Grimaldi's

Yes, it's all the way in Brooklyn. Yes, there was a line even at 1 pm on Saturday, when we arrived. Yes, you have to pay with cash, and the menu fits on a small sheet. But Grimaldi's is a magnificent pizzeria, and I recommend a visit for anyone in the New York area.

To my mind, there are two really important attributes to a good pizza, though I'm sure some disagree. First, the dough has to be excellent. There should preferably be no oil, though I understand if kitchens cheat on that point to make handling the crust easier, it has to be properly (that is to say, relatively lightly) salted, and it has to have been kneaded sufficiently. Even more important, the dough must be baked in a good oven, preferably one fired by hot burning wood or fuel, and one that's been in the same place for a long time. Grimaldi's, in all these respects, is utterly spotless. The dough tastes of bread, blistered by a fierce coal fire that's been in Brooklyn for over fifty years. It has many of the characteristics of a good loaf - the outer skin of the crust seems to have been grafted directly from some of the better bakeries I've visited. There's simply no doubt that with the exception of Pepe's in New Haven, this is some of the best pizza in the country. If there's better, I would have heard of it.

Second, I think it's vital that the pizza is properly topped. This, to me, means an interesting and viscous tomato sauce dotted with the occasional ball of torn fresh mozzarella. No heavy lid of shredded pseudo-cheese - no filled crusts - no bizarre combinations of cheddar and mozzarella. Just a simple, light, meal. From the piles of mozzarrella sitting on the baker's counter at Grimaldi's, and from the sparsely topped pizza that arrives, it's clear that Grimaldi's understands the point exactly. Combined, the hot crusty dough and this perfect topping make a tremendous pizza - and in rough and ready surroundings, served quickly with a hastily filled cup of ice and bottle of coke, I'd pay twice the $14 that Grimaldi's charges for a large pizza. Go to Grimaldi's - it's one of the best restaurants in New York.