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!

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!

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!

Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria Philly Pizza Review

Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches Review

Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches is located at 2119 West Oregon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145. Established in 1996, Uncle Oogie’s has a well established reputation in Philadelphia. Actually, those who like their pizza swear by it and won’t have anything else.

Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches has a giant menu of items. They serve hamburgers, Philly cheese steaks, Philly chicken cheese steaks, low carb wraps, pastas, hoagies, chicken sandwiches, salads, appetizers, wings, and of course, pizza. They serve all styles of pizza including: gourmet pizza, white pizza, old Italian pizza, classic pizza, stromboli, and a very interesting breakfast pizza. That’s right, breakfast pizza (so it does exist). They have many variations of the breakfast pizza, which include egg and cheese and western.

Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches is a small pizzeria which includes dine in and take out (or delivery). The dine in section has about 10 small tables to sit and a nice flat screen TV to watch. There is also a restroom available. An observation I made about this place was that there were about 20 people working behind the counter and only a few customers eating in. They all seemed very busy too so they may have been preparing delivery orders. But 20 people…is that necessary for this small scale operation?

My review of Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches is as follows:

I like Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches for a variety of reasons. They have good pizza, you can eat in there, there is a wide variety of food options, there is a wide variety of pizzas to choose from, and they have many specials available.

I ordered a large Margherita pizza there. I had a major problem with their pie…it was served cold. The pizza may have been sitting behind the counter for sometime before I finally was called. It wasn’t frozen or very cold but slightly less than warm. For this type of traditional pizza, the wrong temperature will ruin the quality of the pie when eaten. Pizzas always taste better hot (the degree of hot is debatable). This strikes me as odd because with twenty employees there and a giant pizza oven you would think that they could get the hot part right.

They are lucky that I have tried their pizza before or it may have swayed my opinion of them.
The Margherita pizza had a semi charred traditional thick crust (not pure thin crust). The Mozzarella cheese was about 30% of the toppings. The problem I had with the cheese goes back to the cold factor. The semi cold temperature of the pie caused the cheese to not have the warm stringy appeal. Instead it was harder and more firm.

I liked the sauce on top which had chucks of tomatoes. There was a substantially amount of tomato sauce on there compared to the cheese. The sauce was very sweet too. There were only a few sprinkles of basil on the entire pie. The basil didn’t look too fresh either and the leaves should have been bigger.

I am not impressed with my past visit to Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches. Overall, there pizza would have been so much better if served warm. These kinds of mistakes can’t happen especially when you get a surprise visit from a pizza critic. I would suggest a few changes. First, reevaluate how many employees are necessary to run your shop.

Miscommunication between many sections could have led to my pie served cold. Second, you need bigger fresher slices of basil. Third, double check the quality of the cheese and how much you are putting on your pie. Fourth, don’t change a thing about your sauce, it was good even cold.

I am going to make an exception and let Uncle Oogie’s Pizzeria and Specialty Sandwiches be a part of the Best Philadelphia Pizza Club. The reason I am doing this is because all other factors considered, they are a really good pizzeria. If the pizza was warmer I am sure that this pie would have been top quality Philadelphia pizza.

Cacia's Bakery and Cafe

Cacia's Bakery and Cafe Review

Cacia’s Bakery is a famous place in South Philly that makes all types of oven cooked products like bread, deserts, and pizza. Cacia’s was established in 1953 but has recently expanded with their fourth generation of family members taking over the family business.

Cacia’s also is one of the last brick oven bakeries left in Philadelphia. Their bakery is open for service 363 days a year being closed only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Cacia’s specializes in Italian breads and rolls, stromboli (pepperoni & cheese, vegetable, Philly cheese steak, roast pork, broccoli rabe and sharp provolone stromboli), pizza (red cheese, tomato pie, pizzazz, vegetable, white, and their famous hoagie pizza), and cannolis or pastry. Their Hammonton and Blackwood locations offer full service Italian Delis with over 30 specialty hoagies to choose from. Their newest location in Northern Liberties features specialty coffees as well as sandwiches. Cacia’s Bakery now has seven locations: Philadelphia, Blackwood, Cherry Hill, Hammonton, NJ, Macdade Blvd, Folsom, PA, and their newest location on 2nd Street in Northern Liberties.

I have recently visited the Cacia’s Bakery and Café in Northern Liberties located at 719 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123. Growing up I always frequented their original South Philly bakery and was very impressed with what I discovered today. Cacia’s expansion operations appear to be successful.

Cacia’s pizza is a small square style (not Sicilian because it is not really thick). Cacia’s pizza is truly a unique type of pizza that if you held any other pizza next to it, Cacia’s can be spotted from a mile away. They just have an original recipe that is consistent every time. It still appears to be consistent despite their expansion. Cacia’s bakery is very famous in Philly and has visitors from all over the world who come to for their products.

