New York Italian Bakery Pizza Review

Do you recall when I first started this website that I said that I will disclose most of Philly’s secret pizza places? I introduce to you another fine example of what I meant. New York Italian Bakery is located at 2215 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148. Established in 1926, New York Italian Bakery should now be called Philadelphia Italian Bakery as they have become a pure example of a great Philly Italian bakery.

New York Italian Bakery is a buy and go place. They don’t have fancy options like delivery or dine in. Their store is very small scale. Actually there is only a small place to stand when you enter. They also sell a limited variety of Italian bread and they only sell 2 kinds of square pizza: regular tomato pie and white pizza. Despite their limited selection, what they do sell they make it well.

The story behind New York Italian Bakery pizza is that they used to sell it only on Sundays for many, many years up until recent times. Now they sell pizza seven days a week but only the tomato pie. The sell a white pizza but only make it on Fridays. This is their house and their house rules apply.

Let’s talk about their famous pizza that most true Philadelphians know about. It is so basic but so good that words can’t hardly describe it (but I’ll try). The tomato slices cost less than a $1 each. I actually bought 3 for $2.40 (that comes out to 80 cents apiece). The crust is definitely what makes this pizza unique. They make their square pizza in a small thin pan and cut them into many small slices to sell individually. The pan is nice and oiled up before it is put in their brick oven. The crust comes out crunchy with a buttery shining effect. The crust is not too thick compared to other Philly Italian bakeries (about ¾ inch). There isn’t a speck of char (ironic for a placed called New York Italian Bakery) on their pizza crust. Charring their crust is not their style.

New York Italian Bakery puts an extra thin coat of pure Italian tomato sauce on top of their crust. It is almost like they spread it on there the way you would spread butter on toast. In the sauce you can see dark specs of oregano or parsley under the tomato sauce (the sauce spread is that thin). There isn’t any cheese on this pie.

For the value and the taste, New York Italian Bakery is where you will obtain a true Philadelphia pizza experience. The staff is very friendly too. Just be prepared to eat the pizza room temperature unless you can wait 20 minutes for a fresh pan to come out.

New York Italian Bakery – Welcome to the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club!

Carangi Baking Company Square Pizzas

Carangi Baking Company is located at 2655 South Iseminger Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148 (between 12th and 13th on Oregon Avenue). Carangi's Bakery first opened in 1996 by Lou Carangi on 4th and Brown Streets in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of North Philadelphia. The original Carangi's was just a bakery without the cafe or retail space. In 1998, Lou decided to move the business to the current location.

The slogan of Carangi Baking Company is “The most complete Italian bread bakery in South Philly.” I don’t agree with the “most” part but they certainly have their act together. They sell a wide variety of products including: coffee, cappuccino, espresso, various rolls, bagels, muffins, Jewish bread, breadsticks, dinner rolls, hamburger rolls, pane, Stromboli, and bread crumbs and dough. Oh… and pizza. There were several types of pizza laid out on a small pan upon my visit.

Carangi Baking Company has several pizza choices to select from. They have cheese, tomato, white, wheat, broccoli rabe and roasted peppers, pompei, sausage, spinach and tomato, tomato, roasted peppers, and capers, and white with brochette, long hots, or sautéed peppers and onions.

The slices here are so cheap at $1 for cheese and $1.25 for the rest. The slice is a nice 4-6 inch square slice (give or take). The crust had no signs of char and was about an inch or so thick with a small handle to hold the slices. The crust had a buttery crunchy texture as this pizza was baked in their oven with the pan (the pan was very thin).

I ordered the pepperoni slice. This consisted of 1 giant thin slice of pepperoni on the whole slice. The pizza was served room temperature. This appears to be the trend with Italian bakery pizza in Philadelphia. They don’t warm up the pizza unless you ask them. Otherwise the pizza ranges from cold to room temperature unless you just caught them taking it out of the oven. Even though it is not hot, the pizza still tastes very good.

The pizza had a significant amount of cheese on top. Under the cheese was about a half inch thick sweet tomato sauce. The texture and thickness of the crust allowed for a good portion of toppings to be placed on top.

