GREAT EATS HAWAII: GRIMALDI'S PIZZA

GRIMALDI'S PIZZERIA

BROOKLYN, NY

Just getting to Grimaldi's was an adventure. We jumped on the subway in Manhattan and took to "D" Train to Brooklyn. Problem was that the "D" Train was going the opposite direction to the Bronx. We realized this when the train hit the end of the road and everyone departed...but us. Oh well, we stayed on the train all the way back to where we started and then jumped on the "B" Train to Brooklyn. A few minutes later we were traveling over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Brooklyn. Once off the train we had no clue where to go. I had an address and my Iphone navigation technology. We walked through Downtown Brooklyn which is a slight change from Manhattan and then found ourselves down along a park and heading back to towards the Brooklyn Bridge. My technology was telling me we were close so we moved forward. Finally we had the place in sight. A small line of people standing outside signaled to me that we had found the legendary pizza place. Grimaldi's has been made famous by winning numerous food battles and tasting competitions for the Best Pizza in New York. Recently they were featured on "Food Wars" and they won the battle for the best pizza again. After seeing this episode on the Travel Channel, I decided to break my habit of eating at Lombardi's Pizza and try Grimaldi's. You see, it was an employee of Lombardi's who left and started Grimaldi's. Likewise for the other competitor for best pizza. They all got their training at Lombardi's in Manhattan. After seeing the line to get in, I thought "wow" this must be good. The line moved rather quickly and the gentlemen handling the crowd was nice as far as New Yorkers go. We were seated and thrown down menus with not much more of a hello from the waiter. This place is all business. Get em in and get em out. The menu is very simple. A few appetizers and a list of pizzas. We started with the Antipasto ($12). Assortment of salami, mozzarella cheese and roasted peppers with a few green olives. This dish was served with the hardest bread on the planet. The bread fell apart in chunks and was like eating rocks. The cheese had absolutely no flavor. The roasted pepper was sweet and delicious. We ordered the simple Pizza with sauce, cheese and basil. This is the pizza that won the Food Challenge. The pizza was big ($13) and beautiful when presented to the table. The taste was a bit bland to be honest. Yes you could taste the tomato sauce, but just about nothing else. There was just a few small pieces of basil to add flavor. The crust was good, but not as good as Lombardi's. Overall we were very disappointed and probably would not return. We were quite full from the lunch so we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhanttan. This proved to be a very nice walk and I would highly recommend doing it if you are in the area.