LOMBARDI'S PIZZA

LOMBARDI'S PIZZA

32 SPRING STREET

NEW YORK, NY

O.k. I admit it. We have been in New York for four days and already visted Lombardi's twice. The second visit was at the request of Shirley as she was craving the pizza 48 hours after our first visit. Like the Acme Oyster House in New Orleans, you want to run (take a fast cab) to Lombardi's the minute you arrive in the city. This place is fantastic.

Lombardi's is the home of the first coal oven pizza in America. Today the same coal oven cooks your pizza to perfection. The restaurant has been featured on the History Channel, The Food Network and The Discovery Channel. Zagat Survey rated the pizza as "Best on the Planet".

We would have to agree. This is not deep dish or pizza with thick dough and so much on top that you cannot taste the ingredients. Lombardi's is a thin crust pizza topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and a little basil. We added some sausage and pepperoni and were in heaven. The crust is light and tasty. You can taste all of the ingredients. The sauce, the cheese, toppings and basil. Just a perfect combination of flavors. The crust gets lightly toasted from the coal oven which is great. We ordered a side Ceasar Salad with our pizza. A single salad will serve four people. They are huge. I asked for sardines on my salad and the waitress brought us a huge plate of sardines. I am talking maybe twenty or more. While they do charge extra for the sardines, you get enough for an army on the plate.

Lombard's is all cash. No credit cards accepted. Expect to pay about $20 for a very large pizza and $8.50 for the Ceasar salad. During our first visit the wait was about 30 minutes. Our second visit around 4:00 in the afternoon was wait free. You may want to go before or after the lunch and dinner hours to avoid a wait. Even if you do wait - it is worth every mintue. A visit to New York would not be the same without stopping at Lombardi's for a pie.