Five Best NYC Pizza Places In 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, it's time to look back at some of the best pizza places I visited in 2011. Today, I'll be presenting my list of the five best pizza places I ate at in New York City in 2011. Although the places below didn't necessarily open their doors this past year, they are all spots that I ate at for the first time:

5) John's Pizzeria (Elmhurst, Queens)
Although this pizzeria has been around for 45 years, this female-fronted shop serves a solid, classic New York slice.

4) New Park Pizza (Howard Beach, Queens)
Not to be outdone by John's, this standalone shop opened its doors in 1956 and serves simple square and regular slices that hit the spot.

3) Saraghina (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn)
This rustic restaurant is revitalizing the dining scene in this once dangerous Brooklyn neighborhood and it's Neapolitan style pies are worth the trip out there.

2) 900 Degrees (West Village, Manhattan)
In what was perhaps this most disappointing pizza news in 2011, this innovative restaurant which served four styles of pies (Napoletana, Americana, Romana, and Siciliana) shuttered after just three months.

1) Forcella (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Hands down my favorite New York pizza place to open in 2011, Forcella has the potential to become the city's first "mini-chain" with busy outposts in Williamsburg and NoHo already.

Pizza With Pears

Did you know it was National Pear Month? Neither did I. Until I came across this recipe on Blue Kitchen. It features blue cheese and bacon... and if the photo below is any indication... I'm guessing it's pretty tasty. Here's the thinking behind the pie:

The Intertubes thought so too. Search pear cheese pizza on Google and you’ll get roughly a bazillion results. Many of them, however, take you in a dessert or vaguely sweet appetizer direction, some calling for sugar, brown sugar and even cinnamon. I wanted to go savory with this. And I wanted it to be a serious meal. So I started with blue cheese, a sharp, salty, big-personality cheese. You could also use Gouda, goat cheese or even the pizza classic, mozzarella, but I think blue cheese plays well against the sweetness of the pear. I added onion to further separate this pizza from the dessert course. And as a final big hit of savory/umami, I added bacon. If you want to go vegetarian, you can skip the bacon, but I think it really anchored this pizza as main course fare.

Forcella: Filling The Void In Williamsburg (And Much More)

When Motorino's Brooklyn location was permanently shuttered by the Department of Health this summer because of structural damages to its building, there was an immediate void in the Williamsburg pizza scene. Luckily, right around that time, a new Neapolitan spot was firing up its oven for the first time just a few blocks away.

The place? Forcella. The pizza? Awesome.

I've visited Forcella (485 Lorimer Street) multiple times in recent months and I've been incredibly impressed with the quality and authenticity of their pizza every time I'm there. It's even better than the pizza I've had at Motorino. 

For starters, there is a large selection of pies - more than 20 in total. At first glance, one might wonder how a place can make each pie taste so good. In truth, many of Forcella's pies share similar characteristics and ingredients. There are at least a half dozen takes on the Margherita including the Materdei (with hot salami), Sanita (with mushrooms), and Port' Alba (with anchovies). All these pies are the same except for one topping.

One pie I can't get enough of is the San Gregorio (mozzarella, pesto, truffle, and tomato). Pesto isn't used enough on pizza in New York City and this pie gets it right. Other menu standouts include the Montanara which is prepared by deep frying the crust, tossing it in a pan, topping it and only then putting it in a wood fired oven. And finally, the Fuorigrotta which is the only pizza I've ever had with lemon slices on it.

The menu is organized well -- a section of eight Pizze Rosse pies (red), followed by Pizze Bianche pies (white), and finally three Pizze Fritte (fried). Everytime I've been there, they have also had specials, the best which was a white pie featuring gorgonzola, mozzarella, figs, and prosciutto.

In a market with so many pizza places, Forcella has marketed itself aggressively. For starters, they offered a very generous discount on Groupon right after they opened. Generally, businesses with good products don't offer discounts right off the bat. But Forcella is counting on those customers returning. With pizza this good, it's hard not to come back.

Another tactic, which I've never seen used before was as follows: I'd made a reservation at Forcella over the phone the first time I went there. A couple of weeks later, they left me a voicemail thanking me for coming in and offering me a discount if I decided to dine with them again.

Finally, and more traditionally, they've maintained an active Twitter page through which they promote specials like a recent one for $10 pies on Tuesdays.

With all of this discounting, you might think you are getting an inferior product. But the pizza speaks for itself. Forcella just opened a location in Manhattan and if things go well, I wouldn't be surprised if we see New York City's first chain of Neapolitan pizzerias. The space in Williamsburg has an ambiance that can be easily recreated and it would seem that the book on Forcella should read "to be continued."

Here are some of the pies I've tried at Forcella:

 Fuorigrotta

 Mozzerella, Lemon, Pecornio, Arugala

 Montanara

 Lightly Fried & Baked Pizza Margherita

 Margherita

Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Basil

 Decumani

Mozzarella, Arugula, Truffle, Pecornio

 Mergellina

Porcini Mushrooms, Bufala, Pesto

 Margherita Regina

Margherita W/ Bufala, Cherry Tomatoes

 White Special

Gorgonzola, Figs, Prosciutto

Where Pizza Was Really Invented

You may have thought that pizza was invented in Italy... but according to this recent "mockumentary" short that landed in my Inbox... pizza actually is rooted somewhere you'd never expect. Watch the clip below to find out where.