“There are only two things I would wait in line for: voting and pizza”.
This was the quote an Australian news publication decided to publish in regards to a New Yorker’s quest to vote in November 2016. That New Yorker was me. Sure, it is pretty bold to quote myself, but four years later, I feel my wisdom holds.
From Michael Scott to Michaelangelo, it is a fact that pizza is noticeably special here in New York City. I prefer the theory that there is something in our water which makes our pizza elite. If that is true, then we are getting that same super ingredient every time we shower and brush our teeth, which may be the reason why New Yorkers are unique.
New Yorkers can argue all day about our favorite pizza. We all have our own personal rankings, and our rankings are made with passion and experimentation. For this reason, pizza deserves its own edition of 2xParked.
Everyone Has an Opinion
New Yorkers do not only have an opinion of their favorite pizza joint, we have favorites for each pizza subset. Do you want a slice or a pie? We have a suggestion for that. What kind of oven do you want it cooked in? We have a suggestion for that. Do you want basic cheese or interesting toppings? We have a suggestion for that.
With so many voices out there, where do you turn?
2xParked compiled a database of best pizza place lists in New York City. The lists had to be recent (last updated no earlier than January 1, 2018), published by an organization (i.e. not a personal blog), and feature multiple pizza places (i.e. no “the best place to get pizza is this one and only place”). We found 38 lists that met this criteria.
Only places in New York City were accounted for. While some lists did occasionally feature Razza in Jersey City, most of the lists were biased against New Jersey pizza. It would not be fair to include them in this ranking due to this data bias. That being said, there were 105 different parlors mentioned. If that does not indicate the quality of pizza and pizza debate, then what would?
We calculated three measures: (1) The percent of lists the pizza parlor was mentioned [%List], (2) the percent of lists the pizza parlor was mentioned in their top 3 [%T3], and (3) the percent of the more highly read lists the pizza parlor was mentioned [%QList].
From all this data though we were able to do an extensive meta-analysis to aggregate an ultimate pizza ranking.
Ultimate Pizza Ranking
It is difficult to estimate how many pizza places there are in the city. Do we consider only places which serve pizza as its primary meal, or any restaurant which happens to have pizza on the menu? Do pizza bagels count? What about deep dish or flat breads?
We narrowed it down from 25,000 to 25 to create this pizza ranking that is as fresh as a bubbling cheese slice:
Honorable Mentions: Artichoke Basille’s Pizza; Bleecker Street Pizza; Don Antonio; Grimaldi’s Pizzeria; New Park Pizza *Best in Queens*; Pasquale Jones; PQR; Rizzo’s Fine Pizza; Sal & Carmine Pizza; Sottocasa
25. Speedy Romeo, Clinton Hill - [%List: 16] [%T3: 8] [%QList: 23]
24. Motorino, East Village - [%List: 18] [%T3: 5] [%QList: 23]
23. Emmy Squared, Williamsburg - [%List: 18] [%T3: 5] [%QList: 31]
22. Mama’s TOO!, Upper West Side - [%List: 13] [%T3: 8] [%QList: 23]
21. Joe & Pat’s Pizzeria, East Village - [%List: 26] [%T3: 3] [%QList: 38]
20. Scarr’s Pizza, Lower East Side - [%List: 18] [%T3: 11] [%QList: 31]
19. Lombardi’s, Little Italy - [%List: 24] [%T3: 11] [%QList: 31]
The original pizza place is as much delicious pizza as it is destination.
18. Juliana’s, Dumbo - [%List: 26] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 23]
Even in the rankings, Juliana’s and Grimaldi’s were neck-in-neck, but Juliana’s had the advantage.
17. Ops, Bushwick - [%List: 21] [%T3: 11] [%QList: 31]
16. Louie & Ernie’s Pizza, Schuylerville - [%List: 21] [%T3: 11] [%QList: 31]
*Best in Bronx*
15. Keste Pizza & Vino, FiDi - [%List: 21] [%T3: 11] [%QList: 31]
14. Denino’s Pizzeria & Tavern, Port Richmond - [%List: 29] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 38]
*Best in Staten Island*
13. Best Pizza, Williamsburg - [%List: 29] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 38]
12. Rubirosa Ristorante, Nolita - [%List: 24] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 36]
11. Patsy’s Pizza, East Harlem - [%List: 34] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 31]
10. Emily, Clinton Hill - [%List: 32] [%T3: 18] [%QList: 31]
9. Totonno’s, Coney Island - [%List: 34] [%T3: 16] [%QList: 46]
If you venture in winter time, it is a bit easier to get a table since it is less crowded in the Coney Island area.
8. John’s of Bleecker St., Greenwich Village - [%List: 42] [%T3: 29] [%QList: 54]
7. L&B Spumoni Gardens, Gravesend - [%List: 47] [%T3: 13] [%QList: 69]
6. Prince Street Pizza, Nolita - [%List: 53] [%T3: 24] [%QList: 77]
The pepperoni cups. That is all.
5. Joe’s Pizza, Greenwich Village - [%List: 55] [%T3: 24] [%QList: 54]
*Best in Manhattan*. Sure, it may be a bit touristy to go here, but the line moves quickly and it meets the hype.
4. Paulie Gee’s, Greenpoint - [%List: 53] [%T3: 29] [%QList: 54]
3. Roberta’s, Bushwick - [%List: 58] [%T3: 29] [%QList: 69]
2. Lucali, Carroll Garden - [%List: 53] [%T3: 32] [%QList: 54]
This is probably my personal favorite. My smile grows in proportion with my stomach. Don’t forget to order a calzone.
1. Di Fara Pizza, Midwood - [%List: 58] [%T3: 42] [%QList: 54]
*Best in Brooklyn*. I can not disagree with this. You might have to wait hours in line, but if you are a veteran like me, you know how to manage your time to minimize wait and maximize taste.
New York is a tough place for pizza to survive. If it is not good, then there will be a better slice a block away. Bad pizza is no way to spend your life in New York.
MayorModel
Although our current mayor eats his pizza with a fork, he likely would with these rankings.
We shall see where our next mayor prefers to get one’s pizza fix.
Ray McGuire officially announced his run for mayor last week, which gave him a bit of a PR boost in the model. In fact, with all of the mayor forums, the field is starting to level itself out.
This could mean bad news for Scott Stringer. Stringer has a clear endorsement lead from some well-known NYC legislators, but that has not led to significantly more interest, according to google trends. In the past month, Stringer finds himself indexed behind Adams, Wiley, and McGuire in terms of Google searches in New York. We will see how these endorsements translated into money soon.
"Pizza Party" was drawn by Ink&thyme, drawing life's unforgettable moments. For unique art drawn just for you, check them out on Facebook and on Instagram.
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