I’m still deciding where I stand on the TikTok debate. Is it the root of all evil and ruining society as we know it? Or does it spread more joy and good ideas than bad, giving us boosts of serotonin throughout the day? Regardless, one viral idea came to me through a Huffington Post morning briefing that has stuck in our household- indoor and outdoor date nights once a month, with planning to switch from person to person each month. May’s first outdoor date night was a walk across Brooklyn Bridge and targeted pizza tasting at some of the more hidden grab a slice spots. Sure Grimaldi’s (tbt to my first time writing) and Juliana’s get all the hype, but there’s so much more to the NYC pizza scene than just those to explore!
After practically pushing our way through what has become the overly crowded with vendors selling useless nicknacks Brooklyn Bridge, the first spot on the list was Little Pizza Parlor. Tucked away in a quite corner, you would almost miss it if you didn’t do your research properly. If you do, you can’t miss this 4.8 star, highly rated gem. Just scrolling through their website I am drooling at how stunning each pie looks. Covered in gourmet ingredients and made fresh, you can smell the garlic deliciousness from a mile away.
I thought I would have a cheese slice to keep things fair at each spot but upon seeing the Mushroom Pizza, I couldn’t resist. Grande Mozzarella, Ricotta, Cremini, Shiitake Mushrooms, Rosemary and Truffle Oil on a White Pie. First, you had me at white pie. Always superior to the red, ingredients and flavors can shine more without the distraction of tomatoes. Add ricotta (or burrata) to a slice of pizza and you’ve crossed the line from good to great in my opinion. While I may be describing a white slice technically, if you like mushrooms, this is going to blow away your love for the slice without toppings. Fresh mushrooms sautéed with truffle oil and generous on the rosemary, it’s a perfect marination of flavor. The cremini have that mild, earthy taste and meaty texture, while shiitake bring in a smoky, woody flavor and delicate texture. Mushrooms may be fickle for some but they shine as the standout ingredient in this pizza. A 10/10 in taste.
If this were a Dave Portnoy-style review (IYKYK), a large portion of the video would be dedicated to talking about this slice’s thickness and flop. Perfection. Anything else from now on is inexcusable. Holding everything well without spillage and wasted topping, firm but not too tough, and a crust that ensures no one leaves it behind, they have discovered the magic sauce for creating pizza foundations. I can’t think of one thing that could make it better.
LPP is so good that I mentioned multiple times through the rest of the day why not just go back here. I now have to make it a mission to try all of the rest of their pies.
Bless my boyfriend, but he did not measure the distance from each spot so when we saw that spot 2 was a 50 minute walk (Brooklyn is massive), we had to quickly pivot. While an Uber usually might do, we had our pup with us and the hassle was not worth it. The next closest pizza spot was right under the Bridge, in DUMBO, where the infamous street to get the perfect Instagram shot is. Front Street Pizza prides itself on this location and has one of the most extensive menus for a grab a slice spot I have ever seen.
Now don’t expect when you go in to see all of these different pizza flavors offered. I was ready to try something new with the Taco or get a little divisive with the Hawaiian, but alas there were about 7 kinds on display with 3 looking questionable. My boyfriend played it safe with the Buffalo Chicken and I got the Meat Lovers, mostly because I felt like our dog could use some meat considering her good behavior and I knew I could sneak it.
The Buffalo Chicken was the worst buffalo chicken pizza I have ever had. To start, there was absolutely no flavor of buffalo sauce in it. I can clearly see it drizzled across the pizza, and yet I am still not convinced that orange substance is anything of the sort. It was almost like an illusion seeing the sauce but not being able to taste it. The chicken tidbits as you can see were scarce and the slice a complete waste overall. If we weren’t so hungry, having anticipated the afternoon all morning, this could be a throw away slice- it was that flavorless and not worth the calories. The Meat Lovers was only slightly better. There was plenty of cheese and not too much tomato sauce, which is how I like my pizza. If it is going to have red sauce, let it be light with plenty of cheese to prevent tomato overload. The meats were plentiful as well with breaded chicken, pepperoni, and sausage bits. A meat slice is rarely going to be my slice of choice so it did not stand much of a chance to start but considering how bad the buffalo slice was, this one seemed quite good. To be fair, someone who enjoys this flavor of pizza is likely to like it. Crust on both was nothing in comparison to the one at Little Pizza Parlor.
To add to the mediocre pizza, the restaurant itself was in bad shape. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, so I will give the staff credit, but the mess everywhere, tables and seats scattered, and lack of any sort of order made this by far the worst pizza and experience in Brooklyn, not just on this outing, but ever.
So, as you can imagine, the pressure was on to end on a high note. Not only were we not able to go to the rest of the top-rated spots, we were now worried the next would be another dud and ruin the point of the day (a bit dramatic, it was a lot of fun).
A quick service window caught our eye at Ignazio’s. Located right under the Brooklyn Bridge, this is a spot that we both think we have heard of and have high hopes it’ll be great. The take-out quick service window had a small line and we were just grateful to see how fast it was moving, these people clearly know what they’re doing. The bad news was that take-out was a limited menu, so we went with the pepperoni regular and grandma-style slices. The good news was they let us order a bottle of rose to enjoy the pizza with! A net win.
If you end up going to this part of Brooklyn, I cannot recommend enough taking your food to go and eating it along the waterfront or in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The views of the skyline can’t be beat and nothing screams NYC like eating a slice with Lady Liberty in your peripheral. That’s just what we did and there could not have been a better end to the day. As you can guess then, the pizza was another winner. Albeit, the grandma style coming in second to the regular.
Thinly sliced pepperoni with just a little kick of spice, a good pepperoni pizza should have the right balance of sauce to toppings, with just enough sauce to add flavor without overpowering the other ingredients. That’s exactly what you have in the slice. You can see the cheese is melted to perfection, providing a creamy, gooey texture that complements the savory taste of the pepperoni. Not to say that the grandma slice didn’t have melted cheese, it just didn’t have as good of a combination and balance. And while I prefer more dough to less, the crispiness of the base of the regular slice was preferred as well. The crust I can give to the grandma-style, you see the slight burn and thinness of the other in the image. But that one error a loser does not make. Solid pizza, rose, and views to be had at Ignazio’s.
All that said, this trip of Brooklyn Pizza touring had a clear winner. Drum roll and applause please for:
