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lucali: good enough for gq, pretty good for brooklyn
yes, i’ve been visiting a few too many pizza spots the last few weeks, but given that we have “pizza” friday in our house, and it is one of the few foods k eats without much complaint, it is no wonder. so on my list for a while has been lucali. with the never ending chatter about this place, i had super high expectations. these were compounded when alan richman from gq recently ranked lucali’s margarita pie as the number two pizza in america (and he did quite an extensive search).
and while i think that lucali is definitely worth a visit if in brooklyn, and i always need an excuse to spend more time in carroll gardens, i just cannot see it besting some of my other brooklyn pizza favorites which are — no surprise — franny’s, di fara and motorino (for the sauce). i actually thought that lucali’s pizza was most like motorino’s but in a cozier, attractive setting though i felt like the service was not the warmest.
the pizza was good but not amazing. it had a decent crust, a bit chewy with a light layer of cheese and some tangy sauce. their toppings are a bit more interesting than di fara’s but not as adventuresome as motorino’s. lucali offers anchovies, onions, olives, pepperoni and garlic as well as a few other items. we got the basic margarita, given the family demands, but when we go back i’ll be adding some meat. in the back of the restaurant, they have gorgeous balls of cheese sitting by the oven which look irresistible and so i decided to try one of their calzones which was fine but not something to recommend. so if you have time to kill (there is nearly always a wait here), and happen to be in southern brooklyn, are with very picky kids and don’t want the fussiness or expense of franny’s, i think lucali is a good choice. lucali, 575 henry street between carroll and summit streets, brooklyn new york, .
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So let’s hear your perfect pizza: where do you get the crust, sauce, cheese and toppings?
tough question. well, definitely i would start with the sauce from motorino, add the crust from di fara’s and the cheese from franny’s and then maybe toppings from either co. or franny’s. but for the perfect plain pizza, it’s got to be all di fara — if it were only not so inconvenient; far away and long lines.
Love Lucali’s and hadn’t had a chance to go to Franny’s, Motorino or Di Fara… Now I know I need to go explore. Thanks!!!
Hi – you took a great photo at Lucali! I used it on my blog if that’s ok, just wanted to let you know – if that’s a problem, just let me know and I’ll talk it down. I did link back to your site though. Thanks for the inspiration!