Need opinions on best deli and best pizza in NYC
 

My hubby and I will be going to New York City at the end of April. I recall reading a thread on delis and pizzerias a while back (could be more than a year ago) but as I wasn't planning a trip to NY at that time, I didn't write down any restaurant names. Would love to hear your opinions on your favorites.

On another subject, we are booked in the Hilton Garden Inn on West 35th St. It just opened in Feb. so feel fairly confident that it will be in good shape. However, I understand that NY has a bedbug problem. Any comments on your experiences with NY hotels would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

Hi aljo.

Second Ave Deli
162 E 33rd St(near 3rd Ave. betw 3rd and Lex)
212-689-9000

Many Fodorites love Katz' on the Lower East Side.
Stay away from the Stage or Carnegie delis.

CentralParkgirl is dead on

My favorite pizzas are Lombardi's and Pizza Fresca. 2nd Tier-Gruppo, Luzzo's.

I second Lombardi's, and also enjoyed John's Pizza at their Bleecker Street location. Have yet to try Grimaldi's pizza, but intend to on my next visit to New York.

A vote for Katz. Our favorite pizza is local - and depends on what you like (we do only chopped veggie).

Grimaldi's pizzeria in Brooklyn. Then go down the street to the Brooklyn ice Cream factory for home-made ice cream. A little walk away from there is the Jacques Torres chocolate shop....yum! Bon Apetit!

I'm hopping onto this thread because I'm looking for the same info. Two questions: Are the deli's open for dinner as well as lunch? Also, how about locations closer to Times Square for before a show? Many of the favorite (and best) places seem to be way downtown. Have been to Carnegie, John's (Times Square location) and Grimaldi's (yum!).

You can start a war between 2nd ave Deli and Katz' fans. My own preference is 2nd ave Deli for its quality and larger and more varied menu. Centralparkgirl's advice is right on.

I've had pizza at Grimaldi's and John's and liked both very much. Barbara_m's advice to combine a jaunt to Grimaldi's with a visit to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is spot on.

The deli advice you're getting is good. Note that of the four, 2nd Avenue Deli is kosher and the others are not, which means among other things you won't find any dairy products (no cheese on sandwiches, no cheesecake) at 2nd Ave.

Katz's is good but I prefer 2nd Avenue deli. Now for Pizza..stand back. If this is your first time to NYC, I suggest you take the boat or subway over to Brooklyn and have a pie at Grimaldi's. The, enjoy the splendor of walking back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge.

We're headed back to NYC this Fall. We are looking at Di Fara's in Brooklyn for pizza. I might still find my way back to Katz's for a Pastrami sandwich. Katz's,btw, is a great place to have lunch before or after touring the Tenement Museum.

Thank you all for the great info. I'm looking forward to trying out your suggestions. Cheers!

And I have no idea why you think "New York has a bedbug problem". It's a problem in a handful of places (not related to the quality of the place, either) all over the country -- or world. I'd spend more time worrying that a plane will fall out of the sky on you.

If you get to Tribeca - and it is worth a visit - try: Bouley Upstairs (W. Broadway corner Duane)The original Boouley (across the street) is one of New York's top restaurants - and also one of the most expensive -- but at Upstairs you can enjoy top quality cuisine at a fraction of the cost at Bouley. Also in Tribeca: Odeon (a New York scene) and Pepolino - great Italian.

I like Angelos better than Lombardis for pizza but they are very close.

I like Katz, Second Avenue, and Sarges delis.

Lombardi's in Little Italy is the best I have found.

I've had pizza at Lombardi's, John's, and Grimaldi's and they are all great. I liked Grimaldi's the best.

On a recent visit to Katz's I was unimpressed, but maybe it was just me.

Interested also in this topic. Katz and 2nd Ave seem to be favorites for deli but wondering why "stay away from Carnegie"--is it the food, prices, or what?

Yes and yes. Both Carnegie and Stage, high prices for mediocre food.

No human being could (or at least should) eat an entire sandwich from Carnegie. I often wonder what all those tourists do with the gigantic halves or more they have wrapped and take back to their hotels with them after stuffing their faces for an hour. Do they let it sit out and spoil, then eat it later if they don't have a refrigerator in their room? Does that mean they then eat a stale leftover sandwich for their next meal missing out on one of the great other selections of a place to go for a "real meal"? Wouldn't it make more sense to have two different reasonable meals that to have to eat stale leftovers from one for the other?
I just don't get it. It's all about quantity, so if that's what impresses you -- then go. Has anyone ever gone there without reporting "it was the biggest sandwich I ever saw -- there's no way you could eat the whole thing". Well then DUH, why go where you can't even eat the food? Why would that be a good thing?

I've never been bitten by bedbugs while in NYC. Mind youI stay below 35th.

Neo

I remember when you wrote that the Carnegie and Stage where acceptable for tourists and they need not trak down to 2nd Ave or Katz's. What brought on this change of heart?

Neo, I have to agree with what you say about the ridiculous sandwich size at the Carnegie Deli. Back in 1990 while on our honeymoon, my wife and I had our very first meal in NYC at the Carnegie which was a must stop back then. When we saw how big the sandwiches were, we decided to just pay the extra charge and split a pastrami on rye with a side of potato salad. I managed to finish my portion but my wife could barely eat half of hers. No way would we order a whole sandwich per person there.

Auchamp, if I ever said that, and I REALLY doubt that I did, it was simply to someone staying in the neighborhood and looking for pastrami before a matinee or something similar.

