Impellizeri's Great...Now Where's a Decent Thin Crust

In our quest for a decent pizza, we tried Impellizeri's, the round pie with sausage. At first, it looked like there was very little sausage, but then we realized that quite a bit was stirred into the sauce. It was thick and meaty. There was a hefty amount of cheese as well.

The best part was the crust. It had a wonderful, thick, well-baked crusty part on the bottom. The interior was less chewy than I like, but its light texture was a good contrast with the thick toppings and probably a better choice for this variety of pizza.

I sprinkled mine heavily with red pepper flakes since I like a spicy pie, but I think that the seasoning of the sauce would please most people. It certainly pleased my dinner companions.

I now know where to go for a thick crust pie, but the question remains...when will Louisville get a good NY style pizza?

I now know where to go for a thick crust pie, but the question remains...when will Louisville get a good NY style pizza?

have you tried Luigi's? they do ny style pizza. if you arent familiar with it, it's worth checking out. it's located on main, across the street from the science center. i tried it a couple weeks back for the first time and thought it was good...though i must admit i've never been to nyc so im no expert on that style of pie.

Windy City, formerly Queenies. I think it's on 4th and Winkler. Great thin crust.

I also like Spinelli's.

[Robin Garr]

when will Louisville get a good NY style pizza?

In addition to Luigi's and Spinelli's, try Fat Tony's in Plainview (not to be confused with Fat Jimmy's, which is a Louisville-style pie) and the new Hero's New York on the Town Square in Jeffersontown.

Also, the pizzas at Primo - which is not a pizzeria but an upscale Italian restaurant with a wood-burning pizza oven - are true thin Neapolitan style, which was basically the ancestor of NYC pizza.

Eliza, I totally agree with your review. It's just my opinion, but I like Impellizeri's better than any of the other places mentioned. That's not to say they're bad, they aren't. I just like Impellizeri's better.

[Robin Garr]

Eliza, I totally agree with your review. It's just my opinion, but I like Impellizeri's better than any of the other places mentioned. That's not to say they're bad, they aren't. I just like Impellizeri's better.

I didn't see anybody (before you) comparing them in terms of which was "better." She asked about NYC-style pizza. Impellizzeri doesn't make NYC-style pizza.

Eliza, have you tried Clifton's on Frankfort? They make a very good thin crust pizza. It's not quite the New York style I grew up with but it's very good. They've got quite a pleasant atmosphere and sometimes have live music. Give it a try and see what you think.

You can also check out Robin's reviews elsewhere in Louisville HotBytes to see what he thought of Clifton's

While I love the Chicago style pies at Windy City, I just cxan't vouch for the thin crust pizza there. I tried it twice and both times it was sort of undercooked and lackluster. Thin crust pizza needs to have that blistered and slightly charred bottom to make it crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

First Eliza went to Tony's. There are some differences between Tony's and Benny's. Benny had a thin crust pizza with less toppings. He had called it NY style before, but it wasn't real NY style. The menu at the new store will just say "Thin". Less dough and lighter toppings and the price will reflect that.

[Robin Garr]

First Eliza went to Tony's. There are some differences between Tony's and Benny's. Benny had a thin crust pizza with less toppings.

I'm puzzled to hear this, Wes. Are you talking about Benny's tenure at the old Bardstown Road location or his very short-lived venture in Lyndon? In either case, it seemed to me that both he and Tony did an excellent job of continuing in their father's tradition of thin-crust, piled-high pizza that defined the "Louisville style." But since they both used their dad's recipe and learned to make pizza from him, as I understand it, it seemed to me that the results were almost indistinguishable.

It's interesting to know that Benny plans something different in the new location, but I wonder if folks who come in expecting a classic Impellizzeri pie are going to be surprised.

When is he opening, by the way? Or is he already? (You can tell I haven't been past the shop in the last week or two.)

I just got back from a wedding at the Jersey Shore and we had pizza twice during the course of the weekend. The first one wasn't great for NJ/NYC, but still delicious compared to most pies available here, and the second was amazing to me, but reportedly still not the best available in Stone Harbor. If only I could fly in a Jersey pizza anytime I wanted... Guess I'll have to get rich and buy that private jet I've always wanted

The opening will be end of May, first of June. No hard date, I really hate to set dates and then miss it. We'll open when we are ready. Benny had what he called NY style on the Bardstown road menu, but most people never noticed it. No changes to any recipes! I would never touch those. Benny has complete control over the kitchen. We will play it up alittle more for those who want a lighter pizza but the same great taste. But all of the original pies will remain the same. Benny's father was in the meat business, he was never in the pizza biz. Urban legend?

Bardstown Rd Impellizzeri's was started by Benny in his dad's meat shop. Butcher shop by day, pizza restaurant by night.

Wouldn't be very smart to go into business with a "legend" and then change the recipes!

Some early and frequent visitors to the Bardstown road store.
A young boy named Michael Wickliff and John Schnatter who would always ask Benny to critiqe John's pizzas.

Holly,

I have not yet tried this, but it's probably the best way you'll get an authentic NYC/NJ pizza around here:

https://www.flyingpizzas.com/pizzamenu. ... a97d0ad8e0

That doesn't look like real NYC pizza to me. The cheese is all wrong.