Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Tiers of a Pizza! 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 including a dynamite new import from Brooklyn.
  
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.


TIER ONE


Pizzeria Oceano
                                             

Pizzeria Oceano (Lantana) As I've previously advised, they've been serving the best pizza in South Florida and they'd easily 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.   Their non pizza offerings are excellent too.  This is a special place.


Lucali


Lucali (South Beach) If you have been reading my blog posts and/or following me on Twitter, you already know that I have a huge pizza crush on Lucali.  As someone who loves traditional NY style pizza as well as thin crust, wood oven pies, this is a knockout combination.  You can read my original Five Star review here.  In a nutshell, everything about  this pizza is perfect from the addictive sauce to the fresh cheese to the tasty and chewy dough.  Plus, the overall ratio is spot on.  Save some room for the "Costanza" Calzone as it may be the best I've had.  Make sure you pair it with that super sauce.






I've been asked several times now which pizza was better Oceano or Lucali? Great question and one I really can't answer without doing a same day tasting.  That will go down real soon.... Stay Tuned!




TIER TWO

Scuola Vecchia Pizza



Scuola Vecchia Pizzeria (Delray Beach) 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 and on the cusp of joining the big guns in Tier One.  I need to go back for more.         





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 pies. p.s. Their baked ziti is even better.

***Tip- when you are ordering a NY style slice please make sure you are getting a slice from a fresh pie and not one that is being reheated,  Huge difference.  I grabbed a quick slice recently at Kings that was clearly reheated.  Still good but not in the same league as the fresh pie.***



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) Nick's debuted in the rankings last go round. They 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.    

  


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. Harry's serves unique style pies that are topping driven.  Don't go in expecting traditional style pizza. Go in expecting creative, fresh and tasty combinations.  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.  

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.



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.
Kitchenetta (Ft. Lauderdale)
Gran Forno Pronto (Ft. Lauderdale)
Stanzione 87 (Miami)
Macchialina (South Beach)  I love almost everything here so I bet the pizza is great too.
Pucci's (South Beach & Miami) My favorite back in Mid 90's.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Would you look at the crust and the toppings! I'm new to the Florida neighborhood that's why I've been looking for good pizza places. Good thing I found this link from the internet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/115753762@N04/12190752743/ caused me to visit Orlando last week and Torino's Pizza Oviedo has the best Oviedo pizza place for me (so far) I'll be wandering around your area this week, hope to find your pizzas along the way, looking forward to the experience. I'll be posting my tour reviews in my blog.