Did you know that right here in NYC was the first pizza restaurant in America?  I have been living here for 9 years and have eaten it a couple times before at friends homes and during jobs.  But it took me watching a Food Network show about the history of pizza to find out about Lombardi's history.  Lombardi's was the first restaurant in America to make and serve the original Naples style pizza.  That is pretty crazy considering that pizza is now basically a food category.  They started off in 1897 in Little Italy as a grocery store and in 1905 was established as the first pizzeria in America.  It wasn't till after the war, that pizza really took off.  When all the soldiers came back from overseas and were looking for that Margarita pizza.  Which name originated in Naples when a chef made this flat bread treat for Queen Margherita.  By the way that's the only way that I have had it there so if you stray from that and are disappointed, then it's not my fault.  I love pizza with everything on it as well, but the simple traditional style is the way that it was meant to be enjoyed.


Lombardi's 32 Spring St. (corner of Mott)  212-941-7994

Man, if you have not had coal oven pizza before, I highly recommend it!  This is what pizza is suppose to taste like.  In order to really enjoy Lombardi's, you have to eat it there.  You can't get it delivered or take it out.  It's just not the same once you get home.  When you eat it in the restaurant, the crust is so crispy and crunchy, it's delicious.  The only other place that can even compete is Grimaldi's in Brooklyn.  Who's going to go all the way to Brooklyn for pizza?  Well to tell you the truth, I tried to go the other week after I went to the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and there was a line out the door of 30 deep!  I just could not wait that long and decided to head to my other favorite restaurant in Brooklyn, Peter Luger's!