While in New York for a dealer expo earlier this summer, one of my former colleagues was also participating in the show. After the show was over, we were both stuck in town for one last night as our flights out of New York weren't until the following morning. I had been hankering for a good New York pizza and told my former colleague about that yen. He said that he would be up for a pizza somewhere. All we had to do is find a place. After some searching, we found an interesting place not far from our hotel in mid-town Manhattan that was easily walking distance. We ended up heading over to Lazzara's Pizza on W. 38th St. (see map)
There are literally hundreds of pizza joints in the five boroughs of New York City and everyone seems to have their favorite. You have to figure that a place that has been in business for 38 years has to be pretty good. And it was in 1985 when brothers Sebastian and Tony Lazzara opened Lazzara's Pizza in the Garment District of Manhattan. Originally a lunch only place, the Lazzara's started evening dining a few years ago. If you're looking for a good Italian place over in Orange, NJ about 20 miles to the west of Manhattan, Sebastian and Tony's younger brother Danny owns Libretti's, an old school Italian restaurant that dates back nearly 75 years.
As we were walking toward Lazzara's on W. 38th, we passed what looked to be a somewhat upscale burger joint. I stopped for a moment and asked my friend if he wanted to get a burger instead. "Are you kidding," he asked me incredulously. "My mouth has been watering for pizza since you first suggested it!" I was happy he turned down the burger place.
Lazzara's is in a narrow brownstone building that was built in the early 1900's with a walk-up to the restaurant. The dining room features tables with linen table cloths, wall sconces for lighting, and a tin-ceiling that looks like it may have been the original ceiling in the place. There was a small bar in the back of the restaurant space. The place was about half-full with diners when we arrived which meant there were about 18 to 20 people having dinner. It was certainly cozy in there.
We took a seat at a four-seat table next to an exposed brick wall with ornate-framed paintings of Italy or Italian culture hung on the walls. Our server that evening was a young lady by the name of Natalia. She had a thick Mediterranean accent and coupled with the loudness in the room and my tinnitus, I had to ask her to repeat herself a number of times. She gave us a couple menus to look over and I ordered a Peroni beer while my friend settled for a soft drink.
While pizza is the main attraction at Lazzara's, they also feature Italian specialties such as chicken parm, fettuccine alfredo, gnocchi in a bolognese sauce, eggplant parmigiana, and ravioli in a marinara sauce. The ravioli was filled with cheese, but if was filled with beef, pork or veal, I would have considered getting it. But we were definitely going for the pizza.
Unlike many New York pizza places where the slices are large triangles, Lazzara's pizza is cooked on a 13" x 18" cooking sheet, sort of like Detroit-style pizza only a lot more thin with their crust. They had two sizes offered at Lazzara's - half or whole. I saw a couple guys sharing a whole and I thought that maybe I'd order up a half.
And I'm glad I did as my friend ordered up the Hawaiian pizza - ham and pineapple. Now, I've known this guy for a few years and we were just getting reacquainted after not being around one another for a couple three years, but I was silently incredulous with his choice of pizza. Ham and pineapple? On a New York pizza? I'm not trying to be a pizza snob, but pineapple - or sauerkraut - should not be on ANY pizza. Oh well...
Me, I went with my old standby - sausage, pepperoni and mushroom. There were three slices in a half measuring approximately 8" x 6" inches square. And the crust was thin and crispy, the way I love my pizza. The mozzarella was caramelized over the ingredients and the tomato sauce was slopped on the dough before the ingredients and cheese were added on.
The pizza was delicious. The sauce was sort of tangy and sweet, the mushrooms were chopped (I wish they would have been sliced), and the pepperoni was salty and a bit spicy. The sausage didn't have that fennel taste that I find in the Chicago thin-crust pizzas, but it was still good. It was sort of expensive - $21 bucks for a half-pizza with two extra toppings. Ouch!
I was at that point after finishing the last slice of pizza of wishing I had at least another slice. I was in that in-between of being satiated and needing something else. That's when Natalia came out with the dessert menu. They had cannoli, cheesecake and a chocolate mousse. But they also had tiramisu. I had to get one of those. It was a generous piece of tiramisu topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a strawberry. I love the taste of strawberries, but I'm allergic to them. No matter, however. The tiramisu was fresh and flavorful - the perfect answer to the "more-food" craving I was having after finishing up my pizza.
My friend and I had a good time getting caught up on things, talking about my old work place, who was still there, who had left. I told him that I truly missed many of the people I had worked with and he agreed that he also missed many of the people who worked there years ago. But, time goes on and so does life.
I'm sure there are equal to better pizza places to try in New York City, but for my first visit in a number of years I was happy with our choice of Lazzara's for dinner that night. It was a quaint place, cozy and inviting. Natalia's service was impeccable, and the pizza was very good. Expensive, but very good. I'm sure that I'll have to go back to New York at some point in the future and I'll be doing some homework as to where I'll want to get my next pizza when I'm there. But for now, I'll have Lazzara's as my gold standard to compare to other places I'll try.
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