All this talk of pizza made me reminisce on my meal last Friday at Lucali’s (no website, but here’s a nice article listing location). Friday, if you weren’t in lovely New York, was fah-reezing and rainy, so that may explain why the place wasn’t terribly crowded. Q and I squeezed into a tight space (the space is small, so they have the seating jam-packed in there), and looked over at the chalkboard detailing the extensive menu. Pizza or a calzone. We opted for the pizza with pepperoni and fresh garlic. Looking over at other pies made me wish that we ordered fresh basil, but pepperoni and garlic is our staple.
The space is really cute. The “kitchen” is an open space in the back, where you could watch as the owner assembled each pie and shoved it in his wood-fired oven, which he apparently bought from a defunct pizzeria. The relaxed pace and open space (I RHYME!) gave the warm vibe of a home kitchen.
Now, a ton of comparisons have been made between here and DiFara’s, and yes, there are similarities. The crust is super-thin, and after a coating of sauce and imported mozzarella, the pie is finished with a turn of olive oil and grated grana padano, just like DiFara’s. However, the flavor of the crust just isn’t the same, and the mozzarella just seemed ok. The grated cheese on top does add a great flavor that I won’t tire of any time soon. Lucali’s pizza was good. It was very good. It definitely filled a void in Carroll Gardens, and I think residents appreciate that. I don’t think it’s go-out-of-your-way good like DiFara’s, though. I loved the atmosphere, but for a South Brooklyn pie, I’ll stick to Franny’s.
As a sidenote, it’s terrifying to eat pizza with Q.
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