1 night in New York

[rustic one]

I am from the soggy-crusted-salty-cheese-sweet-sauced-hinterlands of the mid-west...an area that considers Pappa John's "purdy durned good".   I have only 1 night in New York.  I am armed with a subway map, walking shoes and a desire to calibrate my taste buds around some definitive NY-style pizza.  Where should I go.   Grimaldi's? Luzzo's? Lombardi's? Patsy's?

So little time - so much pizza

[Arthur]

Well New York City is pretty big and you don't want to spend lots of time getting around.  Better yet, if you are located:

Manhattan - downtown or central - go downtown to Una Pizza Napoletana or Luzzo's
Uptown or the Bronx - go up to Patsy's in Harlem
Brooklyn - Totonnos (or L&B - get the square)
Queens - Nicks (or go into Manhattan)

If you're in the village (downtown manhattan) go for a nice Cannoli after in the east village. http://www.venierospastry.com/

[David]

Arthut gives good advice and Veneiros,UPN,and Luzzos are all within a block of each other .I disagree however about Veneiros.I think it's one of those places that is coasting on an old reputation, for my tastes the best partry shop in New York is French and in Soho (walking distance from the Pizzerias,if you enjoy walking  ):

http://www.ceci-celapatisserie.com/flash/index01.html

I HIGHLY recommend the Poire William Gateau !!

My suggested downtown  itinerary would be:

1) Stop by 'Veloce' on 2nd Ave for an aperitif. ( Tasteful modern design  Enoteca )

2) Walk over to Luzzos on 1st and order a Margherita.

3) Walk or get a cab down to Soho (Broadway/Prince cross streets) and get Dessert @ Ceci - Cela.

4)Walk back along Prince and end up @ the old chestnut of a bar called Fanellis (Prince/Mercer cross streets)
A warm ,cozy long established NY Bar that more or less has avoided becoming a tourist trap despite being at the epicenter of this trendy neighborhood.

Have a good trip.

[varasano]

Veniero's is good. The best Italian Bakery I know is Sal & Dom's in the Bronx on Allerton Ave.

Jeff

[rustic one]

My mouth is watering already.  The pizza here in the midwest is so mediocre I hardly ever bother with it anymore.  Occasionally, I will have a local wood fired - just OK - or make one at home - still working on my craft.

These recos all sound great.  One question:  The pizza places and bars in these more "trendy" areas...will I be comfortable in my rustic outfit?  I don't plan to wear overalls, but I might show up in (nondesigner) jeans and a flannel shirt.  Being from the heartland, I don't own much black in my wardrobe and the only designer I own has the first initials of JC. 

Observation from the heartland:  Had some hard frost recently so the basil plants are gone for the winter...so sad. 

[scott r]

The beauty of this fine city and any normal restaraunt there is that you can wear just about anything you want!

You will be fine.

[rustic one]

Luzzo's looks like a winner - good pizza and convenient location.  One question...Is this a prototypical NY-style [/i] pizza?  I'm not necessary looking for the single best pizza in NY - or want to start those arguments - , but I do want to sample the a fine NY-style.  It will give me something to strive for in my own piza making endeavors.  I'm surprised no one has mentioned Grimaldi's - do they not live up to their press?

[rustic one]

Report back  -  Had my one night in New York.  Went to Grimaldi's based on some recos'.  I took a train in from Ct. and 2 subways to get there.  When I arrived, I found out they were closed for a private party and were only taking take=out orders.  This actually worked out really nice.  I got a take=out and walked to the water front at the end of the block.  Ate the Pizza on a bench, in shirt sleeve weather, right under the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline arrayed in front.  Much nicer than eating inside.  And, the pizza was very good - vastly superior to anything around here.  Slightly crisp on the bottom with just a hint of smokiness- good sauce and fresh cheese - not overly topped or soggy.  After that, I went to Viero's for a canoli - which frankly was not particularly good.  Soggy shell and overly sweet filling - got better one's at my local German bakery.  But, it was nice to explore the city a bit on an indian summer evening in the city.

[juvem5]

Lombardi's went there once very good...