The best pizza in Bklyn
Brooklyn Paper staff ranks their favorite pizza places in the borough!
Chef David Sheridan of Wheated (left) and Noam Grossman of Norm’s Pizza (right). File photos
COURIER LIFE, OCT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 23
BY BEN VERDE
The Brooklyn Paper newsroom
was up in arms a few
weeks ago following the publication
of a listicle in a digital
media company that shall
remain unnamed, that purported
to list the “Best Pizza
Restaurants in Brooklyn.”
While untold gallons of ink
have been spilled on the subject
of Brooklyn pizzerias and
everyone from Coney Island
to Greenpoint has an opinion
on which slice joint is the best,
this particular list struck
a nerve among the saucestained
wretches that staff
this newspaper. Not only did
the list cater overwhelmingly
to the newer breed of hypedup
pizza places dishing out
Instagram-friendly slices at
above-average prices — of 21
pizzerias, it only included two
in southern Brooklyn.
After a good deal of grumbling,
we here at Brooklyn Paper
have assembled our own
ranking, with an emphasis
on under-the-radar spots and
neighborhood institutions, but
a few gourmet spots and tourist
attractions as well.
Luigi’s Pizza
Luigi’s Pizza is our platonic
ideal of a Brooklyn pizza shop,
and the pizzaiolo’s pizzeria.
Since 1973, the lowkey wood
paneled shop near Green-Wood
Cemetery has put out perfect
pies made with gobsmackingly
good tomato sauce on perfectly
crunchy crust. Following the
death of the shop’s namesake
Luigi Lanzo, the Lanzo family
is keeping the tradition going
and keeping the best pizza in
Brooklyn alive.
686 5th Ave. in Greenwood.
Di Fara
What’s there to say about
Di Fara that hasn’t already
been said? The Midwood institution
has still got it — health
code violations, tax troubles
and all. There’s a reason pizza
afi cionados travel from across
the world to line up on Avenue
J for a slice.
1424 Ave. J in Midwood.
L&B Spumoni Gardens
A staple on just about every
“best pizza” list, but there’s
no denying the hype over this
long-running institution. A
summer night in southern
Brooklyn feels incomplete
without devouring a red Sicilian
pie at an outdoor table with
a group of friends, and topping
it off with a cup of spumoni.
2725 86th St. in Gravesend
and 46 Old Fulton St. in
DUMBO.
Caruso Pizza
An under-the-radar neighborhood
joint in Boerum Hill,
Caruso’s Pizza isn’t making
it onto many “best of” pizza
lists. But the restaurant sets
itself apart from the crowd
with the use of a single ingredient:
sesame seeds. Coating
the crust, every bite is full of
nutty, toasty fl avors not usually
associated with pizza.
150 Smith St., Boerum Hill
Norm’s
Gourmet slice shop Norm’s
quietly opened in Downtown
Brooklyn in September of 2019,
quickly becoming a lunchtime
hit among the offi ce workers
and government employees of
America’s Downtown. Norm’s
offers elevated versions of classic
slice shop fare, as well as
specialties like their pillowy
soft Sicilian style slices made
with sourdough
345 Adams St., Downtown
Brooklyn.
Wheated
Chef David Sheridan has
been steadily making some
of the best gourmet pies in
Brooklyn since opening on a
quieter stretch of Church Avenue
in 2012. Offering thin
crust Neapolitan pies baked
in an electric oven rather
than a wood-burning oven,
each pie is named for a Brooklyn
neighborhood, such as the
Brighton Beach pie, which
features bacon, garlic, black
pepper, and Parmiggiano,
and the Canarsie, which features
baby spinach, fennel
sausage, both fresh and aged
Mozzarella, Parmiggiano,
and Pecorino.
905 Church Ave. in Flatbush.
Screamer’s Pizza
Screamer’s Pizza just might
be the only all-vegan pizzeria
we’ll recommend a visit to.
With locations in Greenpoint
and Crown Heights, the restaurant
uses vegan cheeses,
meat substitutes, and vegetables
to provide a vegan version
of a classic slice shop.
620 Manhattan Ave. in Greenpoint
and 685 Franklin Ave. in
Crown Heights.
Pizza Wagon
Serving Bay Ridge since
1966, Pizza Wagon is New York
pizza as it’s meant to be. Utilizing
a perfect cheese to sauce
ratio, their slices are practically
grease free, with a wide
variety of creative toppings
to satisfy all your cheesiest
dreams.
8610 Fifth Ave. in Bay
Ridge.
Pizza Plus
This Park Slope shop keeps
it simple, but with outstanding
quality for an economy
slice purveyor. Pizza Plus is
a bastion of consistency in a
land dotted with pizza, where
the crust is surprisingly fl avorful,
the sauce always fresh,
and the cheese applied with a
perfect ratio.
359 7th Ave. in Park Slope.