Oh, the Agony!

I am sad to report, at this time, I can not include Totonno’s in my search for the best pizza in the city. Totonno’s might be the second official pizzeria in NY. Anthony “Totonno” Pero was the first master pizziaolo of Lombardi’s. The original Totonno’s opened on Coney Island in 1924 and shut down in 2009 due to a fire. In between that time, this place is always in the best pizza conversation. And I never got to try it.

There is still hope. The plan was to re-open in July and then it was announced that it would re-open in October. Well, as of November, the site is still boarded up with a “Renovation” sign promising a re-opening at some point. As we were sadly taking pictures of the place, a local walked by and assured us they will be back soon.

Totonno’s now has many locations in Manhattan, all with varying degrees of success. I’m not going to judge Totonno’s by one of those clones. It’s the original or nothing. So until they re-open, I’m taking it out of the running. But with the hope that things could change soon.

Is Totonno’s the best pizza in NY? I really don’t know. Hopefully, I’ll be able to give a full report in the coming months, but for now I must continue to look elsewhere. Stay tuned…