Luzzo's in Manhatten

[bolabola]

I got back from NYC about 2 or 3 weeks ago on a whirlwind 2 day trip..so many places I had to try and eat at and only made it to 4 pizza establishments..it had been 25 years since my last visit..
unfortunatly I never made it to 2 I really wanted to try in Brooklyn..I did get to Brooklyn but it was the same day they had that Tornado hit and traffic was a mess and most of the subways were closed..
I tried Luzzo's,Lil Frankies,Una's and Lombardie's all in Manhatten not counting all the pizza slices,delis and bistros..
by far Luzzo's was the best..the owner seemed moody and almost didn't let me take a pic of his wood burning oven but when the sausage pizza arrived at my table it was like I went to heaven..the waitress was great,cute and really Italian..
next best was Una's but a bit disapointing..service was so so and I think they were experiencing an off night on their pizza..
3rd up was Lil Frankies..a buddy told me to try their meatball pizza and since it was 2 blocks from my hotel I gave it a try..they have a wood oven and even though the sauce, cheese and tiny meatballs was very good their dough just didn't make it..my wife had a lemon pasta that was some of the best pasta I've ever eaten and I've had mucho pasta in my lifetime..I'd go back anytime just for that..
biggest disapointment was Lombardie's..I know,everyone here talks about how it's gone down the drain but I just had to try it and didn't know it went from down the drain,into the gutter and then from there the NYC sewer..I stood there and watched them make pies..everything looked okay untill I got mine and tried a bite..a tasteless horrible mess and the place was packed..go figure??
and to think I brought home one of their pizzas all the way back to San Fransisco because it was to late to get one from Luzzo's..I still have 3 slices in the freezer and kind of debateing if I should just toss em..
Thanks again Jeff for all your info..I'll be back next year and spend more time..I want to try the place in Mt.Vernon you were talking about..
wish I could post some pictures but I can't downsize them..when is pizzamaking.com going to up the attachment size from a meazly 128 KB?? it's the only web-site I know that's got a 128 KB limit..

[BenLee]

Luzzo's makes some real tasty pies.  I only wish the crust was a little crispier.  I was at Lombardi's a few weeks ago.  Their pepperoni pie is ok.  Sausage was worthless.  Their crust isn't anything special.  You probably got the standard service at UPN, slow.  UPN pies have decent crust and the cheese is delicious.  The tomatoes are next to worthless.

[scott r]

ben, it sounds like you would love isabellas oven.   The pizza is very similar to luzzo's, but they do a 4 minute bake rather than luzzo's 1:45. Because of this longer bake the pizza is crispier, but still has that light luzzo's like dough and high quality sauce.  The only issue may be that they don't seem as consistant as luzzo's. 

[BenLee]

ben, it sounds like you would love isabellas oven.   The pizza is very similar to luzzo's, but they do a 4 minute bake rather than luzzo's 1:45. Because of this longer bake the pizza is crispier, but still has that light luzzo's like dough and high quality sauce.  The only issue may be that they don't seem as consistant as luzzo's. 

Yeah, it's been on my list ever since the pictures hit SliceNY's web. 

[KoolDO]

I love Luzzo's pizza.  Their arugula pie is my favorite there, and as the OP said the sausage is also delicious.

However I am pretty sure their 'gelato' is ice cream baught at A&P though lol.