9" coal wünderpie

Evelyne Slomon wrote in Ed Levine's "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven" that Gennaro Lombardi — prior to taking over the Spring Street grocery store that would become Lombardi's — baked thin Neapolitan pizzas that he wrapped in paper and cardboard, stacked and tied into a neat bundle, and sold as individual portions.  You can go to Lombardi’s to have what his pies eventually became — and they are great: traditional NYC coal oven crust, fresh cow’s milk mozzarella, and simple & sweet undoctored tomato sauce.

But what about those little pies he first sold by the piece to poor Italians in the early 20th century? Perhaps somewhere there's a bakery making little pizzas amongst its broader selection of other breads.  So I looked.

I knew about the acclaimed Rose & Joe’s bakery in Astoria.  It serves pan pizza — but that's not what young Gennaro made.  I also know of plenty of Italian (and gourmet) bakeries that make homemade focaccia — also not the same.  I queried for recommendations but received none.

An occasion arose, a couple months later, when I needed to photograph fresh focaccia.  I brought my wife and daughter to Royal Crown, an Italian bakery in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.  With breads stacked high in the front window and a selection that includes pastry as well as risen loaves, Royal Crown is a plain room with broad offerings.

As I photographed the focaccie — which they offer with four topping types (eggplant, onion & peppers, potato, or sauce only) — a worker appeared from the back carrying a tray with four or five little round tomato and cheese pies.  I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“What are those?  Are they pizzas?” I asked.  

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A Royal Crown pizza is a demonstration in simplicity: fresh mozzarella and basic mashed tomatoes on a seven inch flat disc baked in an old coal oven.

“How many do you sell in a day,” I asked co-owner Antonio Generoso.  Monday through Thursday, 1-2 dozen; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 4-5 dozen.

“This is great pizza.  How come you sell so few of them?”  We don’t give it a lot of focus.  It gets lost among all of the other speciality items we have.

“What I want to say about them,” I told him, “is that I find them not special, but by this I mean they are quite special in terms of their simplicity.”  That’s exactly how I feel about them, he said. (Phew!)

I asked the countergirl her opinion regarding Royal Crown’s low volume of pizza sales.  Her answer — that there are many other pizzerias nearby — sheds light on the evolution of pizza in the United States.  Royal Crown does not make American-style pizza.  Rather, these small pies more resemble those that Lombardi — who was first and foremost a baker — would have eaten as a boy.  But, like the first pies he baked in the United States, Royal Crown's are made in a coal oven.  

Last week I returned for the first time in a while and picked up a pizza.  Somehow I resisted the temptation to eat it on the way home and was able to document my tasting at home (click photo above to watch the video). Bottom line: I love this pizza!

The default offering is cheese only (they use fresh mozzarella made at the Royal Crown restaurant located one block away), I've had it with sauce only also.

Note: Royal Crown makes its pizza mid-morning and can run out within an hour or two.  Call ahead to check availability.  Pizza can be ordered in advance.

Map Royal Crown.  Royal Crown's website.  (Call ahead for days/hours.)

ny's best vs. bravest vs. finest

Earlier this week I checked out the Patsy's Party, where the Harlem original celebrated 77 years of existence by rolling back prices to 1933.  Nothing on the menu, steak included, was more than 80¢, and as a result, the line was hours long just to get inside.

The highlight however, was the FDNY vs. the NYPD vs. EMS pizza eating contest.  Who could eat the most pizza in 8 minutes?  (Roll over the picture above, to see who won!)

But one doesn't need to wait until next year to eat affordably at Patsy's.  A whole pie, at $12 (for eat in) or $11 (for takeaway) is one of the best deals in the city!  With an unbelievable super thin crust and a bright tomato sauce that retains its sweetness thanks to a super quick cooking time (~2 minutes at 900°), this pizza would be a bargain at double the price!

Map Patsy's (call ahead for days/hours)  

totonno's - totally top notch

Last week I visited Totonno's for the first time since it's February 12 reopening (after a March 2009 practically destroyed the place).  The owners restored Totonno's previous decor with, thankfully, no unnecessary "improvements."

The pizza was 100% top notch. 

Totonno's crust is simply masterful.  When you fold it, it cracks on the outside, but the inside, despite its thinness, holds together and stretches, conveying a perfect bread flavor and chewy flexibility.

I had the white pizza and the standard cheese and tomato.  I tried the sautéed peppers and onions on half of each type.  Both styles were incredible: the simplicity of the excellent ingredients shined through with every bite.  The Totonno's white pizza, unlike a ricotta white (which is the New York standard when it comes to white), is prepared with fresh garlic, mozzarella, and olive oil.  I like it much more than ricotta white variation.

In fact, I'd say I'm addicted to Totonno's white pizza and can still taste it, almost a week later!

Totonno's is the oldest family owned pizzeria in the country.  The operating-owner, Louise "Cookie" Ciminieri, commented on how in the 1950s, the invention of the gas-powered pizza oven and an increased demand for pizza resulted in the opening-up of pizzerias everywhere.  She said, rather bluntly-but-truthfully, "But it all stems back to us."  

Well, Totonno's does not simply exist because of its history: the pizza it's serving in the present day provides every reason one needs to justify a trip to Coney Island.

There have been fewer than half a dozen pizzaioli (pizza-makers) at Totonno's during its 86 year history.  All have been family.  That is, until recently.  Today, native Coney Islander Michael Gammone makes the pies. But he is not related to the owners.  

When asked how this came to be, Cookie says, "Well, we ran out of family, so we adopted him!"

Click the photo above to view an short audio slideshow featuring Gammone making pizza at Totonno's. Assisting him is Totonno's server Jami-Lee Galati.

Map Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano (call ahead for days/hours).

totonno's reopens

Totonno's, in Coney Island, has been baking brick oven pies since 1924 and lays claim to being the longest continually operating family-run pizzeria in the US. But in March 2009, a fire originating above the old oven spread to much of the restaurant, and for several months there were doubts about whether the place would reopen. The three owners held a vote and decided to go ahead with repairs that, ultimately, ended up taking much longer than anyone expected. Totonno's finally reopened this month.

Prior to the reopening, I was privileged to visit the restaurant on two separate occasions. The first time I stopped by, they were firing up the old oven for the first time since the fire. It was a particularly emotional moment for Antoinette - the one owner who was present that day. She tearfully explained that the reason she voted in favor of repairing and reopening Totonno's was for her grandfather, (Totonno's founder) Anthony "Totonno" Pero.

Pero had gotten his start as the pizza maker for Gennaro Lombardi - the man widely credited with introducing pizza to the United States. Because Pero was Lombardi's pizzaiolo, the Totonno's family believes that when it comes to proclaiming who made the first pizza in the US, their place merits mention alongside Lombardi's.

However you slice it, a visit to Totonno's is a trip back in time. Only pizza is offered there. And Totonno's pizza is continuously ranked best or second best in the city by nearly every reviewer and blogger reporting on pizza.

More on Totonno's soon....

Map Totonno's (call ahead for days/hours).