Monday, May 31st, 2010—Bar 141
Day 141—Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Lombardi's
Hey, what’s that sound? Ding, ding, ding, it’s the PayPal donation board going off. And this person was cool enough to not even want her identity known. Here’s her stated purpose from the PayPal receipt: “An ANONYMOUS donation just from a fan of the site.” Thank you very much anonymous donor, I know who you are and appreciate you donating and following the crawl. Mucho thanks to you and yours.
I got a nice mention in a blog which reviews bars in Peoria, Illinois. It’s a fun blog and I get a kick out of reading about bars from my home town. Check it out here: Peoria Bar Review.
Okay, last night you met Tim and Colleen Carey who are in NYC from my home town of Peoria, Illinois celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. I also told you that Tim and his family own and operate Butch’s Pizza. It’s truly great pizza (order one, they deliver nationwide), so of course I had to take them to New York City’s legendary Lombardi’s pizza. Lombardi’s is not only the oldest pizzeria, it’s the first pizza parlor that was put up in all of the United States. And they’re still on the same block they started at. It’s known for its long lines to get a table and the lines are there for a good reason. It’s the best pizza in New York City. So let’s see if Lombardi’s impresses Tim and Colleen, veterans of the pizza biz.
Here we are in Union Square Park. The ice tea bottles are filled with beer so we can drink in the park. Take that Mayor Bloomie!
This guy had attracted a big crowd so we stopped to watch.
He jumped through the hoop and eventually over the row of people he had assembled. I was so impressed I was the first to give him a dollar donation.
This guy has a stand where you can go and just speak your mind to him. We had a nice conversation and I found out he's a photographer. Check out his website and photos here: www.jeffprant.com.
Okay, time for dinner, we're taking the local 6 train to Spring St.
And here it is!
And whoosh! Here we are at Lombardi's.
And of course there's a long line and I was told we'd have an hour wait for a table.
Wow, look at the crowd of pizza eaters on a Sunday night.
Lucky for me though, we've got an hour wait and there's a full bar, so I can do the crawl here before dinner!
And bartender Ricky was more than happy to be part of the crawl. Here he is with Tim.
Drinks are served and the pre-dinner crawl has begun.
Once again I leave Tim and Colleen at the bar to get a few photos for the bar crawl.
Here's Barry and Lara who were enjoying drinks while waiting at the bar. Seconds after I took this photo, their name was called and they got seated.
Abigail and Jillian came all the way from Vancouver, Canada to have one of Lombardi's pies.
Lombardi's jackets can be had at the bar.
Steve and Erin were at the end of the bar waiting for their table. At the last minute, Ricky jumped up to get in on the picture.
Meanwhile back at our spot at the bar, Tim and Colleen were checking out the menu. And then our name was called! It's table time!
Julia was our cute waitress and she gave us great and friendly service.
We had salad, some breadsticks and sauce and then the main event showed up. Check out this pizza, have you ever seen one so beautiful?
Tim and Colleen give the pie a thumbs up.
And so do I, it was well worth the hour wait. This is the best pizza in the world. The second best is Butch's, of course.
Here's the last picked at slice that we couldn't finish. Anybody out there want it? Goodnight everybody!
Review
At Lombardi’s you can get a slice of history as well as one of the best slices of pizza in the world. The pizzeria was founded in 1905 and is known for being the first pizzeria in not only New York, but in America as well. Gennaro Lombardi is the man who started the pizza phenomenon in the U.S. They’re a block down from where they were originally located, but the place is old school pizzeria with red-checkered tablecloths adorning the tables that you usually have to wait 45 minutes to an hour to sit at. The good news is that they now have a full bar that you can have a beer or three as you wait. The bar doesn’t have any stools, but it’s got a good variety of bottled and draft beers and friendly and fun bartenders. The crowd is a mix of anxious tourists and locals all waiting to hear their name called so they can sit down and tuck into the legendary pies that are being cooked in the coal ovens.
Once you finally get to sit at a table and order your pie, you’ll be surprised by the fast and friendly service at Lombardi’s. The house salad is very tasty as are the breadsticks and marinara dipping sauce, but the real prize is the pizza that Lombardi’s is known for. The coal ovens give the crust a smoky flavor that goes well with the somewhat sweet tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese. You have your choice of toppings ranging from fresh mushrooms, onions, meatballs, red peppers and I highly suggest you try the pepperoni. They also have a clam pizza, a white pizza and personal calzones.
