more than a store front. But who needs more? It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood so why not grab one to go and then walk and eat? I call it eatercising.

I was urged to try Luigi's by a longtime friend that calls Luigi's his go-to pizzeria. I gladly obliged and was happy that I did. The slice here is perfect. Thin but not too thin. What does that mean? There's some depth to the dough and it's not razor thin, ready to cave from the weight of the sauce and cheese. Speaking of the sauce, it had flavor and the appropriate consistency. It was thin but not watery. The cheese provided the proper final layer and was melted nicely and not too heavy sitting on top. Unlike the OTHER Luigi's that deserves no more props who had cheese that settled so heavily on top that it laid there like Marv Albert's wig - YES!

This is the Brooklyn I know. Not that I grew up anywhere near there but you can find this perfect pizza by strolling just a couple of blocks from home. I've read some reviews that mentioned "this pizza isn't good cold" and some other nonsense. If you are gauging food that is meant to be eaten hot, (so hot that it will cause the roof of your mouth to blister) on how it tastes when cold, you are an idiot. I say to that fool, get Elio's if you want cold pizza because you surely don't deserve this. This is your basic, not so many frills pizzeria that serves up a perfectly cooked, flavorful slice without a ton of options to overwhelm the user. Want something with pineapples or any exotic toppings, save it for those chains that will satiate your every whim.

Rating - 5/5. It's neighborhood pizza at it's finest and perfect to grab a slice and go for a walk through Pratt's grounds to enjoy the artwork.

Editor's note - Dominic was often "forced" to play as Luigi as a child. We don't feel this had any impact on his psychological development and did not swing his opinion of this pizzeria in any manner.

Their site - yeah sure.

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

Roll N Roaster

Roll N Roaster - Brooklyn Landmark

Haiku Review

it's good but not great

cheez on anything you pleez

that's roll n roaster

Rating - 3.25/5 - If I was rating other things on the menu, I'd go 5/5 here. The food, the consistency, and the nostalgic feel are all worth the raves and repeat visits. The burgers are not main eventing at RNR but they are good. Go with cheez and onions.

Totonno's

Whoever said you can't go home again lied. They lied right to your  pretty little face. They probably lied when they told you they love you or when they complimented that sweater you wore to work last week. I'm not one that looks for reasons as to why the liars lie, I just look to punch their lying mouths until the truth comes out. Why? Because the truth hurts.

So my latest and greatest Brooklyn adventure took me back to where I will always consider home, Coney Island. It was there that my mom was raised and my grandparents and great-grandparents lived when settling in this fine country. No, CI is not nearly the same place it was back in the 50's and 60's but I'm happy to say it's not nearly the dump it was when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's either. The renaissance continues with new rides, interest, and enthusiasm for the south side of BK.

They, above right, used the sauce to the left to make the masterpiece seen to the right.

There are three CI constants for the last 75+ years - Nathan's, the Cyclone, and Totonno's. Totonno's is a really small, unassuming pizzeria located on Neptune Ave near W. 16th. If you're not really looking for it, you may not find it - unless the line is out the door, then you know where to go. Since 1924, Totonno's has been serving up a premier, thin-crust, Margherita style pizza. Everything here is fresh. The sauce is perfection in sauce form.

You owe it to yourself to go here and eat this true NY Legend. Why it's not mentioned more in all the "Best Pizza in NY" talk is beyond me but maybe they should start asking people who know a thing or two about pizza. I've had almost all of the so-called best and this is better than most.

Rating - 5/5 - Maybe there's a hint of nostalgia and pride added in here but there's absolutely nothing bad to say about pizza that is perfectly made, fresh to order, and sold only as a pie. Trust me, even YOU can eat one of these pies. Just wear your sweatpants and go eat it on the boardwalk.

Their site - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Totonnoss-Pizza/154759914566822

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

Peter Luger

The premier Brooklyn Steakhouse, perennially rated as the top steakhouse in all of NYC also serves up one of the city's best burgers. It's so special, they only serve it during lunch hours (until 3:45pm) and you'll most likely need to get a reservation well in advance to eat there. I've been fortunate enough to be greeted by a little old lady at the hostess counter each time I've visited. She's awesome. Tell her DJ says hi.

