The pizza in New York has a long standing debate going for who is the best. There is one thing for sure, the pizza that comes out of the streets of New York and other neighborhoods near by is were pizza got its big start. Pizza lovers are sure to find a few places that will have some of the best pizza in the world.
Lombardi’s Pizza was the first pizzeria in America when it was established in 1905. It took a few years for pizza to really gain popularity. It wasn’t until after WWII that pizza become a house hold must have. Because Lombardi’s was the first pizzeria many would say that Gennaro is the father of pizza in America. It all started as a grocery store trying to sell something that was a quick lunch for all the busy people walking by. The first pies were just tomato pies. Many of the Italians in the neighborhood would pick them up and take them to the job site. Because they couldn’t always afford the whole pie they just bought slices. It closed for about 10 years after the grandson ran it for a while. He eventually opened the doors back up and it has been running every since.
Grimaldi’s calls itself an institution. They have the coal fired brick ovens as well which gives the unique smokey flavor and crispy crunch in the crust. This is the pizzeria that Frank Sinatra would have sent to him whereever he was performing all over the country. Certainly to Las Vegas. The former Mayor of New York, Guiliani would also get his pizza from Grimaldi’s. There fresh ingredients and cooking style makes it a top of many peoples list.
Totonno’s also started creating great pizza in 1905. Anthony Totonno Pero says he is the first Master Pizziolas. He opened his first pizzeria in 1924 on Coney Island. Totonno’s is the oldest continuously operating pizzeria in America. The business has passed down through generations of the same family. They import handmade mozzarella cheese from Italy and the dough is made each day at each store. The first pizzeria was more casual and has it has the family has opened stores in the city they have become more upscale.
Some of the celebrities of modern fame like to grab a pizza at John’s Pizzeria which is found on Bleecker Street. Jack Black, Vanilla Ice and Regis Philbin have sent in their comments give the pizza some high remarks. In keeping with the local pizza tradition, they also have the wood fired ovens with the most fresh ingredient. They have been open since 1929 and they only sell pizza by the whole pie with cash. No slices is printed in bold along the outside awning.
The overall quality of the wines from NY are uneven at best presently, but improving and there are some types that can sometimes deliver good value for the money. We still need to be realistic about our expectations on quality here as NY is far from an ideal climate to grow world class grapes.
The main problem that New York runs into in regards to its wine industry is that the native varietals to the region include names like: Niagara, Catawba and Concord. You probably recognize Concord from the Welch’s grape juice commercials that have been on television, in some cases since before we were born. Concord grapes, frankly speaking, don’t make very good wine. Well if you’re looking for a jammy wine that will typically come off like grape juice with some alcohol poured in, then you should be set.
Some of the better NY state wineries have gone to hybrid grape varietals like Baco Noir which are a combination of their native grapes and some of them Mediterranean varietals that we’re all more familiar with in terms of wine. The wineries in NY are forced to do this instead of planting Pinot Noir grapes itself because their winters are much too cold for many varietals to grow naturally. While these hybrids sometimes make good drinkable wine, they can also sometimes be poor as well. In this case it definitely pays to do your research before purchasing.
There are 3 regions each specializing in a different type of grape that I wanted to highlight as wines to try, if you’re willing to go out on a small limb:
1) Hudson River Winery – Chardonnay. Still not close to California standards on average, but the cool climates make for interesting taste combinations. You can sometimes find bottles at half, or a third, of California prices for similar scores. Again, do research before hand, we can’t yet suggest walking into a wine store and picking up any Hudson River area Chardonnay.
2) Finger Lakes – American Rieslings. In the far North West portion of the state (think between Buffalo and Syracuse) there are some interesting white wines being produced. In this case it does make sense to follow conventional wisdom and buy white wines from colder climates when in doubt. Look for Wagner Vineyards or Knapp which sell decent Rieslings for around $20 a bottle.
3) Long Island is definitely the most sophisticated of the wine regions in New York state. If you have to choose a NY wine off the shelf without any prior knowledge, pick a Long Island vintner. Interestingly Long Island is actually at the same latitude as Bordeaux, so they’re able to plant more standard varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc which are their focus. Unfortunately for the wine drinking public there is very little room for agriculture and the price of land tends to lead to overpriced bottles when new wineries come onto the scene. A couple of wineries to try would include Pindar Vineyards and Lenz Vineyards.
