Slice by Slice, Part Two (West Village)

If there's a battleground for the pizza wars in New York, it might be on Bleecker Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. In the middle of the street, you can find the old standby John's of Bleecker, which has been there since 1929. And directly across the street is the new favorite Neapolitan style pizza at Kesté. The two places both garner a huge line and a devoted fan base. But the owners aren't too worried about the competition since their pizza styles are quite different from each other and it really does come down to a matter of taste.

However, bookending the street are two old slice joints that claim to have some of the best pizza in the city. I'll be the judge of that.

BLEECKER STREET PIZZA:

My first stop was Bleecker Street Pizza on Seventh Avenue, which according to Food Network, has the Best Pizza in NYC. I had been here once before with my parents (we went on a one day pizza slice expedition a while back when they were in town) and remember it being a pretty decent slice.

I don't remember if I had their signature Nonna Maria slice then, but that's what I decided to order this time around. The cashier told me it's the best slice they make. It's basically their version of a margherita. I waited a bit for the slice, which means it was baked fresh. The steam was rising so I waited even longer to take my first bite.

The first thing that turned me off was the excessive amount of grease. When I folded the pizza, the oil just slid down the slice like a heart-clogging waterfall.

When the grease drip finally subsided, I took my first unimpressive bite. Sure, the crust was crispy and thin, but the rest of the pizza was pretty flavorless. The tomato sauce was chunky and needed some zing. The basil tasted liked the dried variety rather than the fresh herbs one expects from margheritas.

The cheese was good, but it was a bit sporadic and along with the other ingredients disappeared rather quickly. There wasn't enough of anything on the bread so that toward the end, I was just eating crispy dry bread. I could see right through the tomato sauce to the sad, empty crust. I want my pizza to remain strong and composed until the end of my meal.

Is Bleecker Street Pizza the best pizza in NY? I don't care what Food Network says, their famous Nonna Maria slice's heavy greasiness and bland flavors earn it a 5 out of 10.

FAMOUS JOE'S:

I didn't actually finish the Bleecker Street slice because I was saving my calories for my next stop: Famous Joe's Pizza. Joe's is on the Sixth Avenue side of Bleecker and was featured in Spider Man 2.

Unlike my previous stop, this place was not being operated by Italians (at least not at the moment). But I'm sure there is a Joe or a son or daughter of Joe who's calling the shots. This place fared slightly better than Bleecker Street. I went for their regular cheese slice and made my way to sit at the counter.

I could hear people crunching around me. Seriously. The crust was ultra-thin and crispy. The customers were sort of an orchestra without realizing it. Maybe this is how the creators of Stomp came up with their idea.

Besides the almost burnt crust (it tasted like I was eating ash toward the end), nothing really stood out. The cheese and tomato sauce were both pleasant enough and the pizza was not too greasy and rather light. The dough might have been slightly too thin because I was still hungry.

Both these pizzas are still far better than you can get in middle America, but the flavors are not exceptional and the ingredients could be fresher. If you're looking for a spectacular pizza experience, I'd stop between these two spots in the middle of Bleecker Street and get in line for either John's (traditional NY) or Kesté (authentic Neapolitan).

Is Famous Joe's the best pizza in NY? It has the most important of NY pizza characteristics: the ultra-thin crust but the cheese and tomato sauce are really nothing special giving it a 6 out of 10.

A Slice Would Be Nice

No Slices, no slices!!! Every time I had heard about John's of Bleecker, this is what I was constantly reminded. Okay, fine, the place doesn't serve slices. Maybe this was a big deal at one point, but nowadays most of the great pizza places have the same mantra. But for some reason, John's seems to be the one reprimanding the loudest. It's proclaimed on the exterior, inside above the pizza oven, on the menu, and on the website. "No slices!!!"

John's is an old-school standby that often comes up when you list the best pizza places in the city. John Sasso supposedly trained at Lombardi's when it first opened and he has brought his New York style pizza to the West Village where it has been catering to long lines ever since 1929.

John's of Bleecker is a strange mismatch of opposing ideas. It looks like a rather nice little West Village Italian restaurant from the outside. Inside, it has a dive-y hole-in-the-wall vibe. As you look around, you see fancy murals and vintage rock posters. Pizza awards. Pictures of astronauts. Where the hell are we? I feel like we entered the pizza twilight zone!

And we just sit ourselves? Fine. This really feels more like a bar than a restaurant. But here comes the waiter ready to take our order. No smile, no welcome, just "are you ready to order?" I'm all for old school charm (or lack of it), so I didn't mind too much. My friend ordered a glass of montepulciano (don't ask) and I wasn't surprised when it arrived in a small plastic cup, much more reminiscent of a Dixie cup than a wine glass.

We ordered the large meatball pizza. My family's favorite meat topping were the sliced meatballs so I was excited to take a trip down memory lane. Meatballs are not the most popular meat toppings on pizza (pepperoni or sausage anyone?) so it had been a while for me.

The pizza was quite huge. I've been ordering personal pies on my adventures, but we were hungry and ready to go to town. This is definitely closer to what I'd consider New York style pizza and less Neapolitan. It's messy, greasy, and all about the cheese. In fact, I could barely taste the tomato sauce. It all clumped up in the middle. I had to dip my crust into the center of another slice in order to get a good taste of the stuff. And it was tangy and slightly sweet, but a bit watery.