Overall, the value of Carangi Baking Company’s pizza combined with an award winning taste has put them ahead of the competition. Actually compared to some of the pizzerias that I have visited near City Hall in Center City, there isn’t any competition. Those pizzerias were overpriced and lousy. If you want real Philly Italian pizza then you have to go where the Italians in Philly go. Little Italy, South Philadelphia happens to be one of the most popular of those places.

Carangi Baking Company - welcome to the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club!

Villari’s Bakery Pizza Review

Villari’s Bakery is another perfect example of how you can find great pizza in Philly out of a traditional pizzeria setting. They are located at 2134 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148. Villari’s Bakery has been around since 1970 and continues to be very popular in Little Italy, South Philadelphia. They are a very tiny bakery run by an Italian family. Their operation is very small scale. The man who owns the place, Mr. Villari, serves many roles including baker and cashier. It appears that he only bakes a small amount of product at a time.

Villari’s Bakery is not a sit it or delivery operation. You buy and leave but mostly not without a good conversation, Italian style. The owner is very friendly and is always full of smiles.

Villari’s Bakery only sells bread and pizza (not pastries). The pizza that he sells is very limited in scope. I have only seen 3 types for sale: plain tomato pie square, plain tomato pie round, and white pizza (no cheese) round.

I ordered the tomato pie square and the white pizza. The crust on their pizza is very similar. There aren’t any signs of char just nice soft crust (this is the baker’s touch).

The slices on the square tomato pizza are about 4 by 6 inches (that is a guess considering I didn’t bring my ruler). The tomato sauce is a thin spread of sweet tomato sauce across the top of the crust. It is a thin coat of tomato sauce but yet not too thin (a little similar to New York Italian Bakery). The sauce has an undertone of various spices (possibly oregano and parmesan cheese). There isn’t any cheese on this pizza or any other of Villari’s pizzas either.

The round pizza is a 4-6 inches in diameter personal pizza that has an irregular shape around the edges. The white pizza is very interesting because there isn’t any cheese and yet the pizza tastes really good. In the center of the pizza are small slices of spices mostly chopped garlic pieces. There is also a thin coat of olive oil that is spread on top. The final effect is a really good pizza.

The best part about this pizza is that it only costs about $1.50 for both slices that I ordered. Do you realize how cheap that is in America today? This same pizza if sold in a fancy uptown coffee or pizza shop would range from $3-$5 a slice. Here we have 2 slices for half the price of 1 fancy pizzeria and the taste is so much better and fresher (they are baked fresh everyday).

Villari’s Bakery is another great example of great pizza in Philly that the tourists don’t know much about. Villari’s Bakery – welcome to the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club!

Sarcone’s Bakery Italian Pizza Review

The following review is a very special review of Sarcone’s Bakery is South Philadelphia. Located at 756-758 South 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, Sarcone’s Bakery is one of the most popular old world Italian bakeries in Philadelphia. Established in 1918 by Luigi Sarcone, the bakery is still run by the same family with the same recipe as their Italian ancestor. In 2000, the business was fire bombed but survived and was opened for business the next day. Sarcone’s Bakery does also have a deli that they opened about 10 years ago that is a few doors down.

Sarcone’s Bakery sells all types of breads and desserts but obviously we are discussing them here because of their famous pizzas. Also, if any of you have read our Philly Cheese Steak Blog you may have noticed that Sarcone’s rolls are a very popular choice for many steak shops in Philly. This place is one of the most famous Philadelphia bakeries alongside with its competitors: Cacia’s, Amoroso, and Iannelli’s. Their philosophy on business deserves respect as well. They refuse to expand beyond what they can handle as to be careful not to sacrifice quality. I really like the quote that Luigi Sarcone states “Put too much food in your mouth and you can’t chew.” He was speaking of growing too big such as some of their competitors.

Sarcone’s Bakery sells pizza but their operation is a little different. If you want to try their pizza then you need to get there early (as in no later than about 1 or until they sell their last slice). They are open six days a week except Mondays but the pizza is sold only in the morning/early afternoon and goes fast.

Their pizza is usually cold unless the tray was just made. I happened to eat a cold slice but it is still good (it’s actually room temperature). They have only a few major selections of pizza, which include: tomato or white pie, regular pie, pepperoni pie, and their gourmet pie. I ordered a slice of their gourmet pie for $2. All of their pies are square pies served from a baking tray. The gourmet pie was 95% cheese and no sauce. The slice was topped with slightly hot peppers (mild) that were cut into small sluices. The peppers were not plentiful as there was only a few on each slice. I think that they were used mainly as an accent. I would recommend that they add a little more peppers or something else as there was just too much white on the pizza. There was plenty of space to fill the top of the slice.

