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Expensive pizza, at $5 per slice. Or about $30 a pie. But damn, damn, damn good.

It looks lovely but it's not worth $30.

I can't spend that much on food when the markup is so obviously overblown. Even that pizza you posted would probably cost $5 to make at home....at most. Spend the rest on wine and dessert and sorry it just couldn't compare :)

ktybear: twidgetfitch: [img521.imageshack.us image 640x427]

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Expensive pizza, at $5 per slice. Or about $30 a pie. But damn, damn, damn good.

It looks lovely but it's not worth $30.

I can't spend that much on food when the markup is so obviously overblown. Even that pizza you posted would probably cost $5 to make at home....at most. Spend the rest on wine and dessert and sorry it just couldn't compare :)

The mark-up for a pizza chain cannot be compared to this store - DiFara. The guy is well into his 60s and takes his time; he treats his pizza as an art. The wait can be more than an hour - sometimes two! Imported San Marzano tomatoes goes into the sauce, Muzzarella di Buffala, Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano, olive oil from Campagna and some window grown basil. Not comparable to any other slice I've had. Having lived in New York for 20 years, this blows everything out of the water. I brought a friend here once, who really fought me and did not want to spend so much on pizza. She helpfully re-enacted When Harry Met Sally after a bite or two. She is now a fan for life.

If you're curious, here's an interesting video about Domenico DeMarco: http://vimeo.com/16077855. Skip ahead to 4:10 for the money shot.

I tried replicating the pie at home, and the ingredients are very expensive. I couldn't even buy the ingredients for less than $30 to make the pie (albeit with those ingredients I could probably make two). It's pretty easy to se why a pie costs $30.

I'm pretty sure the UCC doesn't allow this...

chopit: If you buy something without knowing what it costs, you're a retard.

I think that sums it up.

jedihirsch: Outside of NYC pizza is this doughy, chewy thingie with too much sauce and oily cheese

Did you mean "Outside of NYC but withn the boundary of the USA..."?

I will hunt you down and kill you subby for insulting the best Pizza in the world

Not been to Italy, then?

They need a visit by a flash mob. Which comes in and fills all the tables. Orders everything off the menu. After all get served, get up and do a dance. Then when the dance is done, run and scatter in all directions.

cjmook21: Any frozen supermarket pizza is better than Ledo pizza. I don't know how there are so many of these places around Maryland/Virginia. You haven't tasted pizza that tastes like cardboard until you've tried this. And it's served directly on a plastic lunch tray

Don't farking get how poepl love that shiat. They put farking mayo on the bruchetta. God damn savages.


Theaetetus: Unlikely. The cop works for the city, and the restaurant pays taxes and has a lot of rich customers. The tourist whining about the cost is probably the sort that refuses to pay for anything, so it's not much of a loss if they never come back, and the fines may amount to more revenue for the city anyway

Not that I think a cop is going to dig this far down thinking abotu it, but places like that and a cop arresting soeoen who offers to pay a "fair amount" will do a lot to drive away tourists.

I would roll the dice with cops coming after offering to pay a fair amount rather than just suck it up.

rynthetyn: I have a weakness for Totino's Party Pizzas. I don't know why, because objectively they're terrible, and it's not like it's nostalgia for my childhood because my parents were very anti-junkfood when I was growing up, but I can't help myself, I love those frozen, sauce-covered bits of cardboard.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm embarrassed to admit it's my go-to frozen pizza choice.

Subby, there's no such thing as "New York style pizza"
It's just called "pizza".

Damn! I'd be seething if some craptacular eaterie ripped me off like that. A bad review in Google would be the least of their worries.

CSB: For my birthday I treated 11 of my mates to a full-on dinner in the private room at Petrus in London, a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Back then it was being run by Marcus Wareing and they'd just gotten their 2nd Michelin star. Amuse-bouche, soup, starter, main, dessert, a special second dessert for the birthday boy, 15 bottles of the finest wines known to humanity and a box of bon-bons on the way out the door. The very best meal I have ever consumed. I got change from £2500, including a 15% tip, so about £200 a head. Unparalleled service too - they couldn't do enough for us even after I turned up an hour late for my own party (I got stuck in London traffic). I will never regret spending a single penny of that money.

Sadly, Gordon Ramsay's financial woes lost them their stars but they've regained one since.

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Expensive pizza, at $5 per slice. Or about $30 a pie. But damn, damn, damn good.