The flavors were alright, but it was way too much cheese for me. I felt like I was eating bread and cheese. Not enough balance with the tomato sauce. The meatballs were rather bland. And the only seasoning I could taste was all in the center of the pie clinging onto that ever elusive tomato sauce.

The crust was great - very thin and crispy, but that wasn't enough to wow me. And after three slices, I felt heavy and slightly queasy. It was all too much cheese. I guess this is what some people expect from NY pizza and I can appreciate that, but in that case, I'd rather just get a slice and move onto something less greasy and more flavorful. Oh, that's right, not at John's! Remember, no slices!!! No slices!!!! Okay, we get the message!

Is John's of Bleecker Street the best pizza in NY? It's definitely crispy and cheesy (both on the pie and in decor) and will appeal to fans of greasy heavy pizzas, but the lack of tomato sauce and seasoning earns it a 6 out of 10. I was a bit underwhelmed by this old standard.

Early Bird Special

Nobody in New York seems to eat dinner before 7pm. It just doesn’t happen. If you eat dinner before 7, you haven’t gotten the memo. Or maybe you’re just old. Old people eat dinner early. Whenever I go visit my grandmother in Florida, dinner is at 5pm sharp. 5:00?? I just finished lunch, for Chrissake!!

For years, I didn’t eat until 9 or sometimes 10. I would go to the theater or happy hour and then go out for dinner. It just made more sense – keep the night going as long as possible. Just like they do in Europe.

But now, I’ve become an old person! Now that I’m over 30, my metabolism has slowed and the cramps and acid reflux start early. Or maybe I've just stopped playing by the rules. Lately I try to eat dinner at an early bird’s hour, especially if it’s going to be something as artery clogging and calorie rich as pizza.

And on this new schedule, I discovered if you want to eat at a popular, impossible-to-get-into restaurant, go around 6:00 and you’ll probably be able to score at least a seat at the bar, if not an actual table! And this brings us to Kesté.

Kesté was recently named Best Pizza Pie of the Moment by New York magazine. I definitely questioned the integrity of their list since classic pies like Totonno’s and Lombardi’s were absent. And the inclusion of Artichoke Basille’s on any pizza list makes me a little sick to my stomach. I tried their artichoke slice once and thought I was going to have a heart attack right there on 14^th Street. Imagine a very heavy spinach artichoke dip placed on top of a pizza. Nothing fresh about it – just greasy, heavy, and nauseating.

But I was more than willing to give Kesté a try. I’ll give just about anything a try.

We got to Kesté around 6 and I was excited that we scored a table near the pizza kitchen. I heard this place has a long line at all times. John’s across the street was also line-less. I guess my new habit of eating out early has finally paid off.

I was amazed at how quickly our 12 inch pizzas were dropped on our table. Wood oven pies are supposed to cook for no longer than two minutes and this promise was fulfilled here.

We ordered the funghi, which was a standard margherita pie (tomato, mozzarella, basil) with mushrooms. And I picked the pizza del papa, which I learned was originally made for the Pope (hence the name Papa). It had a base of butternut squash cream, artichokes, red and yellow pepper, and a special smoked mozzarella cheese.

I realized I had never tried true Neapolitan pizza before this night. Roberto Caporuscio, who is the head of the American chapter of the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoltetani and teaches classes on how to make this speciality 100 year old dish, popped my Neapolitan pizza cherry. And like an 18 year old hormonal girl, I never want to go back.

I was blown away by this crust - it was amazingly bready and chewy and had a yeasty fluffiness. This was a far cry from the thin crust pizza we're used to in NY. The bread sort of melted in my mouth and had a woody, earthy, buttery flavor. It also had a nice char on the bottom from the wood oven. It reminded me of a delicious edible pillow. If I hadn't eaten it all, I might have taken a quick nap.

The flavors were all bright and lively. The ingredients on the funghi were all very fresh and the tomato sauce was slightly sweet and slightly acidic. However, the pizza del papa wins for me because of that amazing smoked mozzarella. It was like taking a bite out of a campfire, but with gooey cheesy goodness. And without the actual burning sensation of a fire in your mouth. So maybe not like a campfire at all.

We were all very pleased with the pizzas. And we would have kept eating more, but we finished our two pies and knew that if we ordered another, it would taste delicious but our stomachs would not be too pleased later.

And we got the sense that the wait staff wanted us out. I didn't take it personally and attributed it to the fact that it was now after 7 and the line had begun to form outside. The rest of New York had finished happy hour and were now flocking to those hot dinner spots, including Kesté.

It took us a bit to maneuver through the crowd to get back onto the streets of the West Village. But we had a successful stress-free (except for the lack of water refills) dinner with some pretty amazing pizza. And we were satiated and back into the world with the whole night still ahead of us. Isn’t there some saying about the early bird catching the worm? Now if only these NY destination spots would take a nod from the Florida establishments and adopt the bargain price, I’d never eat past 5:00 again. Grandma, I’ll see you at dinner.

Is Kesté the best pizza in New York? It still remains to be seen, but I give it a solid 9 out of 10. The flavors excel and the textures are spot-on. And that smoked mozzarella gets a good 5 or 6 points all by itself.