There’s always a wait for a table when you come here, but as you take a bite of your first slice you’ll see why. It’s worth the wait, trust me. And Happy Memorial Day!
Lombardi's
32 Spring St. (Near Mott St.)
212-941-7994
1 Reference
Reader Comments (21)
You've just answered questions that I've had for years as to the nature of pizza...Who invented it, was it an Italian invention, was it an American invention with Italian-American inventors. As for today's featured pizza...do I want that last slice? DO I WANT THAT LAST SLICE?!?! GIMME THAT SUCKER!!! Ghod that looks so good...Mama Mia!!! Pizza's one of those things you only really get good in New York!
Goddamn! That is the best looking pizza I've ever seen! Good job combining the bar and Sunday dinner into one delicious crawl!
AWWWWW that made me want to go back east and visit my relatives and eat nothing but pizza pie for a week:)
well that and carvel:)
oh with a stop at friendlys:)
ice cream and pizza pie...gonna give it away that i'm from Joisey....
glad you're having a good time martser:)
Gidget's a Jersey girl! Who knew?
OK admitting it publicly... I'm a Sayre...as in Sayreville New Joisey....
New Jersey royalty baby...
good onya Marty, its 7.30am down here & i'm looking for a pizza for brekky....
Hi Tim, Hi Colleen....!!!!
M ~ I expected your blog to be entertaining, informative is an added plus - I had no idea about Lombardi's and I'm digging the burger reference as well. I'm worried this site could become addictive...
can you do live video??? says the junky's thought.....
Shannon IT IS ADDICTIVE.
and since you have returned I am sorry to inform you that you are now "one of us".Bar crawler groupies:)
enjoy the ride I saved you a seat next to me!
IT IS ADDICTIVE.
right around...i stumbled into 365
nice post marty & tiim and collen...and @gidget have not heard carvel in a whike and i'm not from jersey...
KOC
rr
all the best to the guys and gals serving...vets and families...those here and gone...
365 is extremely addictive ! Especially being deployed ... this site is all I have ! Meeting Marty 2 weeks ago -- and crawling with him -- was a perfect sendoff :) It should hold me over while I'm "dry" and wistfully remembering my great NYC crawls :)
Thanks for the nice comments everyone, I'm glad this place is addictive, there's no harmful side effects, unless you hang out with me!
Sunday , Marty Up Early , oh Fuck it's Tuesday , need more coffee , & one of those pizzas .
Holy shitballs, that pie looks good. I love those little pepperonis that curl up around the edge and hold that little dollop of grease in there like a meat soup. Okay, that doesn't sound so delicious, but you know what I mean. I also would like to try one of their clam pizzas. And calzones! Oh, mama mia, don't even get me started! And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to peruse Butch's site for some za-to-go. It'll be part one of my newly started (like, two minutes ago) (Inter)National Tour of Pizzas. And, speaking of tours, hope all is well overseas, Gene! We'll see you soon!
@Marty .... since hanging out with you ... I have developed some sort of twitch that I can't shake ...
Yummy!! That pizza looks amazing.
Great pizza!
HEY.. BARRY AND LARA.. YOU WENT TO LOMBARDI'S WITHOUT ME???? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
BUSTED....
@Barry and Lara, sorry I got you busted! I'm sure they'll invite you next time Irene!
Irene, we ask that you please be patient with us...after all, you went to Little Italy Friday...and ate at a French bistro! Marty, happy crawlin;...may the beer always be cold, and the people friendly.
Barry
Thanks, Barry, it was a pleasure to meet yourself and Lara, I hope your pizza was as good as ours!
Yum Pizza!! But I don't like pizza with tomato sauce, but with creme fraiche (I think you call that sour cream in english), And it sounds like it just doesn't exist here in NYC, or I didn't find them....
Talking about sour cream, well I'm french and there is no food without creme fraiche... so I obliged Jason to buy that for me!! And so, we keep the empty cups of creme fraiche then we pour our beer inside to drink in the Hudson River Park !!! ;)
Oh good! Im happy the pizza was worth the hour wait!!