John's of Bleecker vs John's of Times Square

[kuhne]

Hey all, sorry if this has been discussed for ages but I wouldn't mind having a new take on it.

I've been to John's of Bleecker once and also to Joe's. These are supposed to be two legendary pizza places in NYC. I know there are other, less known places but I am specifically talking about these popular ones.

I know this may sound like sacrilege to some but I thought Joe's was just ok, John's was real good but then I went to John's of times square, which I know is owned by by different people and I think that one was my favorite, so much that I've kept frequenting that one over the years and never looked back. It's also a bigger place, has different items on the menu, my kids love it.

But sometimes when you tell people you favor the times square location over the bleecker one, you get looks...

Anyone here also prefer the times square location over bleecker or is it just me?

And while we're at it. I am going over there in february and I want to take the family to a new pizza place in manhattan. Got any musts?

Thanks guyus!

[TXCraig1]

I think you need to go to each a few times before you could say one is better than the other.

[hammettjr]

Your post makes alot of sense to me. When I go out with my wife and kids, the size and comfort of the restaurant and the menu are crucial for it to be a good experience. As much as I enjoyed the square at Mama's Too, eating on the sidewalk in the cold is not family-friendly and I doubt I'll ever take them there (though my kids do like when we go to Lucia in Queens and eat a pie in the car).

One place I'll half recommend (suggest you look it up) is Rubirosa. We had a good experience there. I think its hard to get a reservation for a prime time, with reservations opening at midnight 7 days in advance. But we lucked out and got a table around noon on a Saturday. The pie was a bit on the thin/crispy side for me, but the tie dye flavor with pesto and Vodka sauces was great (and you can get that as half a pie). I wished we got a pasta dish or 2 in addition the the pizza, they looked good. Re-reading my review linked below, I actually liked the pizza quite a bit:
https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,55305.msg746021.html#msg746021


As a side note, I'm not a big fan of Joe's either. I'm all about "plain cheese" slices, but I thought it was too simple. Almost asking for thr customers to season it themselves with shakers of oregano, garlic, pepper, parm.