PIZZA in New York: Mama’s Too

Not only is Mama’s Too in the West Village the second location of this highly praised pizzeria (the first is far up on the Upper West Side), but it’s also the second over-hyped pizzeria to open its second location right here in the West Village. That’s a lot of seconds!

And it only took a few seconds for me to order my pizza on this afternoon, which is not always the way it has been at this place. Last time I tried to stop by for a sample, the line was down the block.

I have to admit that the pizza on display all looked fantastic. This is a far cry from most corner pizzerias in NYC where the pizza looks like it has been sweating for hours.

Despite no line, it still took a while for me to get my slices, but it seemed like a reasonable amount of time to wait for such a hot spot.

The pizza looked so good and there were so many interesting options to try (cacio e pepe?) so I picked two slices.

I figured I should start with their House Slice. The entire thing was a bit darker than I expected but it was beautiful.

It also featured a fantastic triumvirate of ingredients (cheese, dough, and tomato) that melded beautifully. The basil was also well-dispersed and helped break up a bit of greasiness.

The char here was aggressive and spotty making for a crisp house slice. I definitely see what the hype has been about all this time.

My second slice was the Funghi because I can’t resist mushrooms on pizza. This was one of their many square slices featuring charred and very crisp cheesy edges.

Flavorwise this was huge with rich meaty salty flavors. The slice featured sweet onions baked into the dough along with dark earthy cremini mushrooms and a good deal of pepper. Bits of ricotta added some tang and cheesiness throughout.

This reminded me of a French onion soup. I almost wondered if this should have been advertised more as an onion pizza than highlighting the mushrooms. Nonetheless, it was super tasty.

Both slices at Mama Too’s second location lives up to the hype. Not sure what will happen if they open a third location. The number word play will soon not work, but I imagine the pizza still will.

Is Mama’s Too the best pizza in NY? I’m so excited to have finally given them a chance – even if it is at the second location. Clearly, there is some quality nicely charred pizza with aggressive flavors. That always works when it comes to modern NYC pizza. 8.5 out of 10.