THE MASTER RETURNS (Juliana’s)

My search for the best pizza in New York continues….

If you haven’t eaten at the famous Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn bridge before 1991, then you haven’t really eaten at the famous Grimaldi’s pizza. Sure, you can still wait in line with the hordes of tourists in Dumbo for pizza today, but 1991 was the year that pizza royalty Patsy Grimaldi sold the business (including the name – his name) to somebody else. And now another family runs the business. They’ve become famous in their own right (mostly for those infamous long lines), but things have changed in the last few years.

Grimaldi’s (the restaurant) lost the lease to their original location and were forced to move a few doors down. Meanwhile, the space became available and this gave the legendary Patsy a chance to re-claim the space, the oven, and make a name for himself once again.

Ok, so the name is now Juliana’s (named for Patsy’s mother), but it gives all of us a chance to taste the pizza from the hands of the master.

The octogenarian Patsy himself made our broccoli rabe, garlic, and sausage pizza. It did taste like it was made by a master. The crust had a beautiful char with dough pockets full of flavor. The cheese and tomato sauce were perfectly balanced with both playing in harmony.

And finally the dough was somewhere between a crisp doughy Neapolitan pie and a classic thin crust New York. It was both buttery and crunchy.

It’s been years since I’ve been to the current Grimaldi’s, but I don’t remember it being quite this refined. One day I’ll have to do the side by side comparison, but for the time being, I’ll settle with the true original. Especially since the lines of tourists are foolishly waiting next door.

Is Juliana’s the best pizza in NY? Patsy Grimaldi is right up there with Domenico DeMarco in the living pizza legends and his 9 out of 10 pizza shouldn’t be missed.