I wanted pizza for lunch, but where’s the challenge in that, so I took the A train over to Brooklyn to get some Grimaldi’s. Although the pizzeria has been around in New York since the ’60s in various guises, Grimaldi’s has been in its current location since 1990, but under slightly different names, a result of the usual factions and legal squabbles of successful family-owned businesses.
They promote themselves as being “under the Brooklyn Bridge,” which they aren’t quite, but close enough, and they’re definitely a draw for hungry local businesspeople and tourists too. As I stood outside waiting for my carry-out, what appeared to be an entire class of rowdy grade school students attempted to enter at once. Just as quickly, they exited, followed by a surly fellow in a black Grimaldi’s T-shirt, who explained to their leader that eight of them could enter at a time.
Grimaldi’s is famed for its oven-fired pizzas, which you notice as soon as you step in the large square dining room. The stone oven is straight in the back, behind the buffet-like station where dough is tossed and toppings applied, and you can see the flames lick at the arms of the guys who shuffle the pies in and out of the coals.
The signature taste of these sorts of pizzas is a slight sootiness. Check out the nearly burnt crust in the lower-right corner of the photo. What’s great is that it’s gently charred on both sides, but not burnt to a crisp. The bottom is speckled with ash while the edges boast deliciously crisped blisters where the dough has bubbled up and singed. The crust is slightly puffed and crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and not at all greasy. We’re talking about an inch wide on the edge all around the pie, which is my kind of crust.
Grimaldi’s also uses fresh mozzarella, placed in thin-sliced rounds on the dough, appealing in its fresh white color and chewy texture, in contrast to the greasy goo that blankets most chain-store pizzas. The mushrooms were fresh, the pepperoni thick, and a few basil leaves were sprinkled about, lending a tannic tang.
It’s not all fun times at Grimaldi’s. Lunch is very busy but dinnertime gets so bad they bring out the crowd-control stanchions to the sidewalk. The prices are moderately high; $12 nets you a toppingless 16" small pie. And there’s a laundry list of “no’s”—no slices, no credit cards, no delivery, no reservations, and no entire classrooms attempting to enter at once. But I can put up with it all because the place offers one of the tastiest pies I’ve sampled.
Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
- 19 Old Fulton St. (“under the Brooklyn Bridge”)
- (718) 858-4300
- Meal 24 of 52: small pepperoni and mushroom pie ($17.40).
