Somebody please explain to me what the big deal is about NY slice pizza. Seriously, I hear it all the fuckin time from random people I meet, to random food sites on the net, "Pizza in California just can't compare to the real deal in NY," "NY pizza is the best, period," "I haven't found a decent slice of pizza in LA yet, not like in NY."
GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT SHIT. NO ONE CARES. IF ITS SO MUCH BETTER THERE THEN GO BACK. PLEASE.
I'm gonna start complaining to people from NY that I can't find decent tacos there, not like I can in LA.
::end rant::
Wow, that was brutal huh? With that off my chest, I did a little bit of research on the net, and asked a couple people on different message boards about what is distinctly defines an authenic NY slice. While I received the obvious, there was one site that realy stuck out in defining what NY slice pizza is all about, and no, its not wikipedia.
This guy Jeff Verasano is deep. Crazy passionate deep about making pizza. If you're really interested in reading it, click the link below
To be brief,
-Thin, charred outer crust, with an airy bubbly inside.
-to acheive this you must have high heat, like 800-900 degree heat.
*he even breaks down how fast good pizza is cooked. a whole pie can be done anywhere from 1:30 mins to 7 mins. thats fast pizza*
-Lightly sauced and topped with mozzarella
And here are some random idea's from people on what they think makes a ny slice
-Able to fold
-Must use NY tap water in dough
-Also what was said above.
Ok, with all that said and done, I think I can now properly review LaRocco's pizza, owned and operated by Paul LaRocca, who "was born in Little Italy, New York City...brought up in Brooklyn, where he learned the secret to making the finest dough alive..." and "....has brought the New York secret to California..." Check his site if you must... http://www.laroccospizzeria.com/
LAROCCO'S PIZZA
First of all, I was bummed when I didn't see Mr. LaRocco himself in the back flipping pizza's in the air. Whatever though, I'm here for the pizza anyways.
*Puttanesca and Cheese Slices
Looks good so far huh?
This pizza was hmmmm... OK. I'm basing this purely on the cheese pizza. Because I've read from many places describing good NY pizza, that the slice should be able to stand up on its own, with out the help from random toppings and sauces.
Let me rephrase that, the pizza was better than most places I've been to that claim NY heritage. They reheated my slice, which I hear they do at a lot at pizza joints in LA. It was close to perfect, a bit on the extra crunchy side, but nothing that made me displeased. If anything, I prefered it. It was lightly topped by the red sauce, and nice balanced with mozzarella cheese. My only qualm with the slice was the dough didn't have much flavor. Really, it was like the crust is soley there as a vehicle to get cheese and sauce into your mouth. I could use a little bit of flavor. I have heard echoes of this from other people who have been here also. Lack of flavor from the crust seems to be a major issue for some people.
The slice folds nicely. I went for the fold and I heard that nice crunching noise as the pizza got taco'd. 3/4 of the slice taco'd nicely, while the last 1/4 tip left dangled. It was nice.
As far as the puttanesca goes, it was excellent. It tasted great. It's funny though because I've never had it before and the ONLY reason I got it is because it sounds fancy. hahah.. Really though, it tasted great. But again, the crust was flavorless...
I'll say that according to most true-to-the-game, die-hard, passionate-crazy-fucks from NY, they'll probably look at this pizza and say exactly what I griped about up top. And for good reason. This pizza is a step below. Most likely not a Tier 2 pizza place to Mr Jeff Varasano's standards.
But for Culver City, I'd say it's A-OK.
Pro's
-Nice lunch specials
-Decent selection of slices
-Delivers whole pies
Con's
-Doesn't live up to NY standard
-Parking is hard to find
-Whole pies come in only one size, 18"
-Operating hours, *they close whenever they run out of dough...so who know's when that could be?*
Slice ~ $3.00
2 slice special with free refills drink ~ $6.00
LaRocco's Pizza ~ 3819 Main St. Culver City, CA 90232 310.837.8345
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