New York Tales : John's Pizzeria

New Yorkers claim they have the best pizza or pie (as they call it) in the world. Well they have quite a long tradition of it, with a gentleman called Gennaro Lombardo opening the first Pizzeria in Little Italy in 1905.

We were tempted to sample the pizza’s at Lombardo’s, but for some reason we just never got round to it. As is.

As we were staying quite close to West Village, John’s Pizzeria’s name crept up when we asked the hotel staff where we could get some good pizza close by.

I like oddball joints, and John’s Pizzeria fits the bill. Lot’s of scribbles on the walls from past customers and some artwork that well it works here, but in my living room. Maybe not. The photos of New York celebrities adorn the booths as well.

I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to pizza. Most of the first time when I try a new pizza place, I always have a margarita. Hey if they can do that well, then maybe other pizzas will be as good.

The pizza’s as well as everything else in New York are big. At John’s they only sell whole pies, no slices here, and cash only.

The small (14”) 6 slice or the even larger (16”) 8 slice pizzas are big. The pizzas all come as standard with a generous coating of tomato sauce and a lot of mozzarella, and then you can add extra toppings for $3 each.

We opted for a large with sausage and pepperoni and a few beers. Well pizza and beer is the combo of choice with us.

John’s Pizzeria has been going since 1929 and still in the same location. The pizzas are cooked in a coal fired brick oven, which must be a first for me.

The crust was thin and nicely charred. Still chewy but crispy enough. The ample toppings of pepperoni and sausage along with the mozzarella and tomato sauce made this one hell of a good pizza.

I have developed a habit over the years of folding my pizza over and eating it that way. It’s how I like it and with the thin crust pizza here it worked a treat.

John’s serves a great pizza in some well worn surroundings that definitely have character.

Whether New York has the best pizza in the world I do not know, as tasting only one, it’s a little hard to say, but John’s is certainly one of the nicest I've tasted.