New Yorkers have for a long time considered good pizza almost a birthright it seems, as though they actually invented pizza, at least pizza in the U.S. And they may have, according to some sources. Other sources think that the first pizza place was in Boston in 1904, with New Yorkers laying claim to the opening of Lombardi’s in 1905. Boston and New York fighting over something — what a surprise.
Wherever pizza-making actually started, outside of Italy of course which has records of pizza dating back over a thousand years, New Yorkers have a special thing for pizza.
That can be attested to by the number of New York style pizza places we have here in Palm Coast as well as countless other places around the country. What sets New York pizzas apart from others?
Well, first of all, it’s mostly the crust in our opinion. It’s thin and supposed to be on the crisp side as opposed to many other styles, especially ones from Chicago, that are thicker to varying degrees.
Personally, we prefer thin crusts so during a two-year stint in Chicago in the mid-80s we didn’t eat much pizza. And there are many other varieties available too in cities all over the U.S. We found almost 20 distinctive types that have evolved over the years into regional specialties.
Our latest visit to a local pizza parlor took place at Bronx House Pizza on Route 100 in a strip mall next to the airport. With a name like this they’re obviously selling New York style pizzas and they also have a small menu of Italian dishes to complement the pizza choices.
We wanted to try a number of the dishes so we opted for a 10” pizza, their smallest size, and put some pepperoni, meatballs and peppers on it. We also ordered an appetizer portion of meatballs, the Chicken Milanese and the Eggplant Parmesan.
All of the prices were reasonable and the overall food quality is good. Growing up eating Sicilian food, we’ve been making meatballs for over 40 years and the ones here are pretty good, a lot better than most and almost as good as my great-grandmother’s recipe which came from Sicily (according to family legend) to Boston in 1905.
And the marinara sauce is of equally high quality, being a little lighter than ours but with plenty of tomato flavor. It seems to have been cooked slightly less than our marinara, which is heavier with a denser, more complex flavor. The Bronx’s sauce has a slightly fresher taste and, as mentioned, is a bit lighter. It’s certainly better than many we’ve tried over the years.
The entrees we tried were also done well, which is not surprising because with a good sauce all of your food has a built-in advantage from the start. And the portion sizes here are generous: the dish containing the Eggplant Parmesan, for example, could have easily housed a roast turkey.
A few beers and wines are available along with the soft drinks and the cannolis for dessert looked great, although we were too stuffed by then.
We dined in but all of their food is also available to go. The style of the pizza you’re eating may be important but so are the ingredients and the preparation and here they have it all together.
Bronx House Pizza, Rt. 100, next to airport, 386-356-6699
