The Crusty Joints

With pizza, as with few other culinary enterprises, old is customarily thought of as best. Excellence is measured by the longest histories, the most ancient ovens and, of course, the largest number of faded photos of Frank Sinatra on the wall. (Although one of my skeptical friends pointed out, “I can’t believe Sinatra ate pizza in all these places. He was such a fastidious man, and pizza is hardly that. Did he even like pizza?”)

No city boasts as many such establishments as New York, where pizza long ago came ashore from Italy. I’ve written a story in the current issue of GQ where I name the 25 best pizzas in America, and in seeking them out, I visited all the most beloved New York spots. Surprisingly to me, and shocking to others, only one made my list—Totonno’s in Coney Island. (It’s been closed most of the year because of fire damage, but the owners hope to reopen next month.)

To go to Alan’s blog “Forked”, please click here.  If you want to read the complete article in the June 2009 issue of GQ, please click here.