To follow up from my post back in March, Jayson and I made another attempt to try the pizza at Lucali’s.  To remind you, there is a ton of buzz around Lucali’s in Carroll Gardens being so fantastic – so fantastic Jay Z and Beyonce love it – but when we wanted to go a few months ago, it hadn’t opened yet for the evening.  Well, this past weekend my parents were in town and my dad wanted pizza.  It was 5.30-ish when we began the roundtable talk as to where we should go.  We had recalled Lucali’s and I begun my info search (what time do they open? do they take reservations? etc).  What I found out was 1) they open at 6; 2) they do take reservations and 3) the wait can get really long – I was confused by this. I attempted to call them a few times, but no answer.  We decided to just hop in a taxi and head over there.  When we arrived, the crowd outside the door didn’t look too bad; there were a few parties but we were willing to wait.  I spoke to the hostess and she said the next available table was at 10PM!!!  We were shocked.  She continued to tell us that patrons get there at 5 to wait in line to put their name on the list for the evening.  The hostess continued to mention that Lucali’s brother has a place in South Slope called Giuseppina’s and that it is the same menu (only pizza and calzones) with the same ingredients.  We figured we were already invested and figured “let’s go”!  And we went just in time.  When we arrived, they took us right away but were the last party in before the line began to grow.

So! About the pizza….  It was good.  I had the veggie pie under the list of “specials” and for $36 I expected it to blow me away.  I say “good” because I love that it is brick oven cooked and I love that it is thin crust but there was something missing in the sauce… it was a little too bland for my taste.  There is a good ratio of sauce to cheese and the crust is just thick enough to keep it all together without falling through.  Jayson had a pepperoni w. mushroom pie and enjoyed it; so much he had the leftovers for dinner the next night.

The ambiance evokes a happy, comfort food feeling.  The small, dark, brick walled room and decorated with candles had a bar / kitchen outpost in the back housing the brick oven.  It was a comfortable and warm setting. If the same pie was served in a different setting, I don’t think I would have liked it as much.

Our last venture to close out my post from March is to try the pizza from “Juliana’s” by Patsy Grimaldi in DUMBO.  Stay tuned for “pizza!!! take 3”.