Other than the cheese and the peppers the slice was very basic except for one thing. Did you forget that this is one of the best bakeries in Philly? The crust was made out of the brick oven of one of the best bakeries in Philly thus producing awesome crust. The crust was about an inch thick on the square slice. There were no signs of charring but it was extremely crunchy. It was so good that being served room temperature was not a problem (but I am sure that hot is better).

Sarcone’s Bakery has a very friendly family like atmosphere. There aren’t any tables to sit as it is take out only so be prepared to order and keep on moving.

Sarcone’s Bakery is a legend in Philly. It is my honor to welcome them into the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club!

Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery

Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery Review

At the southern part of the Italian Market is Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery. Established in 1910 (according to their advertisements), Iannelli’s is located at 1155 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147. They are open every day except Monday. Since their business is a bakery and not a pizzeria they have bakers’ hours. There are open Tuesday to Sunday 8am-6PM and Friday and Saturday Nights until 11PM.

If you have never been to Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery then you are truly missing out on a real Philadelphian Italian pizza experience. Iannelli’s is a pick up or delivery place only. There isn’t any room to sit as there is barely any place to order in this tiny shop. In the summer they do have outdoor tables but that won’t help in the winter.

Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery is your quintessential Philly Italian pizza bakery. However, this bakery is special because they serve various types of gourmet pizza. After all, who would be more equipped to make pizza than a good Italian bakery? The oven in this place is supposed to hold up to 60 pies. In addition to pizza, they also serve desserts like cannoli’s (fresh), homemade crab gravy, sandwiches, and salads.

But let’s talk about their pizza. The pizza is Sicilian style as this is where the Iannelli’s roots are from. Thus, all of their slices are Sicilian square style. They have a wide variety of pizza but you have to order them in advance so that they can make them fresh for you. If you are looking to show up and buy pizza then you will usually only have their traditional tomato pie to choose from (they are served cold so you will have to ask them to be heated if that is your preference). The slices are $2.25 but are huge square slices (something around 8 by 8 inches). They sell whole and half pies (a tray of square slices), which prices vary for wholes from about $18 to $40.

I ate their traditional Sicilian tomato pie. First, let me say how nice the staff was. She was so kind and gave me a free pizza slice to sample. This kind of treatment is a rarity in a tough city like Philadelphia. They have pictures on the walls of the Iannelli family and the pictures truly do speak of such a kind family. But back to the staff. The woman working there was very polite and kept asking me if I wanted something else (napkin, bag, etc.). She also tried to sell me on her desserts but I will have to take her up on that another time. This place just reminded me of what Old World Philly was like over 50 years ago where the local butcher knew you so well that they knew exactly what you were looking for without opening your mouth. That was old world business: customized and personalized. I think many businesses have seemed to lose this important touch in the modern world. This is a sure quality that keeps the customers coming back.

The tomato pie: the crust was not charred at all just cooked crunchy and semi thick. As mentioned the size of the slice was large and so was the tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was about an inch thick. They use quality gravy with a lot of spices. Spicy “gravy” is a trademark of Southern Italians as Northern Italian sauce is blander. Thus, spicy sauce would be expected considered that the Iannelli’s are originally from Sicily. There wasn’t any cheese in this pie but they may have hinted it in the sauce.

There is a pie at Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery that I have wanted to try for some time but haven’t gotten around to it. It is called the Jumbo Lump Crab Meat Pizza. You need to make an advance order as this is a specialty pie ($40 for a whole). This consists of fresh sautéed crab meat on a bed of mozzarella, with roasted red peppers, and black olives. This pizza has won many awards. If you get a chance, order this pizza and then tell us what you think.

Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery is a true representation of what Philly pizza is and should be. I am giving them a green light into the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club and can tell you now that they are a strong candidate for the Best of the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club (when I eventually create it). They are great all across the board from price to authentic to quality.

Iannelli’s Famous Brick Oven Bakery –welcome to the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club!