Di Fara's is wildly overrated. The old man is contemptuous of his customers and sloppy with his craft. He burns his pies then douses them in olive oil and parmesan. I could send you to a dozen places that make better pizza. Also, he's been shut down a few times by the health department. Violations include cleanliness of both the store and old man Di Fara. Oh yeah, to complete the trifecta he is a bit of a dick, listing the store opening at noon but opening late every day. He gets his kicks by preening in his window as the line stands outside in the cold, usually only opening closer to 12:30. DiFara's pie is still better than what you'll get outside of New York, but not worth it in the city. The people who rave about it just want to seem like they are "in the know".

Bacontastesgood: This is a common scam some places, when combined with strip joints. The girl takes you to a table and orders drinks. You find out your drink is like $200 and a guy with huge muscles comes to get your credit card. He is careful not to actually coerce or threaten you, but somehow he remains between you and the door. Legally you're basically boned. Most legit businesses don't do this because they want repeat customers. Scammers don't give a shiat.

CSB:
I was at a place called Sammy's in Fort Walton Beach, Fl. I deliberately walked in with only 25 bucks. I paid the cover, had a few drinks, and tossed a couple of bucks at the more attractive/talented girls. I was down to 2 dollars, and figured it was time to leave. The the DJ announces "For the next 20 minutes, you can get a free lapdance and a T-Shirt!" Well, shiat. A free dance AND a shirt? Cool. Then some hot blonde chick walks up and asks if I want a lapdance. Sure I do!

So I get my dance, and she hands me my shirt. I stand up to leave, and think "you know what? she deserves a tip" So I hand her my last two bucks. She looks at the money, looks at me, looks back at the money, looks at me again and asks "WTF is this?" 'Well," I answer, 'It's a tip!'. Thats when I learn that what the DJ had *actually* said was "For the next 20 minutes, if you get a lapdance, you get a free t-shirt"

"Lap dances are 40 bucks, asshole", she kindly informs me. 'Um....thats all I have'. "I see. Well over there is the ATM. Over THERE is the bouncer. Your call." I considered my options, and decided that since the ATM wieghed less than the bouncer, thats the option I was gonna go with. "Good choice" she tells me. Of course there was like a farking 10 dollar ATM fee. Most expensive free shirt I ever got.

There is only one place that has better ingredients and better pizza:

Also make a mean pizza:

DO NOT WANT Poster Girl: Farklee: The worst rip-off I experienced in Manhattan was the breakfast at the Plaza. The atmosphere, food, and service were exceptional.....but then the check arrives and you realize how much money you spent before 10 am and you feel kinda of nauseous but you don't dare lose the gastronomic experience in that manner or that soon.

All you can drink champagne and decent buffet brunch came to $75/person at the Plaza for us back ~ 2005. Was worth it.

Alain Ducasse at $1200 for 2 people the night before \ was too.

/mmm, caviar

hmmm, it was before 2005.....I thought it was breakfast and definitely not a buffet. $75/person would have been a bargain.

Farklee: Lernaeus: NYC is the capitol of pretentious, self important, snobby, arrogant, phony upscale, elitist, avant garde, farkoff douchebaggery.

funny....but, at the same time, you have the most diverse selection of cuisine from all over the world to choose. And it's not all snobby. Some of the best joints are obscure places that look scary from the outside and have an authentic mom and pop look about them.

NYC is also the capital of scary equals authentic.

libranoelrose: [slice.seriouseats.com image 500x353]

What retard cut that pie?

My wife and I always look at a menu before we get seated. Partly for prices but mostly because my wife is a ridiculously picky eater.

If we saw a menu with no prices, I think we'd just walk out and go someplace else based on the old adage "if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it".

mjg: BoingBoing is the Andy Rooney of the web. Just posting crap they know very little about.

I'm not saying Xeni, Rob, and the rest of the BB editorial staff are losers, but they are.

Oh really? http://www.yelp.com/biz/nellos-new-york

I'd say you're quite wrong. At least in this case.

My wife's favorite restaurant has a lunch menu that runs about $15-$20 per person, and has several specials every day. Learned the hard way that the "specials" all run about $35-$50. Lesson learned, move on...don't order the special at lunch.

It looks like the most expensive thing on Nello's menu is $60. A $250 special is just a wee bit unconscionable.

Rincewind53: Yeah, as they pointed out in the comments, the restaurant is violating all kinds of consumer protection laws by charging prices like that without disclosing them first; multiple portions of the U.C.C., New York's specific law requiring that any mandatory gratuity be disclosed up front, etc...

If you find yourself in such a situation, offer them a reasonable price, and when they refuse, leave your contact information and tell them to sue you for breach of contract.

YANAL

Rincewind53: If you find yourself in such a situation, offer them a reasonable price, and when they refuse, leave your contact information and tell them to sue you for breach of contract.

