Pizza Walk
I went on a Brooklyn Pizza Walk!!! And it’s exactly what you think! I walked around trying different pizza in Brooklyn. Our tour Dani was a pizza connoisseur that knew the best spots for pizza. I found the walk on Airbnb’s experiences and it only cost 35 dollars. I know it sounds weird to pay for someone to show you pizza spots in New York, but it was totally worth it and I’ll tell you why:
1. When you think of New York, what do you think of? Depending on who you are, you might think of shopping, broadway musicals or sightseeing, but I think of food. And I definitely think of pizza!
2. I am only going to be in New York for a week and in that week, there’s no way I am going to find the best pizza spots on my own. Instead of just eating any kind of pizza, why not go for the best? Who better to know more about the pizza than a local?
3. If someone is offering a pizza walk, then you know that person is a pizza expert. Dani is ballsy enough to say “Hey! I know so much about pizza that you should pay me to show you where to find good pizza.”
We started at Joe’s Pizza on Bedford Avenue to try a traditional New York slice of cheese pizza. Joe’s Pizza has pictures on the wall of different celebrities that have come there and it was featured in the Spiderman movie. All New York pizzas are cut into a eight slices. I was starving because I was preserving my stomach space for all of the pizza and that slice was so delicious. She told us how there were places that sold pizza for a dollar and you could tell the difference because the dollar slices didn’t make sure the crust on the bottom was crispy and didn’t have the dark marks on the bottom. She also told us about the birth place of pizza and how it first came to America. Apparently, in Italy they would sell the entire pie and slices came about in America because people couldn’t afford to by the whole pie.
As we walked she told us about the history of the area and about the gentrification that was happening. Our next stop was Vinnie’s Pizzeria. She informed us that this location was the place to get unconventional slices of pizza. There was a bench outside with the Teenage Mutant Turtles on it. Vinnie’s was a fun place. They had mac and cheese pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, avocado on a pizza, Mexican corn, and other interesting flavors. I got the mac and cheese because I love mac and cheese! It was so good!!!
The next location was called Best Pizza. With all of the pizza places in New York, this place had the audacity to not just say that they had the best pizza, but to actually name the restaurant that. Here, we tasted a distinct white pizza. White pizza is usually just a blend of cheeses, but Best Pizza took it up a notch. They added caramelized onion jam for a sweet flavor, sesame seeds on the crust for a nutty flavor, and a bit of lemon zest. I was honestly afraid to try the pizza because I have an issue with onions that I’m still trying to resolve. I put on my big girl panties and ate the slice anyway and I’ happy that I did because I already paid for it and it tasted amazing! All of those flavors don’t seem like they would go together, but they did. I had never tasted anything like it.
We had to take a train to get to Artichoke Basille. While our pizza was being prepared we walked Troutman Street and looked at all the street art on the walls. The collection of street art was known as the Bushwick collective and it was used as a means to save the neighborhood. Somebody got the idea to paint art on the walls so people would stop tagging the buildings. Plus, the art would attract tourists, like myself, and businesses to come to the area.
Back to the main event, the pizza at Artichoke Basille. When I saw that pizza I wanted to cry and I actually did as I ate it. There used to be a place near my college that sold artichoke pizza and they closed it down a few years after I graduated. I didn’t think I would ever find that pizza again, but there it was right in front of me. The beautiful, thick, decadent artichoke pizza slice. The best pizza in the world. The pizza walk had granted my wish and reunited me with an old love. Artichoke Basille wasn’t even the final stop, but I wanted nothing else. My journey was complete. I had already gone to pizza heaven.
The final stop was Roberta’s. The outside looked a little rundown, but the inside was beautiful. There was also a garden area that customers could eat in. We had a Neapolitan pizza here and it was so thin. There were only a few ingredients, but the tomatoes had so much flavor. Overall, the artichoke and mac and cheese were m favorite slices. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting Brooklyn because it was educational and edible.
Following the walk, I decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Dani told me what trains to transfer to in order to get to the bridge. She even gave me her map. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand how to read it. Despite that, I followed her instructions and made it to the Brooklyn Bridge in one piece.
Brooklyn Bridge
The view from the bridge was magnificent with the buildings of the city and the water around me. Also, looking down at the cars beneath me and the traffic was great because I have never experience that vantage point. At the midway point of the bridge, two hispanic women were selling fruit and I bought a sliced mango for 3 dollars. That mango was the sweetest mango I had ever tasted. For some reason, I can never tell when mangoes are ripe so they are never sweet when I buy them on my own. I enjoyed eating my mangoes as I walked towards Manhattan. There were also vendors selling New York keychains for $1. I didn’t buy any.
Taiyaki Ice Cream
My battery was dying and I didn’t want to be stranded, so I returned to my airbnb to charge my phone. Once I got back to the L train, I had an idea of where I was so I stopped to get some more taiyaki ice cream. This time, I decided to be more adventurous and get the matcha and black sesame swirl with the red bean paste and rainbow mochi. I still feel like matcha tastes weird, but the black sesame tasted like peanut butter and balanced the matcha out. The mochi had a gooey consistency, but it wasn’t that bad.
Ramen
Once I got home, it started to rain. I couldn’t think of anything else to do for the night so I stayed in for a bit. Then, I got hungry and remembered I wanted to try some ramen that I saw the other day. I went back out and stopped at Setagaya. It was a nice restaurant and not many people were there because of the rain. The host was really nice and explained the different broths to me. I ordered the All Star that came with chashu, green onions, mushrooms, and soft boiled eggs. I also had some kara-age hiroshi buns. The buns were so soft and the chicken was crispy with a sweet sauce. What better to go with ramen than sake. I ordered Yuagari Yuzu sake. Yuzu is a sweet Japanese fruit and the sake was superb. This entire meal was so great and I left nothing to throw away. Just thinking about the food now has my mouth watering.
The second day was full of food and walking. My stomach had a great time!
