NOW EVERYWHERE (South Brooklyn Pizza)

SADLY, SOUTH BROOKLYN PIZZA IS NOW CLOSED.

For a long time, anything south of Atlantic Avenue was simply known as South Brooklyn (or Red Hook). It was essentially its own town. This was long before the trendy names of Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, and Boerum Hill came in to play. It was all just South Brooklyn.

So it’s with some serious pride that South Brooklyn Pizza takes its name. The interesting thing is there are now South Brooklyn Pizza shops in lower Manhattan. Are they selling a brand new style that is specific to South Brooklyn?

Perhaps they are. Just like DiFara (which is located even further south), they sell a very expensive slice topped with a generous amount of fresh basil. But unlike DiFara, this pizza isn’t worth the price.

That’s not to say it’s not tasty. The crackly thin crust had a nice char and the ingredients definitely tasted fresh – a bright, tangy tomato sauce, some sharp dots of cheese, and herbal basil slices. I wanted the cheese to be melted a little more in spots instead of some semi-firm shavings. But the flavors and textures still worked well.

Somehow I managed to get two slices for the price of one. I wonder if this happened because the guy saw me taking photos and wanted to make sure they got a good review. He said it was because the first slice was rather small. I agree. $4 for one of these small, thin slices is ludicrous (after all, this is not DiFara). I didn’t really want the second slice since I had more eating to do, but the generosity and good pizza made it worth it. I hope they do that for every customer, not just the ones yielding a camera. Maybe it’s just the South Brooklyn way.

Is South Brooklyn Pizza the best pizza in NY? It’s a nice, thin crunchy slice with surprisingly fresh ingredients, but its high price is not justified – not even in South Brooklyn. 7 out of 10.