What's more likely to happen is that they'll call the police and accuse you of theft. The police don't have the same understanding of commercial law and consumer protection as a second-year law student, and judges typically rubber-stamp warrants, so they'll take you in and book you, and you'll have to pay a grand or two to a bondsman to post bail for you. Then you'll have to take a couple of days off of work to defend the charges against you. At that point, your lawyer, if you paid for one (the public defender will push you to make a deal and likely doesn't understand commercial law, even if he took the time to research it), will likely convince the prosecutor to drop the charges, unless it's an election year and you are particularly unpopular.

All told, you're not getting out for cheaper than $10,000. That's a lot of $300 petit-fours.

I'm pretty sure I could get a better meal from a hot dog vendor.

jaytkay: Ha ha! He said the "Morton Grove neighborhood of Chicago" (the equivalent of the "Long Island neighborhood of Manhattan").

However THAT deep dish pizza looks fantastic, Morton Grove is now on my list of places to visit

You have to call in advance at least a day to put your order in, Burt himself typically buys everything fresh that morning. If you just show up you probably won't get served at all. It's great pizza. Closest you can get without having to do the advance work is Pequod's, as Burt did their recipes originally too I believe.

As for this NY restaurant, when you're far outdoing Spiaggia prices (high-end Italian in Chicago on Michigan Ave), you are pretty much a scam.

stevenbdjr: I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm embarrassed to admit it's my go-to frozen pizza choice.

I think they must put methadone in those or something, because I like them too, and it makes no sense otherwise. They barely even taste like a pizza.

liam76: cjmook21: Any frozen supermarket pizza is better than Ledo pizza. I don't know how there are so many of these places around Maryland/Virginia. You haven't tasted pizza that tastes like cardboard until you've tried this. And it's served directly on a plastic lunch tray

Don't farking get how poepl love that shiat. They put farking mayo on the bruchetta. God damn savages.


I love Ledo Pizza! Can't say anything about the bruschetta, but I think the pizza is great, and it's definitely better than anything else I can get delivered to my apartment. Pizza Movers? Pizza Bolis? I would rather not eat pizza than eat their pizza, and that's saying a lot.

NYC pizza can suck, and Chicago pizza can suck. And pizza here in the Burgh -- with all them Eye-talians we have here, can suck. Actually, Napoli pizza can suck, too. But most pizza is usually okay...it's better than no pizza at all.

However, the WORST pizza I ever had in my life was from L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples last October. Crust was okay, but the rest was a watery, greasy mess. I have to admit it was cheap, though, at least for Europe. Still, this was supposed to be from an A-ONE pizzeria where the dish supposedly originated. We had MUCH better pizza in Viareggio and even southern France.

But, obviously, I digress. I'm sorry that folks are ripped-off by Nello's. I think that every U.S. eatery should post the menu -- and prices -- at the front of the restaurant like I think it's mandated in the EEC.

I went to a greek restaurant on the Upper East Side many years ago after just having gotten a raise but even with the raise, we were certainly still living paycheck to paycheck. When I asked the waiter to recommend a bottle of wine, he said he knew a perfect one and brought it to my table. After getting the bill, I found out this was a $250 bottle of wine. This was over double the cost of our meal. I practically pooped my pants.

I spoke to the waiter about it, practically in tears. Amazingly, they took the cost of the wine, in its entirety, off of the bill. I couldn't believe how generous they were. I gave the waiter a 50% tip if I remember correctly. And a big hug!

It's still one of my fave places (particularly now that I can afford a nice bottle of wine!) in the Upper East Side and highly recommend it: Link (new window)

But I think it says a lot about a restuarant to care so much about their patrons. That's why I still go out of my way to go there even now that I don't live in the UES any more!

WhyteRaven74: chopit: If you buy something without knowing what it costs, you're a retard.

It's not unusual for high end restaurants to have menus without prices. But it's known going in you're going to be laying out a lot of money for dinner, so no one minds. Nello on the other hand gives no warning of what to expect. And then isn't even consistent as apparently the costs of some items are stated.

It's not unusual for some of the menus at a high end restaurant to not have prices. The menu with prices is given to the most senior member of the party. It sounds like one of the way they scam is that everyone assumes that someone else has that menu.

libranoelrose: [slice.seriouseats.com image 500x353]

wtf is that? cut your pizza correctly... and easy on the burnt cheese.

MtLebanonBalogna: NYC pizza can suck, and Chicago pizza can suck. And pizza here in the Burgh -- with all them Eye-talians we have here, can suck. Actually, Napoli pizza can suck, too. But most pizza is usually okay...it's better than no pizza at all.

