The Best Place to Eat a Slice of Pizza, Probably in the World

In 2022, Frank Tuttolomondo bet his life savings on Mama’s Too. His popular pizzeria had been open on the Upper West Side for five years, and although it had received several recognitions, including a coveted review in the New York Times, many of its customers lived further downtown. So, when a space opened up on a prominent street in the West Village, he signed the lease.

Then, something funny happened. Tuttolomondo was having dinner with a friend at L’Industrie, another popular slice shop, when the owner, Massimo Laveglia, approached him with some news: L’Industrie was expanding. Where exactly? A block away from Mama’s Too. Neither owner knew the other was opening. It’s probably a good thing: Had they known, one of the best blocks for pizza never would have happened.

The owners have been racing to open for the last year. As of this month, they’re both up and running. L’Industrie opened last fall at 104 Christopher Street, near Bleecker Street. Mama’s Too arrived this month at 325 Bleecker Street, near Christopher Street. The slice shops are located roughly 250 feet apart, so that if you stand on the northeast corner of their shared intersection, you can see inside both buildings.

From that corner, it’s easy to see that the slice shops have a lot in common. “We’re pretty similar,” says Tuttolomondo. “We both do gelato. We both do sandwiches.” They both take videos the same way, too. It wasn’t an issue when they were in different parts of the city. Will it be now that they’re on the same block? “There is nothing to worry about,” Laveglia says. “People want to try both pizzas.”

The businesses join an established pizza scene, including the original Joe’s Pizza and John’s of Bleecker Street, but the owners think they can stand out. They belong to a newer class of pizza makers focused on better ingredients. Their crusts are naturally leavened, and the tomato sauce is tart, not sweet. Of course, that means they’re more expensive than at Joe’s, but unless it’s 3 a.m., I find them to be much better.

L’Industrie

What to order: Plain slice ($4), slice with burrata ($5.50)

Massimo Laveglia opened L’Industrie in Williamsburg in 2017. He knew nothing about pizza at the time — “I couldn’t barely turn on the ovens,” he says — but he learned quick. His crunchy, charred slices are now regarded as some of the best in the city.

Laveglia brought L’Industrie to the West Village last fall, and as far as I can tell, he’s had a line out the door ever since. The new shop has indoor tables and a standing counter, but many people hover with their slices out front and spill burrata onto the sidewalk. Like at the original location in Williamsburg, there are sandwiches, pastries, and soft serve gelato.

After several visits, I feel confident saying the pizza here is better than the original. For one, the line moves quicker, but also the new place has room for twice as many cooks in the kitchen: They tend to pizzas like they’re working the line of a Michelin-starred restaurant. One spoons burrata, another grates Parmesan.

Each time I’ve visited the new shop, my slices were a little overcooked — a good thing if you like crisp pizza — but because they’re made like sourdough, they still have some chew and are able to fold without cracking. As for the “undercarriage,” the underside of the pizza whose Platonic ideal is endlessly debated: It’s speckled with char marks like the pelt of a giraffe.

Mama’s Too

What to order: House slice ($4.75), square slice with pepperoni ($6.50)

Frank Tuttolomondo comes from a pizza-making family. For decades, his parents ran the Upper West Side pizzeria, Mama’s, but he wanted to serve a different kind of slice, one that was “more about the dough,” he says. He opened a small slice shop around the corner in 2017, and outgrew the space overnight.

Mama’s Too opened in the West Village earlier this month to bring the pizza closer to its fans downtown. The slice shop has enough electric ovens to power an apartment building and, for the first time, there’s indoor seating. The sandwich specials, which used to be offered once a week, are now available every day.

The pizzeria is known for its square slices. They’re displayed on trays by the register in flavors like cacio e pepe and pear with gorgonzola cheese. As unusual as they might sound, I’ve yet to find one that I didn’t like. The slices are cooked in olive oil until they’re tender in the middle and basically fried on the bottom. Pick one at random, and you’ll almost certainly be satisfied.

My favorite is the house slice — a triangle, not a square — which Tuttolomondo says is inspired by the legendary pizzeria Di Fara. It looks and tastes almost identical to the one at L’Industrie, except for two things: the crust is thicker — more chew, less crunch — and the toppings are layered in reverse: cheese first, then sauce. The first thing you taste is tomatoes.

Conclusion

Mama’s Too and L’Industrie are at the top of this city’s slice scene, and having them so close makes this one of the best blocks for New York pizza, probably in the world. The triangular slices at the two pizzerias are neck and neck, to the point that I had to eat them back to back more than once to notice a difference. If I had to choose: I prefer L’Industrie by a hair because of its charred, crunchy crust.

You might disagree, and in at least one regard, Mama’s Too is supreme. The slice shop offers a range of inventive slices, not just a perfect plain, and no matter how many people I dine with, one visit is never enough. Each time I’m there, I find myself planning for the next time, which is always sooner than I think.