Lazzara's Pizza review done proper

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm actually just posting this now because I don't want to start a problem set, so here goes. A few weeks back, I made a post that referenced Lazzara's, a fairly well known and beloved midtown joint. Known for their thin, not quite Sicilian, square slices, Lazzara's has become one of my favorite midtown slices ever since my first encounter about a month ago. At $1.85 a slice, it's certainly not an expensive or overly fancy place, but for the size of the slice it's definitely not what I'd consider a true cheap eat. I felt like I owed it myself to make the trip to the actual pizza place and grab a slice as it should be... fresh from the oven.

So after someone had graciously left a few boxes of cold cheese pies in the American Express kitchen a few weeks ago, I've pretty much been craving a few of these little slices, and I knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I got to enjoy them hot once again. Wayne and I made our early lunch trek over to the 43rd and 9th location of Lazzara's (there is also one on 38th), since I have a retarded schedule that includes a 1:10 class. First off, we went by midtownlunch's directions, which said it was between 44th and 45th... not really... it's on the corner of 43rd... semi fail number one, but no big deal. We arrived at 11:22, not realizing that they don't even open for lunch until 11:30... semi fail number two. Is this the making of another day where everything would go wrong?!



Anyway, we order up a full cheese pie for $8.99 and one chicken parm for $9 (with free drink!), a bit expensive, but it's midtown... what do you expect? Both of these are part of their 'recession special' menu, along with an option to buy a coke and get a $.99 slice + $1.50 for every additional. We decide to split the chicken parm and the pizza... I ended up bringing home a couple slices for my mom, since she always says I never bring her food.



The chicken parmigiana arrived first, and it was absolutely terrific. I had read about Lazzara's chicken parm on midtownlunch as part of their search for the best in midtown. It wasn't the crowd favorite, so I had my doubts, but it's definitely a good sandwich. At $9 I was primed for disappointment, but what arrived was beyond my heightened expectations. First thing to note, the size... it's a big sandwich. From the picture it's pretty easy to see that each half is almost the length of an average paper plate, easily besting most normal sandwiches from a generic deli (Wayne and I both agreed it would make an adequate meal on its own). So far so good in terms of value. Next came the quality of the bread. What's to say, it comes on an hoagie roll, studded with sesame seeds, that's been lightly toasted. It definitely wasn't too crunchy or soggy under the weight of the marinara sauce. Now... the ultimate test... the one thing that can ruin a chicken parm... the innards. The chicken was pounded nice and thin, adequate in quantity and piping hot, the sauce was plentiful, but not overpowering, and the cheese was evenly melted and not terribly stringy. Overall it was a glorious mess of flavor that really did ooze when bitten into. Parmigiana success. How were the slices? No comment. Seriously, I don't feel like I have to justify how good they are (see here). Actually, I'll append to that post with a single thought... I thought I had enjoyed one of the best slices in midtown back then, but that was before it was served up hot. As I bit into the slice... there was an unadulterated symphony of cheese and tomato flavor in my mouth (okay, so I went heavy on the garlic and chili peppers too). In conclusion, it is without reservation that I recommend this hole in the wall pizza place by saying... Lazzara's is probably my favorite slice in midtown... so far.