TRUCKIN’ GOOD PIZZA (Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck)

Believe me, I have no problem eating from food carts or trucks. In fact, as many of you know, I give a tour of food carts twice a week with a company called Urban Oyster. So I know the in’s and out’s of how they are regulated and I know they’re just as clean as restaurants (oftentimes more so).

And this is what brought me down to the Financial District. I’m currently working on expanding the Food Cart tour to this part of town. It’s not a neighborhood I’m terribly familiar with so I’ve spent the last few weeks walking around, talking to street vendors, and most importantly, tasting their food.

So it was only a matter of time before I got around to Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck, which is parked on Wall and Front Street.  I still had low expectations for Jiannetto’s, which also has a truck parked in midtown. Maybe it’s because the one pizza I’ve tried from a truck (Eddie’s) was rather lackluster. Maybe it’s because this particular truck looked very dark and slightly dingy inside. Maybe it’s because they advertise themselves as “Best Pizza in New York”. Come on, seriously?

But it was part of the job. I ordered one of their regular slices, which is grandma-style. The guy pulled it out of the oven (with a broken door), wrapped it up in a brown bag, and handed it to me with a smile.

I took it over to a bench with my doubts. Some of the sauce got all over the paper plate and the cheese seemed rather absent. It looked fine, but I expected nothing special.

My first bite far exceeded my expectations. It was warm and crispy. The tomato sauce was sweet and garlicky (as grandma-style should be) and I got a strong flavor of mozzarella cheese. On first glance, I only saw a sprinkling of parmesan, but I soon discovered there was a nice layer of melted mozzarella underneath the bright tomato sauce. I was so pleasantly surprised. This was a great slice of pizza.

And from a truck no less. I had no doubts. Except for some reason I did. You can imagine this is one of the trucks I will be approaching to be a part of our tour. I hope it works out because I’d love to share this unknown gem with the city.

Is Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck the best pizza in NY? Maybe not the best as it is advertised, but still an 8 out of 10 because it’s surprisingly really flavorful and crispy and as mobile as possible.