Friday, February 19, 2010

Matt's Pizza Blog #1



Welcome to the inaugural installment of Matt's Glassnote Pizza Blog!

It is my personal lifelong mission to try all the greatest pizza that New York has to offer. I've already made a great dent in my list and will be blogging about my past, present, and future pizza pilgrimages right here.

L&B Spumoni Gardens

I recently underwent the dreadful experience of moving apartments. To join me in my pain and misery (and help move boxes) a few friends graciously offered their assistance. My move was only around the corner, but they certainly helped make a stressful day go a lot smoother. If there's a better way to return their kindness than taking them out for some great pizza and ice cream, I haven't thought of it!

I've already visited most of the pizzerias on my must-try list: Di Fara, Lucali, Grimaldi's...I wanted to try someplace else, a place I've been meaning to visit but could never find the time: L&B Spumoni Gardens, in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. Best-known for their Sicilian-style pizzas and home-made Spumoni, L&B is a classic pizzeria opened in 1939, truly a slice (pun intended) of old Brooklyn.




My friends and I made our separate ways to the restaurant, trudging over the slick ice, snow, and slush that blanketed our city over the past few days. With their reputation for Sicilian already established, we looked at the menu only to determine toppings: half mushroom, half sausage. After noshing on a little bread and butter, a few minutes later out came a large, glorious rectangle of deliciousness. Each slice of Sicilian was perfectly layered: a crisp, crunchy bottom; a dense, soft dough layer, a thin layer of mozzarella, topped with a generous serving of perfectly tangy tomato sauce. On its own the pizza was a fantastic blend of these ingredients, but chose to embellish each slice with a blend of table spices: grated Parmesan, oregano, and garlic powder. The sausage came in strips and were nicely spiced, but the mushrooms had the texture of canned rather than fresh and sauteed.

A visit to L&B would not be complete without ordering its homemade Spumoni- an Italian ice cream dish with three flavors (pistachio, chocolate, vanilla) layered with nuts. Coming out in a tall, thin diner-style dessert glass, it was a cool and creamy way to end the meal. Finally full, we braved the treacherous sidewalks back to the subway and I ticked another pizzeria off my list.

L&B Spumoni Gardens - http://www.spumonigardens.com/
2725 86th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11223

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