A little advice if you are making your first trip to Peter Luger's:

1 - Try, no TRY the bacon. Get it as an app, eat if while you wait for the burger to be cooked.
2 - Do not get a 2nd bacon on your burger after having tried it and liked it. Trust me, I'm right.
3 - If you skip the bacon as an app, do get it with your burger. Eat it alone. Savor it. Chances are it will be the highlight of your meal.

Before I go further, when I say app, I mean appetizer. I'm not talking about something you can play with on your iPhone or Droid so just leave the app-store now since there's no such thing as a Peter Luger Bacon App. Nor should there be.

Holy Pig Fat Batman, look at that bacon!!!

Moving on, going here for a burger may sound like sacrilege to the steak lovers out there but not going here for a burger IS sacrilege to all the burger lovers out there.

This is a MUST if you are craving a big, juicy burger. Now, all this praise does not go without some negativity. If there's a knock on Luger's, it's simple. They seem to cook the burger(s) however they want to cook them. In my most recent visit, we were a party of 5 (minus Neve Campbell) and 2 of us ordered our burgers to be cooked rare, the others ranged from medium rare to something more cooked.

The little plastic cow said my burger was rare and that little plastic cow was not lying. Unfortunately the little plastic cow on my friend's burger that said medium was not medium.

Let's just say there were 5 rare burgers on the table at the time of delivery. It's so disheartening that their cooking of what would arguably be THE burger in all of NYC is so lax that it hurts the overall rating. I compare this to seeing your dream girl and then finally asking her out only to find out that she was born a dude. "She's" taking web design classes by day and did just buy a webcam to make some extra money to speed along the process to become a real-live girl but "she's" just not quite what you wanted now that you've got "her."


Rating - 4/5. If I just graded this on my experience, it's a 5. The meat just tastes so good, the bun perfect, and the slice of raw onion is really all you need. But the cooking errors are just abundant. I grew up in BK and know the FU attitude that BK has but I aint rolling over and handing out grades based on that FU BK charm.

Oh and I did NOT order a cheeseburger but they made me one anyway. Thanks but I was trying to keep Kosher.

Their site - http://www.peterluger.com/

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys

L and B Spumoni Gardens

L & B Still Going Strong

I left Brooklyn so many years ago it's getting too hard to keep track. The one place that I absolutely always needed to return to was Spumoni Gardens. Long before there were countless TV shows with random hosts coming and drooling over the pizza served at L&B, this family owned establishment has always had a lot full of cars coupled with cars being double and triple parked out front. Go there on any warm day in the summer and you'll see that same scene. Go there in the winter and the lot's still full and there may be some double parked cars. Pizza is cooked and served equally as fast.

I have so many stories and memories of visits to this place it can fill a book. As a kid growing up in BK, I knew good pizza and I also knew that L&B was the pinnacle - for two reasons:

1. When we were moving to SI, my uncle stopped with my brother and I, double parked our moving truck out front, and we grabbed some squares because he said, "you'll never eat pizza like this out there." While I wasn't sure he'd ever been to Staten Island to back up his statement, I believed him. He also said "you'll never see girls like these outside of Brooklyn." On a mid-August day, that's a VERY hard claim to refute.

And, more importantly

2. I do not eat squares. EVER. Except from here. That is a fairly large statement.

Revisiting an earlier post, I do not like thick, doughy pizza. The squares at Spumoni Gardens are not too thick and have a signature crunch that is out of this world. For me the secret to the success of their squares is in the cooking. The dough receives a healthy drizzle of olive oil, followed by a generous coating of sliced mozzarella, and then covered in a sweet, delicious, thick pizza sauce. Ultimately, the squares shine because this sauce is amazing. Yes, the crust is typically crunchy and perfect. Yes the cheese is melted in nicely, forming a nice, gooey layer on top of the dough. But at the end of the day, it's love at first bite because the sauce is just that damn good.

When living in SI, before gas prices were insane and the toll on the VZ bridge was somewhat tolerable, I would make 2-3 trips a week to the Gardens for squares and spumoni. Why? Because the squares are that good and the spumoni is the perfect finish after knocking off a couple of squares.

Rating - 5/5. This is the absolute best square your money can buy and the homemade spumoni is peerless.

Their site - http://www.spumonigardens.com/

For more, please visit 5boroughfoodguys.tumblr.com and follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/5BoroFoodGuys