Midtown Lunch

Pizza is something I am no expert on, but some days my body wants something greasy and carb-filled. One such day, I headed over to Little Italy Pizza on a weird, deserted-feeling block of Park Place (between Broadway and Church). It came highly recommended by lunch’er adamprato‘s mom, who threw down the gauntlet in response to a review about nearby Portobello’s Pizzeria & Sicilian Kitchen by saying she had tried all of the pizza places near where she works, and “all but one suck.” That “one” was Little Italy, and I had to investigate.

The pizza in the case when you walk in looked pretty standard, but looks can be deceiving. There are three other Little Italy Pizzas in Midtown, and they are apparently becoming one of those collections of places, like Famous Ray’s that may be loosely related, but are all turning out decent pies.

So, you’re probably saying, get to the part about the pizza already! I went with my grumbling stomach and got a plain cheese slice, and then randomly chose a slice of the Milano to test the quality of the toppings (you know, for research purposes). Another one that caught my eye was the lasagna pizza, and a  lot of people seemed to be getting square slices of the Sicilian.

The cheese slice had a crisp crust and was nice and hot, which is not always the case with reheated slices during lunch primetime. I also appreciated that it wasn’t super greasy despite having a decent amount of cheese and didn’t leave oil dripping down my hand. At $2.75, it was in the reasonably priced territory.

The Milano slice was the prettier of the two, but the crust was weighed down by the heft of the toppings. Those toppings didn’t come cheap either, at $4.25 for the slice. I think if it got a little more oven time, the crust would have been more crisp and I wouldn’t have had to hold up the edges. The sausage, red onion, spinach and peppers were quality and plentiful, though, which I appreciate. No frozen or canned vegetables here.

 In the end, I should have listened to the one other piece of advice that adamprato’s mom attached to her recommendation: “Ask them for thin and well done and it’s the best crispy pizza you will find.”

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• They don’t skimp on the toppings and they don’t come from a can.
• The crust is a crispy one.
• It’s the best quality pizza in the area.
• They have some intriguing pies like lasagna.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Too many toppings = saggage.
• $4.25 for a slice? That’s crazy talk!
• They only sell pizza, and sometimes I want a gross Italian sandwich.

Little Italy Pizza, 11 Park Place (between Broadway and Church St. ), (212) 227-7077