The pizza tour has finally made it to Coney Island for pie at Totonno's. Totonno's was opened in 1924 by Anthony “Totonno” Pero and operates one of the few coal ovens remaining in New York. 1 hour on the F and and a 5 minute walk and we were at 1524 Neptune Avenue. This is an old school pizzeria. No frills to greet you here. A very modest sign hangs above the storefront. The place is small and well lit and as soon as you walk in, your eyes are drawn to the small gem of a coal oven. Brian and I ordered a large cheese and we watched from our booth as the pizzaiolo assembled our simple pizza. Before going in the oven, the pie received a generous swirl of olive oil directly out of a large metallic rectangular tin.
Within a few minutes, we were staring at what was a perfect pizza. Great sauce (identical to that used at the Totonno's on the upper east side), great fresh mozzarella cheese, and an amazing crust. It was thin and crispy from the first slice to the last and the perimeter had an awesome chew. There really is nothing like the flavor of a coal oven crust. It is unique and cannot be replicated with a conventional oven. We polished off this pie without hesitation. This place is so old school that they serve coca cola in glass bottles! The wait staff was very friendly and we even got to meet the wife of owner Louise Ciminieri who goes by the name of "Cookie" Ciminieri. I highly recommend the original Totonno's and it is moving up into my current top 3 pizzerias. One last thing....When you are down there be sure to head over to the boardwalk and ride the Cyclone. Its got a a ton of power for an 81-year old wooden roller coaster. Life doesn't get much better than coal oven pie and the Cyclone!
No comments:
Post a Comment