Why Lucali (still) isn't on our best pizza listFor those of us in the business of being journalistically critical, there is a grab bag of ways that the job can go wrong. A chef could confront you over your review. Your social media mentions could become a garbage fire. Your inbox could pile up with emails from angry readers. But the greatest nightmare might be sending someone into a subpar dining experience — one that might not be worth their time, effort or hard-earned money.
In October we published our list of the best pizza spots in New York City, and hawk-eyed readers noticed that Lucali, the infamously hard-to-get-into restaurant and pizzeria in Carroll Gardens, was nowhere to be seen. This week, we updated that list and, once again, there's no Lucali. Why? Well, the hassle-to-quality ratio is out of whack. Lucali is still difficult to get into — would-be diners often have to stand in line for hours before the restaurant opens — and if you are able to secure a table, the food might not deliver. For this go-round, I sent Luke Fortney, an energetic and intrepid food reporter, to retest the waters after Priya Krishna's visit last fall. On a Monday in March, Luke lined up at 1:30 p.m., two-and-a-half hours before a host appears and starts taking reservations. At 7 p.m., he and a few friends were seated for dinner. I'll let Luke take it from there: I had done this song and dance before but I didn't remember the service being so rushed once you were inside. Our dinner for a table of three — two pizzas, a calzone and a pasta — lasted 72 minutes. We would have lingered, but we were asked to leave with a half-finished bottle of wine. I liked, not loved, our pizzas. The tomato sauce was as good (salty) as ever but the dough was denser than I remembered. A few weeks later, I returned to order a takeout pizza with a 20-minute wait. That was when I realized it wasn't really about the wait or the service. The pizza just wasn't there. Both Priya and Luke made the point that you could enjoy equally good pizza at nearby restaurants without the hassle. (Embrace the hot restaurant dupe!) And I've lived here long enough — going on 13 years — to know that at the end of most long lines there is regret, disappointment or a mixture of both.
Plus, this is New York; pizza isn't exactly in short supply. You could try out the zany baguette version at Ceres, or you could pit the house slice against the square slice at Mama's Too! You could sample New Haven-level apizza at Wheated, or stare in wonder at the celebrity portraits dotting the walls of John's of Bleecker Street. Shoot, in the time you'd spend in line, you could drive to, dine at and head home from Nonna's Pizza on Staten Island. Enjoying pizza doesn't need to be, nor should it be, a whole thing. It should be as breezy as a Mets game in June. Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you're enjoying what you're reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have New York City restaurant questions? Send us a note at here. Follow NYT Food on TikTok and NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.
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