I ordered their original tomato pie pizza (one slice). This pie is true old fashioned Italian style pizza that focuses on more of the tomato sauce. I wouldn’t even call this a marinara. The pizza consists of a rectangular crust, about a 4 by 6 inch slice, with about a ¾ inch crust. This is on the way to being Sicilian style but still needs to be a little thicker.

This pizza is one of my favorites so I am a little biased. The taste has never changed. The tomato base on top of the crust has to be about a half inch of tomato sauce from one end of the crust to the other and completely level too. It is truly a tomato pie. The sauce is special too. You can taste the strong tomato flavor with all of its spices included. I have noticed that they have added red pepper to their sauce as well (in South Philly they call it “gravy”).

Cacia’s does not sell Margherita pies. They don’t have many options of pizza actually. But what they do sell they make it well. I think that the tomato pie reviewed today though has to be their most popular. Cacia’s Bakery is truly one of the best of the best Philly pizza spots and is a legend for what they are known for.

Celebre’s Pizza Restaurant Review

Celebre’s Philadelphia Pizza Restaurant Review

Celebre’s pizza restaurant is located at 1536 Packer Avenue in South Philadelphia, PA, 19145. Established in 1948, Celebre’s pizza is an extremely popular Philly pizzeria full of tradition and history.

A place like Celebre’s needs to be reviewed on Best Philadelphia Pizza Blog for many reasons including: popularity amongst locals, 61 years of selling pizza in Philadelphia, their signature pizzas, etc. I like Celebre’s pizza restaurant for several reasons. First, they serve alcohol. You can eat your pizza and wash it down with a nice cold beer. Pizza and beer are amongst the world’s best food combinations. There aren’t many pizza places in Philadelphia that have a liquor license. For example, Santucci Brothers Square Pizza was a treat because you can bring your own beer as many pizzerias don’t even allow this. But when beer is served in the same facility as your pizza…that is a good start.

I also like Celebre’s pizza restaurant because of its atmosphere. Celebre’s is an old style Italian pizza place that has made it through an era when people didn’t eat out. If they could be successful in the fifty then they are true survivors. The people who work there and own the place have deep South Philly Italian roots. These roots are reflected in the pizza recipe that they use as it has probably been passed down for generations.

I also like Celebre’s for their pizza. I do want to make a disclaimer for all New York pizza critics. Philly is a world of its own in America, just like New Orleans is different than the rest of the South (they call it a Banana Republic). Specifically, this conversation applies to South Philly. The terminology that may be common in the rest of the world for various pizzas types are not commonly used here. It doesn’t mean that the pizza is bad or that the pizza chefs in this neck of the woods don’t know pizza…it means that they know it the way their region of Philly knows it. What am I talking about? For example, Celebre’s, amongst many other local Philly pizzerias, doesn’t make a Margherita pizza and if you asked them for it (as a New Yorker would) you may be reciprocated with a dirty look. This doesn’t mean that Philly pizzerias don’t know pizza it is just that they are used to it their way and if you know the Philly attitude you will understand that this is good enough for them.

Celebre’s sells a pizza called the “Old Way” pizza. Fancy New York pizzerias would translate this pizza to a marinara pizza. There is mainly tomato sauce placed on top of a small amount of cheese. This pizza is phenomenal. I think that I am most impressed with the sauce that they made. Their tomato sauce is very chunky, thick, and spicy, which is my favorite style of Italian tomato sauce. A sauce without flavor is not sauce at all it is just tomato in a liquid form. Celebre’s uses a good amount of their sauce on top. The cheese was hidden underneath and probably would account for 20% of the pizza ingredients. That is the point of this pizza: to create more of a tomato pie the old Italian way. So you see they call it “Old Way” and modern food critics would call it marinara. Who is right and who is wrong? This is just a small example of how Philly works – they like to be unique. It doesn’t mean that they don’t know how to cook pizza. Celebre’s have been successful for 61 years so that must be doing something right.

The crust of this pizza was slightly darkened. I think that New Yorker pizza critics may like their crust for this reason. I only tried the Old Way pizza as it was one of their signature pies and more in line with my taste buds. They do serve a pizza called the “Pizzaz” though that they are famous for. Maybe I’ll come back to try that another time.

The total cost for a 16 inch pie was around $10, which is worth the money. Celebre’s is a good time and a place where you can experience a real local South Philadelphian Italian style old fashioned pizzeria. They use high quality pizza ovens in the back and have a very fun, energetic, and friendly staff. Celebre’s gets a green light vote in my book for Best Philadelphia Pizza!