A Survey Of Slices At Pizza Pizza Replacement Justino’s

There was some intrigue surrounding the replacement of Pizza Pizza with Justino’s Pizzeria on the stretch of restaurants between Pearl St. and Stone St. Pizza Pizza was serviceable but not remarkable, but Justino’s seems to be another branch of an NYC mini-chain that used to have a location in Midtown and also exists in Staten Island. A look at the online menu showed some intriguing options including clam pizza and one modeled after the L&B Spumoni Gardens square variety. Lunch’er famdoc called for an investigation, and I was ready to do it. 

Ordering was tough as they had a lot of round pies with a multitude of toppings. After scouting, I went with square Sicilian ($3.00) and round vodka slices ($3.50). My first impression was wonder at how large these slices were – both were at least as large as the paper plate they sat on. The Sicilian also packed some heft with a thick blanket of cheese and sauce.

The Sicilian was all cheese and sauce, but the highlight was the end crust. If you can get a corner piece, by all means do it as it’s crispy edge where cheese meets bread are fantastic. The sauce application was a bit much for my taste, but it’s the unoffensive, sweet kind flecked with dried oregano.

I was surprised by how much I liked the vodka slice. There was no tomato sauce on this one, but it’s not needed with the creamy vodka sauce and dots of fresh mozzarella. Ribbons of basil were a nice touch and the cheese was nicely browned in spots. Also surprising: The crust was not only crispy under the deluge of sauce and cheese, but the end of it was flavorful and tender rather than dry as a bone.

It’s hard to say for sure if Juliano’s is better than Pizza Pizza, but my lunch here was surprisingly good and reasonably priced.

Justino’s Pizzeria, 77 Pearl St. (entrance btw. Pearl & Stone streets), (212) 797-9692

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2 Comments

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    Yeah, got to be the same justinos that used to be in murray hill. They were huge slices.

    Try the fried calzone next time. Super healthy, obviously, but tasty.

  • Thanks for making the trip to Justino’s on behalf of lunchers. On my first visit, I wanted a clam pie, but was told that the menu was in development, so to speak (meaning the clam pie wasn’t available that day). I asked what the best second choice was and was steered to the grandma’s pie. I found it to be at least as good as Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, around the corner. The sauce had that nice balance of sweetness and acidity and the crust the nice light char I like. Can’t wait until clam pies are being made. A solid choice for pizza in the FiDi.

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