Revisit: Artichoke Basille Pizza, MacDougal Street, East Village NYC

We found ourselves at the intersection of Minetta Lane and MacDougal Street on a rainy August Sunday, a half-hour early for meeting another couple for a pre-theatre glass of wine at The Olive Tree. I glanced down the street and less than half a block away was the wonderful Artichoke Basille pizza slice joint. What better way to pass 30 minutes? We had visited just a few months earlier and liked it:  June Review of AB Pizza

Last time, I enjoyed the margherita slice. I read some reviews about the namesake artichoke slice, but so many described it as covered in a rich cream sauce that I was scared off (not by the potential taste, but by the calories). I opted for the square slice, or Sicilian as they call it.  Four bucks.

Sicilian slice at Artichoke Basille, 8/14/11

It came out of the oven quickly. It was standard sized (not massive like the slices from round pies there). Once again, I noted the sauce, which was a beautiful red and had a vibrant flavor to match. It seemed to have a layer of conventional mozzarella on it and also a generous grating of some other aged Italian cheese. Good, but not great cheese.

The crust was spectacular!  It was heavily oiled, such that I think it practically fried in its original pan. It had a savory golden crunch on the surface, with some darker char that was not bitter. It was a bit more yielding on the inside, like the texture of good bread well toasted. It provided fantastic support for the sauce and cheese.

Underside of the crust

Criticism? I liked the additional of fresh basil on the top, but upon reheat the basil becomes a wet leaf that tends to pull entirely off the pie in a single bite. Would be better to add the basil after re-heating or to chop it more finely. The cheese was good but not great like the sauce and crust.

I could almost declare this the BEST Sicilian slice ever. It is better than Wegman's tomato pie, it is better than the legendary squares at L&B Spumoni Gardens. However, it did not eclipse the square pie at DiFara's, where Dom DiMarco likewise uses lots of oil to get a golden crispy crust.

I am giving the sauce a 9.5, the cheese a 6, and the crust a 9.5. All told, this slice is a 9. I don't think any Sicililan slice can compete with a thin-crust Trenton style, such as the other pizza here or the world-class pizza at DiFara or DeLorenzo's on Hudson Street. But this square slice is among the best in this style.

Review: L&B Spumoni Gardens, 86th Street, Brooklyn NY

This was my third trip to L&B Spumoni Gardens. In 2008, I did an outer boro pizza tour. We made a stop at Spumoni Gardens for a slice of their square pie and a conventional triangle slice from the round pie.

Sampling the conventional slice

About a year ago, I returned and again sampled both the square pie and a conventional triangle slice. Based on those two experiences, I safely concluded that the round pie was forgettable. The square didn't blow me away on my earlier visits, but based on the reviews of pizza bloggers more expert than I, it was an easy decision on a hot August afternoon to stop in and try again en route from Dyker Heights to JFK.

Here is some background, excerpted from their website:

"Here we are known for our Famous Sicilian Pizza, Home made Spumoni, and outside seating. Ludovico Barbati came into the United States back in 1917, from Torella Di Lombardi, Italy. In 1938 Ludovico learned from a baker how to make Spumoni and Ices, in a little garage on West 8th Street, Brooklyn New York. He sold his products up and down the streets of Gravesend & Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. In 1939, Ludovico, Sr. decided he needed a little, inexpensive place to make the Spumoni and Ices, so he purchased vacant property on 86th street in Brooklyn. In the mid 1950's L & B Spumoni Gardens built the second building, which is now the Pizzeria, selling our famous thick Sicilian pies, as well as our regular round pies. L & B Spumoni Gardens is now in its fourth generation. There will always be a family member to greet you at our doors."

Nice stuff! Let me translate that last sentence: "There will always be a family member to bark at you if you hesitate when you order."  

That is not a complaint! In fact, the brusque attytood of the window staff is part of L&B's charm. The place is huge by pizza joint standards. There is a separate window to order pizza and a window for spumoni and Italian ices.

I ordered two square slices, and I was happy that I did not get a center sans-cornicione piece. I got one standard border slice that had a single crusty edge, and a corner piece with two crispy edges. Upon visual inspection, it is abundantly clear that this is not pizza, deep-dish pizza, or Sicilian pizza. Yes, it has a thick Sicilian-style crust, but the cheese is a mere dusting of some aged finely grated cheese, probably Parmesan. This is much like what we call tomato pie in Conshohocken PA and Philly.

Click on this pic to see this close up!

For a cheeseless pie, the sauce should shine, and it did. This sauce was very bright, but it did not upstage the in-your-face red gravy on the comparable Sicilian slices at NY Pizza Suprema, near Penn Station in Manhattan. 

Those who praise the L&B square pie talk most about the crust. Crisp, airy, crunchy. It was all that. Starting with its perfectly browned bottom, above that is a layer that is puffy like good Italian bread, then above that is a layer that is dense and moist (probably from the sauce). Texture-wise, this is pretty good. I think this crust is close to perfect for a square pie; better than NY Pizza Suprema, rivaled perhaps only by Rize Pizza in Broomall, PA.

I have to conclude about this square pie what I've concluded about tomato pie in general: if you grew up eating it, it must be pretty special. If you discover it as an adult, it's a fine snack but at the end of the day it's a pretty good pizza with the cheese missing.

I'm glad that there are places like this, but I think the whole look and feel -- window ordering, outdoor seating, spumoni for dessert -- makes this place more an experience than an epicurean event (same can be said for Pat's or Geno's Cheesesteaks on Passyunk Avenue in Philly). You go for the ambiance, and the food is a bonus.

I'm happy to report that the spumoni at L&B was wonderful. I loved their take on "Neapolitan" in which they substitute pistachio for strawberry. And they scoop it from three different drums! The vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio products were the perfect soft texture (though they began to melt faster than I could eat & photograph). The small cup of spumoni was the same price as a square slice: $2.25. Nice value.

How does it all stack up?  Based on my two past experiences, I rate the round pie a 6. Not bad, but not distinctive in any way. The square pie rates higher. That crust is a 9.5, and the sauce gets an 8. The spumoni is a 9.5! This is a fine institution and I encourage you to stop by if you are in the area OR if you are a big fan of tomato pie.