Bleecker Street Pizza: Excellent Nonna Maria & Grandma Slices

Date May 15, 2008

I was onto Bleecker Street Pizza way before Food Network called it the best in New York. I still think their Nonna Maria is one of the best specialty slices in Manhattan. Pass on their plain slices and instead opt for the Nonna, dotted with dollops of chunky, garlicky marinara, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and covered in fresh and grated mozzarella. This is a slice for the ages, it’s hearty, well structured, and absolutely delicious. The Grandma slice is also superb, maybe even better than the Nonna. Read on to find out why.

BSP’s crust is the one aspect of their round pies that consistently garner the most complaints. I can understand why, it’s brittle, very crispy, and rolled up at the edges. New Yorkers are accustomed to a chewy, slightly crispy crust that’s made for a good fold. While BSP’s foldability is at times questionable, the crust on the round pies needs to be sturdy to support the weight of all the Nonna Maria’s delicious ingredients.

It’s the crust where the Grandma Slice makes its case for being better than the Nonna Maria.

Light, slightly flaky, and deliciously malleable, BSP’s Grandma slice is a model of pizza perfection. It strikes a perfect balance between cheese and sauce, something Maffei, one of the Ed Levine’s top Grandma slices, lacks.

Bleecker Street Pizza embodies all that you want in a Grandma slice:

  • Perfect ratio between cheese and sauce
  • Light, airy crust with chewy, crispy end crust
  • Delicious and authentic marinara sauce
  • Great overall flavor created by a combination of fresh basil, marinara, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Grande grated mozzarella

If you think Joe’s is the best place to get a $2.50 slice of pizza at 4AM, you’re wrong.

Walk a block up Bleecker Street to 7th Avenue and grab a Nonna Maria or Grandma Slice at Bleecker Street pizza and do two things you can’t at Joe’s: Sit down comfortably and enjoy a flavorful slice made with the highest quality ingredients.

10 Responses to “Bleecker Street Pizza: Excellent Nonna Maria & Grandma Slices”

  1. ag said:

    Nice pics of the pizza. I have to respectfully disagree though about the quality of the pizza. I went three times last year and yes, hands down the nona is better than the plain. However, I didn’t think the nona was deserving of “best of…” anything. I haven’t had the grandma slice, so I can give that a shot. What I’m most baffled by is Food Network labeling it the best pizza…how did they come to that conclusion? Makes no sense to me.

  2. The NYC Food Guy said:

    AG,

    Good to hear from you. The Nonna, to me, considering price, and quality of ingredients is one of the best value/deliciousness combos in the city. Show me where else you can get a slice that delicious and flavorful for $2.50?

    As far as the Food Network #1 Rating, I don’t know how they came up with that. In all honesty, I don’t know how anyone can come up with a BEST pizza in New York. All of them are slightly different and so many of them are absolutely delicious.

    If you had to give a top 5 for NYC and all of it’s outer boroughs what would it be? I know you’re a Brooklyn Guy so I’m prepared for some BK love.

  3. ag said:

    Top pizza in all of NYC, no specific order:

    – Di Fara (well this is #1, everything after is no specific order)
    – Amorina
    – L’Asso
    – Joe’s (i know you’re not a huge fan, but I always find consistently good pizza here)
    – Totonno’s

    Wild cards: Otto (on some days), Bleecker Street, Lombardi’s (sometimes), Krunch, Franny’s

  4. Charlie said:

    I always have respected your love for food. To see something on pizza made my mouth water upon laying my eyes on the pictures of the Nona deliciousness.

    I will investigate said establishment soon. That being said, for one of the most quality regular slices I think I’ve ever had, venture out to Astoria and check out Sac’s.

    It makes Gino’s look like a no talent ass clown.

  5. The NYC Food Guy said:

    AG,

    Nice top 5. Do you think the fact that you live in Brooklyn has a big affect on your top 5, after all 3 of your top 5 are located in Brooklyn?

    I’m not trying to hate because I haven’t eaten at Totonno’s or Amorino.

    I like your wild cards although I still need to try Otto, Krunch, and Franny’s. Glad to see Bleecker Street makes its way in there though I don’t understand how Joe’s gets into the top 5 considering all the other places are pie joints not slice joints.

    Either way, I’m amazed you were able to put that together so quickly and I look forward to coming out to BK to try some of your favorites. You down for a pizza tour this summer?

    Charlie,

    Good to hear from you. Thanks for the respect. Nothing beats Ellen’s brownies and lace cookies, you can tell her I said so.

    Definitely check out Bleecker Street’s slices. I’m glad to hear you talk about Sac’s, I have a photo of it in my email to do list that makes it look awesome. I need to get an Astoria pizza tour moving. You want to make that happen?

    Fuck Gino’s. It’s fallen off big time.

  6. AG said:

    pizza tour or food tour in general can be worked out. Sorry I’ve been out of town and lacking with the blog and internet in general. I liked the Frankies review, it’s been on my radar as well. Got a new place for you to try, Soba Totto, I’ll be writing it up soon. Sister restaurant of Yakitori Totto, but now with freshly made (delicious) soba noodles. In Midtown East.

  7. The NYC Food Guy said:

    AG,

    How was vaca? Where’d you go? Nice to take a break from all this sometimes. What else do you get at these noodle places? How are the noodles served? Pizza tour will definitely go down, lets be in touch.

  8. AG said:

    Vaca was great, not too happy to be back of course. I was in Aruba for the first time. At Soba Totto they have yakitori of all different types, from the standard chicken thigh to shishito peppers stuffed with chicken meatballs or even Kobe beef tongue. They also have great steamed rice balls stuffed with chicken.

  9. The NYC Food Guy said:

    AG,

    Aruba… Ah California, beautiful. Glad to hear you had a good time. I’ve never had yakitori, believe it or not, I almost went on St. Marks once but was pretty overwhelmed by the choices and opted for something a little less exotic. I think we’re going to have to make a move for it one day and let you show me the way.

  10. AG said:

    oh yakitori is wonderful. I personally love eating a bunch of small things so I can try as much as possible and this truly lets you do that. Skewers run $3-8 (8 is for the kobe beef tongue which unfortunately wasn’t that great). May need to make it happen. These is one on the West side and East side by the same people.

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