Lombardi's Pizza

So let me tell you a little story about one of my favorite foods; pizza.  New York is known for many things; like Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and Coney Island, but I'm sure most of you won't know that it is considered the birthplace of pizza pie!  So the other night, Robyn and I ventured to Nolita (North of Little Italy) to sample the country's first pizzeria.  Although pizza didn't exactly become popular until after World War II, Gennaro Lombardi decided to start selling pizza in 1905 at his grocery store which had opened in 1857.  


With the convenience of it being a grocery store, workers would stop in to grab lunch on their commute to work.  To increase business, Gennaro began selling tomato pies wrapped in paper and tied with a string to many of the Italians in the area.  Most couldn't afford the whole pie so he sold it by the slice, or more specifically sold it by however much you could afford.  So let's say you had 2 cents; you would ask for 2 cents worth of pizza.  I wish this was still the case!!!  When Gennaro passed away, his son John took over, and then the business eventually went to John's son, Jerry.  As the years passed, Lombardi's became an institution, and continued to sell pizza.  In 1984, Lombardi's closed its doors. It wasn't until 1994, when John Brescio, a childhood friend of Jerry began to talk him into reopening the pizza parlor.  In 1994, Lombardi's reopened and moved their location a block down the street.  And believe me, if you're ever on Spring St, you can't miss it- it's the old fashioned looking pizza parlor with the best smell you could imagine emanating out the doors.  Get there early, or you might wait an hour just to taste it!


As far as I'm concerned, this is the best pizza I've had in the city so far.  And it's so simple; take a seat at a table for two in a dimly lit corner, tables complete with red checkered table clothes and choose from 2 options; a small or large pizza.  It's a flat crust pizza, topped in sweet, savory tomato sauce, pecorino romano, fresh basil and melted, gooey mozzarella.  Robyn and I ordered the small; which wasn't small at all, but regardless, we managed to finish every last crumb, right down to the strings of cheese hanging off the spatula.  


Check it off my to do list of places to eat in NYC-  and while I always say I'll never eat at the same place twice, I might just have to break my own rules and go again!