Saturday, December 22, 2012

Best Pizza South Florida


Leaning Tower of Pizza


Its been a while since I've updated my list of the best pizza in South Florida. During that time I've sampled, okay destroyed a lot of great tasting pies.  I've frequented old favorites and found some new gems along the way.
  
As many of my readers know, I am a huge pizza fan who grew up in NY.  Thus, I love traditional NY style slices but I'm also a huge fan of the thin crust pies coming out of the coal and wood fired ovens all over South Florida.

**When I refer to dough, I am talking about the portion under the cheese and sauce. "crust" to me is the edge of the dough that you fold. I believe that is technically referred to as cornicione. I suppose you can simply call the entire dough the crust and the edge the upper crust. Whatever!! I like calling it pizza dough and crust. No idea if that is proper terminology or not but it's always been mine.**

These are the best of the best in South Florida.

RIP- Racks (North Miami Beach)

TIER ONE



Pizzeria Oceano
                                             

Pizzeria Oceano (Lantana) As I indicated last post, they're serving the best pizza in Florida bar none and they'd hold their own against the best in the country.  Pictured above is their basic pizza which features housemade mozzarella, olive oil, pecorino romano, tomato sauce and basil. The sauce, cheese and dough are all fantastic and the ratio is perfect.  The crust has a nice char and tastes great. This is a perfect pizza and worth the drive from Miami for sure. 


Scuola Vecchia Pizza



Scuola Vecchia Pizzeria (Delray Beach) This is one of the recent gems I found.  The chef trained at the critically acclaimed Keste Pizza e Vino on Bleeker Street in NYC. Pictured above is the classic Neapolitan pizza, the Regina Margherita.  It features imported bufala mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil and basil. This is great pizza.        

Scuola Vecchia Pizza e Vino on Urbanspoon



TIER TWO


Mauro's

Mauro's (Downtown Hollywood)- Huge authentic NY style slices. Perfect dough, sauce and cheese ratio. Their sauce skews slightly on the sweet side.  The best NY style slice in South Florida.



Kings County
Grandma Pie Kings County
                                                                       



Kings County Pizza (Aventura) They are serving authentic NY style pies including stellar sicilian and grandma pizza. p.s. their baked ziti is even better.




Cafe la Buca

Cafe La Buca (Pompano Beach)- NY style/thin crust hybrid. Fantastic tasting dough with a nice chew. The cheese and sauce is top notch and perfectly proportioned. Pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven imported from their hometown of Naples, Italy.  Five tables, daily changing verbal menu.  Get a small pie so you can try one of their fresh housemade pastas. Hidden gem and a must visit.






 
White Clam, Bacon & Garlic-Nick's Pizzeria & Bar

Nick's Pizzeria & Bar



Nick's Pizzeria & Bar (Boca raton) This is another new addition to the tiers. Nick's specializes in New Haven style "apizza". The classic apizza is the "white clam pie" which consists of littleneck clams, garlic, olive oil, oregano and grated cheese. I've opted for their white clam, garlic and bacon pizza which is an awesome combination and a great pie. Their crust is great and features a really nice char.    

Nick's New Haven-Style Pizzeria & Bar on Urbanspoon  


TIER THREE


delivery guy from Harry's



Crispy lamb, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, spicy sauce & herbs 


 

Harry's Pizzeria (Miami) The best thing about Harry's is that it continues to improve. Skip the margherita and opt for one of their creative pies featuring awesome topping combinations or their daily special.  You won't leave disappointed.  Don't skip their fantastic new beer, Michael's Genuine Home Brew.   

Macalusos Market (South Beach) - I'm a big fan of Macaluso's and was very happy when he opened the market next door. The Market features their legendary meatballs, heroes and pastas.  They also serve fantastic pizzas. Kill two birds with one stone and order the meatball pie.  


TIER FOUR

Steve's (North Miami)- This is a place I really want to love but always falls just short for me.  It's very good but the sauce is just too sweet for this to rank higher.

Spris- (South Beach) An underrated spot over on Lincoln Road that features some interesting topping combinations. Always leave satisfied. 

Anthonys Coal Fired Pizza (Multiple Locations) They started the coal fired craze in South Florida and still excel at it. Their wings are the best in town so don't skip them.


RESTAURANT PIZZA TIER

Michaels Genuine (Design District) Love the breakfast pizza on the brunch menu.

MC Kitchen
MC Kitchen (Design District)  This new and great Italian spot in the Design District features a great broccoli raab and Italian sausage pizza on the lunch menu.

MC Kitchen on Urbanspoon


J&G Grill
                                    
J & G Grill (Bal Harbour) Their black truffle pizza with fointina cheese is available on the brunch, lunch dinner menu.

Timo (Sunny Isles) Try their wood fired Black and White featuring ricotta, mozzarella, provolone and shaved black truffles.



To Do List


Fresco Trattoria (South Beach) Milan import sounds promising.
Forno 52  (Pinecrest) ****CLOSED****
Kitchenetta (Ft. Lauderdale)
Saverio Primo Macaluso (North Miami)
Gran Forno Pronto (Ft. Lauderdale)


6 comments:

LAX2MIA said...

Damn these places are far! You need a "best pizza near Ed's house" post. BTW Forno 52 is closed. Headed there a few months ago and it was gone. One less reason to go to Pinecrest.

Cookeattweet said...

Next time you're in FTL, try the margharita at Gran Forno Pronto. It's tasty. Finish it with an Illy espresso and you are good to go. The pizza bianca isn't bad either.

The Chowfather said...

Ed,

I've tried hard to find good pizza in Miami and it's always a letdown. Someone mentioned the spot in Midtown last time I posted and I went and it was mediocre at best. These spots in tier one are worth the effort.

Cook, someone mentioned that spot to me recently. I will add that to my to do list and get there soon. Thank you for the tip.

SteveBM said...

FYI - Rack's has been reborn in Delray right next to Linda Bean's.

Ed - You drive cross state to Trader Joes. I'm tellin ya, driving to Lantana for Pizzeria Oceano is by far worth it, not only for the pizza but their apps are incredibly good as well. I was super skeptical going there for the first time last week despite strong recs from Chowfather & Frod but it was a huge home run. I think it may be the best pizza I've ever had.

Artie said...


Merry Christmas all. I agree Pizzeria Oceano is the best. My wife loves the salads and apps which change daily. If you get lucky and they have fish, GET IT!!!

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