The surprising winner of NYC’s latest pizza feud
What’s more delicious than a New York pizza? A New York pizza feud. Say hello to one of the city’s roughest flour dust-ups yet — the bitter battle of the Belluccis.
We’re not stretching the dough too far to say that the owners of Bellucci Pizza and Bellucci’s Pizzeria – a mere eight blocks apart in Astoria – hate each other.
The saga began over a year ago, when Leo Dakmak, owner of Bellucci Pizza on 30th Avenue, started tiffing with then-chef Andrew Bellucci, who famously worked at iconic Big Apple pizza joints Lombardi’s and Joe’s. Bellucci had his own beefs with Dakmak, and barely a year after the restaurant opened, the tussling twosome called the whole thing off.
In short order, Bellucci had his own pizzeria, down the block, and like a pie waiting under Plexiglas, things started to cool off. Then, last week, Dakmak decided to go another round — he’s suing Bellucci in federal court, for trademark infringement and defamation.
Meanwhile, having two restaurants near-identically named on the same Queens street, both serving up a decadent Vodka-Roni slice, has unsurprisingly left customers baffled. Google one name and the other might pop up first. But we’ll leave the rights and wrongs to lawyers, and tackle what pizza mavens want to know: Namely, which place makes the best pizzas?
The answer’s clear: Bearing in mind that whole pies just out of the oven are better than individual slices at both spots, it’s Andrew Bellucci’s pizzeria by a mile.
Bellucci’s Pizzeria has indoor tables and a few outdoor seats. Bellucci himself is usually there. Pictures of him festoon the place, even the bathroom paper-towel dispenser.
Bellucci Pizza has only a counter to order. Neither place has liquor yet, although Dakmak said he’s applied for a beer and wine license.
Bellucci Pizza — which, as the name implies, traded heavily on Andrew’s presence from Day 1 — doesn’t have bad pies. It just has ordinary ones.
The crusts were crisp enough. But their basic mozzarella-and-tomato slice was dry and underseasoned. Little islands of Lioni Latticini cheese weren’t melted at all, despite the website’s claim to the contrary.
It was a generic slice of the kind available at hundreds of places, coming across the counter much better on one visit than another. The erratic quality might be the result of using an electric oven, for which Dakmak said he varies the cooking temperature from 550 to 700 degrees.
Vodka-Roni, the house “show stopper,” did not bring me to my feet. Pepperoni slices were tough and underspiced. But the worst part was vodka tomato sauce in an eerie orange hue that was both underflavored and overcreamed.
Meanwhile, at Bellucci’s Pizzeria, the gas oven is set at a consistent 650 degrees. The crusts were nicely blistered in every variety. Margherita with fresh mozz and thicker tomato sauce bested their “classic New York” type with aged cheese and less sauce. I’d like more olive oil: For my money, nothing in the basic-slice category beats Ray’s oozing, clothes-ruining number.
White Magic really was magical: a half-dozen cheeses (fresh mozz, ricotta, provolone, parmesan, pecorino romano and parmigiano-reggiano). Not only were the flavors distinct, the cheeses’ different densities changed the chewing experience as we happily chomped our way through.
This time, the Vodka-Roni was the pizza de resistance — an awesomely delicious triangle of thick, nutty, vivid-red tomato sauce made with vodka and crème fraîche and topped with spicy pepperoni. It should come with a warning: Don’t even try to eat it with your hands.
My advice: Ignore the shouting match and just eat up.
Bellucci Pizza, 2904 30th Ave., Astoria; 718-971-1074, BellucciPizza.com
Bellucci’s Pizzeria 37-08 30th Ave., Astoria; 718-407-2497, Belluccis.com
NEW YORK’S PIZZA WARS
The Big Apple has had more than its share of pizza wars — here are a few of the most memorable:
The real Ray
The owners had to sue a score of places that appropriated the Ray’s name. The three remaining Manhattan locations are now name protected by a federal trademark.
The ‘stolen’ recipe
A feud over a sauce recipe allegedly stolen from L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst by the Square in Staten Island escalated into a dangerous feud, Eater.com reported, that led to a trial over alleged assault and extortion.
War of the Patsys
The owners of the original Patsy’s forced family member Patsy Grimaldi to rename his Brooklyn “Patsy’s” to “Grimaldi’s.”
Spice fight
The owners of Prince Street Pizza bitterly attacked a former chef who took a recipe for spicy pepperoni to a new place called Made in New York.
Joe v. Joe
Pino “Joe” Pozzuoli and son-in-law Giuseppe Vitale battled over the Joe’s name. A court allowed Vitale to keep using the name but barred him from advertising it as “the original.”
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