RussellF

Every day people ask me to recommend a good pizza place for New York Sight Seeing. But, the truth is that the chain restaurants have pretty much ruined a traditionally great garbage food. That’s not to say you won’t find good pizza in New York…it’s just about knowing where to look. So if you ask for pizza, I’m going to take you to Andrews Pizzeria on Elliot Ave. in Middle Village Queens. This place is the real deal, and I would know, because I grew up there. As a kid, I would stop there every day after delivering the Long Island Press, get a slice and play pinball. The owner, Andrew is the same guy that used to serve me pizza 30-years ago.

Why is the Pizza so delicious? Its the perfect combination of cheese/bread/sauce /oil. Too much oil may be fun to drip on to the plate/but it drowns the taste of the sauce which is what has the flavor. I swear some joints use sauce like it starts and ends every problem. I swear, Jesus Christ should come down off the cross and some idiot would yell, “wait use some more oil so he slides down easily”! Andrew is a first generation I Italian in his late 40’s who has that wonderful European flavor to him. In Latin, its called simpatico.

When he saw me after years of being away and hugged the little boy who had grown into a man, I felt like I was home.