You should know that I push Katz every chance I get, but if someone is worried about making it to a matinee two blocks from their hotel, I'm not likely to insist that they try to get to Katz or Second Ave. and back again on a matinee day and get indigestion worrying about making the curtain! Just as I often disagree with your idea that it is "necessary" to travel by taxi (or subway) before a show or after a show then return to a hotel in the theatre district for just a "reasonably good meal". It is pointless to have to do that, in my book, when there are MANY decent and better than that restaurants one can walk to from their hotel and theatre when they are NOT looking for a world class dining experience, just some good food at a fair price when the "star" of the evening is the Broadway show they are seeing.

But you often have a way of twisting my words. I still remember you reading me the riot act for being a "hypocrite" because in one week I mentioned that Carmine's is NOT a great Italian dining place as someone was told it was, and then a couple days later I told someone looking for a place for a whole group of hungry teenagers on a very low budget that Carmine's was perfect for them. That's not being a hypocrite -- it's reading the request and using some sense. It would be nice if you could distinquish the difference.

Try 2nd Avenue deli. Be sure to try the side dishes which distinguihses it from Katz's.

John's on Bleecker is good. If you venture into Brooklyn, Lucali is another place to consider, but be prepared for hour long waits. Di Fara is also wonderful. I'm not a huge fan of Lombardi's-it's ok. But L'Asso is my absolute favorite in NYC and located just around the corner from Lombardi's.

There are a few new gourmet pizza places that have opened recently. Mario Batali went around tasting their pies & ranking them. You can read about it here. http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/03/pizza_tour.html

If you are after pastrami, there is nothing (in or out of NYC) like Katz's. You owe it to all Fodorits to sample BOTH Katz's and 2nd Avenue and report back on your verdict.

Okay, I've now been to six of the major delis in New York over the past several months. If you only do one NYC deli, I say make it Katz's and get the pastrami on rye, juicy. Have been racking my brain to think of a better sandwich I've had -- ever -- and I simply can't think of one. And I've had a lot of sandwiches over the years. Of these six NYC delis, I'd rank them:

-Katz's
-Second Avenue
-Carnegie
-Artie's
-Barney Greengrass
-Stage Deli

I don't think any of them are bad, but some are better than others. Most cities would kill to have something at the equivalent of even Stage Deli in this cuisine.

Also recently tried pizza at Lombardi's, and while it's very good, I like the pies at Grimaldi's and John's better.

Someday, in the near future, you will be able to eat at the Second Ave Deli after visiting a museum on the UES. A new branch will be opening on 75th and 1st Ave. And then you can go to Sedutto's for ice cream - wow, a new culinary destination comes to my hood!

The BEST pie in NYC has got to be Di Fara, without doubt. Just waited 1/2 hour in line for Grimaldi's on Fri. & the pizza was a huge disappointment! Rubbery cheese and tasteless sauce. The crust a little too chewy also. Di Fara is so authentically like the pizza in Napoli that it puts the others to shame.

Katz's deli and the melt-in-your-mouth pastrami on rye wins, hands down. 2nd Ave would be my second choice. The wait staff at Carnegie are so not nice and the sandwiches just way too huge that I wouldn't even consider it.

I'll second (or third or fourth) Lombardis. Agreed on 2nd Ave. and Katz's, although I actually like Carnegie and Stage, too.

The best pizza - totally subjective answer. One person's sublime pie is the other's major stink of a pizza.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archive...pizza-map.html

Katz is no secret. It's even been featured in a film (When Harry Met Sally) and lots of tourists go there to mix with all the locals (you always feels safe because it fills up with police and firemen). So it is not a surprise that some locals would be sure that it can't be the best -- because those "tacky" tourists have found it. It's not unlike the total denial by many people that if a restaurant has a couple branches thereby making it a "chain" then it simply CAN'T be any good any more. Same thing with the idea that if a place has tourists it can't be good. I wonder where the locals who believe that idea eat when they travel -- obviously wherever they eat in other cities must be bad because they are tourists and are eating there!

With regard to 'tacky tourists' eating in YOUR Deli's perhaps signs stating 'no tourists' would be the answer. Remind you of anything!

Grimaldi's is mediocre in my opinion.

DiFara far and away the best but you have to trek out to Midwood and endure the wait, which might make this just too inconvenient for a visitor to NYC who is not totally food obsessed.

New pizza places in Manhattan that may be worth trying are these, which have each received recent accolades; the first is the masterwork of Sullivan Street Bread's Jim Leahy, with Jean Georges Vongerichten, of Jean Georges' fame, as investor:

http://www.co-pane.com/



http://www.kestepizzeria.com/menu.html


http://nymag.com/restaurants/openings/55330/

For good Jewish deli also: Pastrami Queen -- 78 St. and Lexington Ave.

fwiw - my B'klyn sources (friends and family) tell me the best Sicilian pizza is either at Spumoni Gardens on 86th St or Vic's on Kings Highway (betw W 6th & 7th where the old Highway theater used to be) although they're different from each other and probably not very accessible for visitors. They feel Di Fara is not worth the wait. For regular pizza, they go to Casa Bella on Cropsey. I would love to try them all and report back, but my diet is not allowing it right now.

<i>I would love to try them all and report back, but my diet is not allowing it right now.</i>

Sorry this is OT, but I had to tell cpg that we got a slice of Regina's when we were in Boston and it was excellent -- I took off the pepperoni and had two bites (my diet won't allow more either, especially since I also ate a 1/4 of a cannoli at Mike's!)

sf7307 - you have my sincerest, most heartfelt sympathy and support!