One word: PIZZA

For a skinny guy, I sure love food. More importantly, I love good food. While "good" is obviously subjective, like "pretty" and "funny", when it comes to the good old staples of Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and Pizza, there is usually somewhat of a consensus on what is good. Regardless, the aforementioned three items equate to 2/3 of my diet. With that being said, I will tackle the subject of my favorite Pizza in Hell's Kitchen.

There are no shortage of Pizzeria's in Hell's Kitchen. According to Yelp (who I am not a fan of, thus no link), there are more than 60 places serving Pizza within the HK boundaries, with almost all fitting the bill of a traditional Pizzeria.

That being said, I will keep it simple, I would also like to state that I have not been to all 63 of them, rather more like 10-12 of them. Of those I have but two favorites, both great, and both very different.

First up is Two Boots. I love the pizza here, and it is hands down my favorite. A little dark and a tiny bit spicy, with sauce that is not too sweet, and a slightly well done tint to it, without the cheese or the crust being burnt or too thick. It is in a word, perfect.

I have been going to Two Boots since the 80's when the first store opened on Avenue A. By the early to mid 90's they had opened two shops in the West Village, and I was hooked. Thankfully they opened up in Hell's Kitchen on 9th Avenue, between 44th & 45th Street in 2008.

In my opinion there is but one problem with Two Boots Hell's Kitchen; delivery. Its slow. Very slow. On one recent occasion I waited an hour and a half for one pie (I live 4 blocks away), and when it arrived it was cold and looked as if it had been sitting from earlier in the day. That being said, the Pizza is amongst the most consistent in the city and that is the only time I have had a "bad pizza" from there, however, they are unapologetic for their very slow delivery, as evidenced by the "so what, too bad" attitude on the phone when I called to complain. I recommend dropping in and picking it up yourself, and if you order delivery, ask how long the wait is. All in all, I still give Two Boots an A- for the Pizza, and a C- for the delivery.

My other favorite spot is Don Giovanni, which is located on West 44th Street, near 9th Avenue. While they wont win any awards for their website (it screams out 1995), and its a restaurant, not a pizzeria, their thin crust Pizza is perfection. As with all my pizza's, I get plain cheese (I know, I know; boring loser), however, this is one of the few places I order a topping, and that topping is meatballs, as they actually use real meatballs! Imagine that? And they aren't shredded or thin sliced, they are halves.

Since Don Giovanni is a full restaurant, I will have to delve into the rest of the menu on a future post, but I would like to add a few comments.

First, I would not suggest "dining in" at the restaurant unless you are going to a Broadway show or you are a tourist. Almost every evening after 5pm its crowded, very crowded, as it sits right near restaurant row and not far from the theaters. As far as delivery, I have been ordering from here for 10 years, and while for the most part the service has been good, there have been a few occasions where the wait has been 1 hour plus. Also, on more than one occasion the delivery guy looked like he was the owners son/nephew, and definitely does not look happy to be delivering. However, if you live here, you will soon figure out their rhythm and simply order your delivery after the "pre-theater" crowd departs for the shows or after the "post-theater" crowd is gone. Overall I give Don Giovanni an A- for the Pizza, and a B- for the delivery.

As an honorable mention, and after having gone there for 10 years and having never had a bad slice or a bad pie, I would like to also suggest Claudio Pizzaria. Claudio's (10th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets) is an always safe, always good and dependable slice, usually served by the owner himself. As far as delivery, always fast and never had a problem in dozens of orders.

As a final word on this subject, I would like to mention cleanliness. Having owned three bars and restaurants over the last 20 years, I am fanatical about cleanliness. This unfortunately isn't something that you can always see from the front of the house, however, with a well trained eye, its easy to spot. So, its worth noting that from from what I know and can see, all of the aforementioned places are clean.

I would also like to add that I am not a fan of the proliferation of "99 cent" slice spots that now dot the city, primarily for their sketchy locations, the "appearance" of not being all that clean, and my belief that you cant make a truly quality and consistent product for that price. Again, its my opinion, deal with it.

Two Boots Pizzeria 
624 9th Avenue (between 44th & 45th Streets)
NY, NY 10036
212.956.2668
www.twoboots.com