However, the WORST pizza I ever had in my life was from L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples last October. Crust was okay, but the rest was a watery, greasy mess. I have to admit it was cheap, though, at least for Europe. Still, this was supposed to be from an A-ONE pizzeria where the dish supposedly originated. We had MUCH better pizza in Viareggio and even southern France.

But, obviously, I digress. I'm sorry that folks are ripped-off by Nello's. I think that every U.S. eatery should post the menu -- and prices -- at the front of the restaurant like I think it's mandated in the EEC.

Funny you mentioned that. I had almost the exact same experience. Italian pizza was a hot mess of clams, mussels, god-knows-what with a spoonful of tomato paste and a quart of oil. France on the other hand was fantastic. Whodathunkit?

Lando Lincoln: BigNumber12: This article, along with the numerous reviews I read on Yelp some months ago, serves to reinforce my overall impression of NYC, and why I'm in no hurry to visit. You guys can keep your "culture."

There's a restaurant in NYC, called the "One if By Land Two if By Sea" restaurant. The restaurant (supposedly) is the original site of the barn where Paul Revere began his ride.

I took my sweetie there and we blew over $500 on a meal for the both of us, and that food and drink was worth every damn penny. I can't tell you what we ate there, but the food paired with the wine was just exquisite. I'm pretty sure they infuse all of their food with a variety of illegal drugs, because we had a wonderful, wonderful time there and it's hard to remember much of the experience.


Was that before or after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

tjsands1118: shiatty food?
Over priced?
Bad Service?
Time to call Gordon Ramsey
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fark that nasty, abusive hun coont. Get your help from someone with at least a vestigial sense of human decency.

downtownkid: twidgetfitch: [img521.imageshack.us image 640x427]

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Expensive pizza, at $5 per slice. Or about $30 a pie. But damn, damn, damn good.


Di Fara's is wildly overrated. The old man is contemptuous of his customers and sloppy with his craft. He burns his pies then douses them in olive oil and parmesan. I could send you to a dozen places that make better pizza. Also, he's been shut down a few times by the health department. Violations include cleanliness of both the store and old man Di Fara. Oh yeah, to complete the trifecta he is a bit of a dick, listing the store opening at noon but opening late every day. He gets his kicks by preening in his window as the line stands outside in the cold, usually only opening closer to 12:30. DiFara's pie is still better than what you'll get outside of New York, but not worth it in the city. The people who rave about it just want to seem like they are "in the know".

I struggled to keep reading your rant after you said parmesan. Dom does not use parmesan cheese on his pizzas. I rave about it because I am "in the know" buddy. So please enlighten me on the "best" pizza in NYC.

twidgetfitch: downtownkid: twidgetfitch: [img521.imageshack.us image 640x427]

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Expensive pizza, at $5 per slice. Or about $30 a pie. But damn, damn, damn good.


Di Fara's is wildly overrated. The old man is contemptuous of his customers and sloppy with his craft. He burns his pies then douses them in olive oil and parmesan. I could send you to a dozen places that make better pizza. Also, he's been shut down a few times by the health department. Violations include cleanliness of both the store and old man Di Fara. Oh yeah, to complete the trifecta he is a bit of a dick, listing the store opening at noon but opening late every day. He gets his kicks by preening in his window as the line stands outside in the cold, usually only opening closer to 12:30. DiFara's pie is still better than what you'll get outside of New York, but not worth it in the city. The people who rave about it just want to seem like they are "in the know".

I struggled to keep reading your rant after you said parmesan. Dom does not use parmesan cheese on his pizzas. I rave about it because I am "in the know" buddy. So please enlighten me on the "best" pizza in NYC.

What, it wasn't parmesan?!?!?!?!? Well that obviously negates the rest of my review entirely. Poor you, having to "struggle" your way through it. Listen, I don't give a rats ass if it was parmesan, reggiano, or any other aged dry Italian cheese. It would be hard to tell which he used amongst the heavy handed dose of olive oil and burnt crust. You rave about it for exactly the same reason all the other schmucks do, namely that you claim it as your own. You labor under the illusion that claiming an obscure place as your own elevates your level of taste in the eyes of others. The reality is that he makes good pizza, but far from great, he is well out of anyone's way, the pie is overpriced and he is rude to the clientele. Yay, congratulations, you are "in the know". We all bow to your insider knowledge.

Better pies in the area:

Motorino
Co.
Lombardi's
Keste
DeNino's (Staten Island)
Luzzi's
Rasberries (Elizabeth, New Jersey)
Lil Frankies
Patsy's
John's
Grimaldi's
Veloce
Lucali