Every year I seem to get into this conversation with my students about pizza and cringe when they state “Yo Mister! Best pizza on Staten Island is (cringing) Papa Johns!” " or “Levine, best pizza is the pizzeria (Albanian owned, yet, Albanian food is influenced by its close proximity to Italy) across the street from school!” or “Dominos!” There is some disparity between what I consider good pizza and what my 8th graders believe is good pizza.
Best pizza, hands down, Denino’s on Port Richmond Avenue. For anyone who has left the island, no trip back to the motherland should exclude the great pizza found on Port Richmond Avenue. Sure there are others, Joe and Pat’s (Victory Boulevard), Ciro’s (Huguenot Avenue), Lee’s Tavern (Garrettson Avenue/Dongan Hills), Salvatore’s of Soho (Hylan Boulevard) or even Brother’s (Forest Avenue/Port Richmond Avenue) but Denino’s is so good that my brother Mitchell (when he voyages across the gangplank-picks up a pie) and even my Uncle Martin (a devout foodie from Alpine, NJ) have eaten here. Unfortunately, the anti-Staten Island bias has prevented it from ever being considered as a great New York pizzeria.
Denino’s is an institution on Shao-Lin. It’s been on Staten Island since the 1930s and probably will be on Staten Island after I die. Today, Denino’s , much like Ralph’s has expanded into New Jersey where residents of northern Monmouth County line up to reminisce about life in the old country. Fortunately, as its reputation has developed, the renovations have expanded the size of the restaurant where now you can get a table in less than week.
What can I say about the pizza? As my students proclaim, “Yo! It’s mad good!” Who am I to disagree? The paper-thin crust, in my honest opinion, makes everything on top taste better. Even I, can stop being angry, and devour four slices in an epic win of gluttony. My honors class can wax poetic about the “addictive crust”, “the charred bottom from the pizza leaving the wood oven”, “the fresh sauce” and “the cheese”. Whatever the topping is above the crust, my students say, “its mad good!” I don’t get there as much as I would like because of Sophia’s dairy allergy but when I do (Monday night), give me a slice of M.O.R and in the words of my sister-in-law, Jennifer Finklestein, “Yummo!” (That's Rachael Ray but I love Jennifer and everyone knows Jennifer posts that in her facebook statuses.)
Sure there are other items on the menu. The appetizers are basic bar food and there are limited other choices besides the pizza. (Its almost sacrilegious to order something else, its like ordering chicken at Peter Luger or beef at Oceana, yet people do) It may take a while to get a seat but Denino’s is worth the wait. It’s a Shao-Lin summertime tradition to take your family to Denino’s then cross the street and get some Ralph’s.
What are you waiting for? Eat up.
One of the things that is very noticeable as you go up the New York Thruway is that the pizza gets worse and worse as you head upstate. Denino's is a family favorite, especially the garlic pie. You're right on target. I also like Al's, Pal Joeys, and Joe and Pat's. After months in Albany, any old pizza from NYC or Staten Island is more enjoyable than up here. We've scouted a few Brooklyn transplants pizzerias, but nothing comes close to Denino's.
ReplyDeleteI gained an appreciation for Domino's when I was in college, but I don't categorize it as pizza. It's more of a snack, kind of like Pizza Hut. Pizza from Staten Island, Brooklyn, or NYC is a communal experience!
Once you leave NYC, our vernacular in ordering pizza doesn't translate. For example, order a "regular" slice in Buffalo, New York and you'll get it with pepperoni. I had a very tense conversation at a San Francisco pizzeria called "New York Pizza" when I asked for 2 regular slices. The counterperson asked me what a "regular" slice meant (in a snotty tone). This went on for about 5 minutes. I then asked for a Snapple Iced Tea. He asked me what kind . . . I replied, "the regular kind." He didn't think that was very funny. In NYC or SI I would have been out the door with my 2 slices and Snapple in less than two minutes. NYC -- there's no substitute.
ReplyDeleteAl's closed. Never went to Pal Joey's.
ReplyDeleteIn Delray Beach, Florida, there is a lawsuit because two New Yorkers are trying to patent a water filtration system where the water will taste like NY water. Don't know the specifics of the lawsuit but you are right that NYC pizza is great.
When I was at Syracuse, I dreamt about NYC pizza all the time and right around 1988/89, I set foot in Denino's.
I have heard from friends in NJ that the Denino's is always crowded. I guess its boom time for the Denino family because like I said it takes forever to get a table there.