Grimaldi's Pizza

I was in the mood for Pizaa. I was thinking of having Difara's Pizza but I didn't want to wait five hours while Dom made a pie. I could have gone to my local pizzeria Totonno’s, which is known for its coal brick oven pizza but I was sick of their attitude. Their pizza is over-rated, over-priced and was a tourist trap. There was still L&B Pizza but that place slipped off my radar. So I quickly messaged my friend on blackberry messenger and asked his opinion on a good pizza spot. He mentioned Patsy's a/k/a Grimaldi's.

I haven't had Grimaldi’s Pizza in about 12 years. I remember the pizza was great. I remember when I was younger my father calling me to tell me he was bringing home pizza that he got under the Brooklyn Bridge. He also told me that I better eat it because he waited on-line for an hour to get it. I was also threatened with a telephone cord but I'll leave that for another story. After telling my friend this story and waiting for him to finish hysterically laughing we got into the car and drove to Downtown Brooklyn.

Grimaldi’s is a coal brick oven pizzeria, which is located on Old Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn a/k/a DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Brooklyn Overpass). Parking was easy to find but probably because it was a weekday. As my friend and I walked up to Grimaldi’s, we were relieved to see there was no line and were told there was a five-minute wait for a table.

We were sat down at a small cramped table close to the door. The placed was packed. An older gentleman came over to my friend and asked if we wanted to move to a bigger table but as we looked over it seemed all the tables were the same size. I am guessing we were getting the VIP treatment because my friend and I carry heavy Brooklyn accents. This guy looked like he had Brooklyn tattooed all over his heart. A waiter quickly came over to take our order. We went with one white pie, one red pie and two cokes.

As I looked around I noticed the walls decorated with Frank Sinatra paraphernalia. There were signed pictures and movie posters. I also noticed all the tourists eating their pizza with knifes and forks while clinching to their Frommer’s Brooklyn Edition Guide Books. There were also a lot of hipsters and it reminded me how much Brooklyn has changed and how I'm starting to feel like a tourist in my own borough but the pizza came and I snapped out of it.

The white pie came out first. A thin crusted pie with fresh mozzarella, garlic, olive oil and black pepper. I took my first bite to try and deconstruct the slice. A thin layer of fresh mozzarella, slight hint of garlic and olive oil on a thin sliced piece of heaven. Now this was a white pie. I hate those nasty white pies that have clumps of ricotta cheese. I guess that's what I should expect from a generic pizzeria.

As my friend and I polished off the white pie our red pie had arrived. If this red pie is anything like the white pie, I'm going substitute this pizza with porn. I guess I'm giving up porn. This slice was amazing. A small layer of sauce which had a hint of subtle sweetness while giving off a minor garlic taste. The crust was thin but not really crunchy and not burnt. Totonno’s serves the same type of pie but Totonno’s pizza always has that burnt nasty charcoal taste to it.

My pizza urge was satisfied and I was a happy camper. The pizza was great and I couldn't understand why I neglected this place for so long. The bill came out to $42 with tip. The pizza was $14 each for a large pie. I highly recommended this place if you're a fan of Totonno’s Pizza in Coney Island.




Edited by m.o