It could be better. It could be worse.
There's nothing special about Famous Famiglia Pizzeria on the Upper East Side, but it's still lightyears beyond slices in most other cities
Welcome to Pizza Tasting Chronicles, my take on the pizza review. I eat a lot of pizza. I have a lot of opinions about pizza. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Sometimes you are just going to eat mediocre pizza. It happens. And while I don’t totally believe the phrase, “there’s no such thing as bad pizza,” if there is one place that holds up, its in New York City.
First, here’s what I didn’t like about this slice:
Low structural integrity
Too, too crispy bottom
Bland tomato sauce
A great slice of pizza must stand up to the fold. This one didn’t. One fold and the whole crust had cracked into pieces making it a sloppy mess to eat. Once it collapsed, the cheese started sliding off.
That brings me to the crust being too crispy. The bottom of the pie was simply too crisp — not burned, but hard and fragile. I suspect this comes from over heating the slice on reheat, especially in an oven that is too hot. Either way, you want a slice to have tension but not shatter into sharp little pieces.
Finally, the sauce here is a bit bland, and lacks much in the way of flavor beyond a general oregano. It wasn’t too sweet, it wasn’t spicy or too salty, it was just kind of bland.
But also it was totally fine, or at least, good enough. I find fault in this slice not because it was bad, but because it was good. There was plenty of cheese, and it melted nicely. Although this cheese made a mess once the crust broke apart, it was still good to eat, but I’m glad I sat down to eat it.
There was a big selection of pizza types available, including a white pie and a ziti slice. Had I the time and appetite to sample these, I would have loved to take a closer look at these, and I suspect overall, I would have been happier with one of these options.
What is interesting to me is just how many pizzerias were on the block, including a Patsy’s franchise and Little Italy Pizzeria. The preponderance of cheap foods might have something to do with the large number of hospitals in the area, which often attract low cost quick foods like pizza. For me, it was a conscious choice stopping here, because I knew what to expect at Little Italy Pizza — its slightly above average. But also if I’m in the area again I’m more likely to grab a snack from Pizza Park, one block down, simply because different might be better than average.
Ultimately this slice is everything that’s great about New York City pizza. It was good enough, at a pizzeria surrounded by other pizzerias. I chose it, more or less at random, and still had a decent slice.
Famous Famiglia Pizzeria
1284 1st Ave
Manhattan, NY