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Spring Street pizzeria nears century mark
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The mozzarella layered onto the 14-inch pizzas at Lombardi's is whiter than the grated cheese commonly piled onto many New York slices, a sign of its purity and freshness. The sauce is thicker and sweeter than other pies' -- a result, perhaps, of using tomatoes grown in the sweet soil of San Marzano, Italy. The fresh, fragrant basil lingers in the nose with each bite into the light, crusty dough, drawing out the mélange of flavors from each topping -- that is, if you even need any.
Sit down for a slice at Lombardi's, located at 32 Spring Street in Little Italy, and you might gain new appreciation for the all-American pizza. Founded in 1905 by native Italian Gennaro Lombardi, the shop was originally located at 53½ Spring Street; it began as a grocery store, but its proprietor soon began to sell bread baked with tomato sauce on top. When he started to add mozzarella and other toppings, he was not only establishing the first licensed U.S. pizzeria, but also setting high expectations for the perfect slice.
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| John Brescio shows off coal-fired oven |
As restaurateur and pizza aficionado Evelyne Slomon noted in The Pizza Book, "The original Lombardi's formula was the standard from which all New York-style pizza has evolved." The quote, displayed proudly on Lombardi's menus, sums up the legacy that owner John Brescio seeks to live up to.
"It's a good name that carries a lot of weight and respect," says Brescio. "But if the pizza we make here today wasn't high quality, we wouldn't be in business."
Brescio grew up in Little Italy, spending time with his close friend Gennaro "Gerry" Lombardi, grandson of the restaurant's founder. The two boys spent countless hours in the pizzeria, watching customers come and go, tossing the dough like baseballs, and inadvertently learning how to create great pizza and run the business. As Brescio got older, he remained friends with the Lombardi family, even when the restaurant's business began to suffer in the mid-1980s, and eventually closed its doors in 1986.
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| Pizzeria moved up the street when it reopened in 1994 |
A few years later, in 1994, Brescio, his wife, Joan, and Gerry (who is now retired) reopened the pizzeria at its present location, just a few blocks down the street from the original Lombardi's. Brescio says they selected the site because it had a coal-fired oven from the same era as the original restaurant's.
"When we found this place, we knew it was right because of the oven," explains Brescio. "But the oven was plastered over and the interior was completely caved in. So we repaired it and brought the original oven doors in from the 53 Spring location, and really haven't changed a thing from the way the pizza was done almost a century ago. It might be one of the only things about this neighborhood that hasn't changed."
The legendary brick oven is one of only a few left in New York City heated by coal; there likely isn't another south of Houston Street. While most pizzerias cook and reheat their pies in 500- to 700-degree gas ovens, Lombardi's hits a standard temperature of 900 degrees. The extreme heat, typical of bread-baking rather than pizza-making, reduces cooking time for a pie to as little as three-and-a-half minutes, and burns the crust a delicate black, making for a crispy outer shell.
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| At 900 degrees, oven is hotter than most |
The oven is so hot, in fact, that Brescio has to close the pizzeria for one or two days each year just to perform oven maintenance -- making sure the brick walls are holding in and evenly distributing heat. "It's expensive and time-consuming to have this oven," he says. "The coals burn out overnight, so every day we have someone come in to clean out the ashes and fire up new coals so they hit 900 degrees in time for the lunch orders. But if the oven's not hot enough, the pizza's just not right."
The ingredients and cooking methods that go into a Lombardi's pizza are obviously doing the trick, since the restaurant has appeared in scores of print and broadcast media, including The New York Times, the Food Network, Gourmet, New York magazine, Time Out New York, Condé Nast Traveler, and many more. It is regularly rated among the best pizzas in New York City (if not the very best), and attracts a steady stream of pizza lovers, especially on weekend nights.
Brescio walks a visitor through the modest restaurant space, pointing out framed wall photos from the early years as well as shots of himself with famous patrons. He says his favorite regular customer is Jack Nicholson, who swings by a few times a year when he's in town for film shoots or Lakers games.
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| Accolades keep coming from all quarters |
As Brescio talks about the photos, customers Bill and Barb Mandernack of Chicago are savoring a meatball and mushroom pie. They stopped Brescio to shower him and his pizza with praise.
"We love pizza, and we have it all the time in Chicago, but this is truly the best," says Bill. "The crust is fabulous, the basil is incredible, the cheese is so soft and flavorful -- we just can't say enough about it."
"Thank you," says Brescio. "That's very kind of you to say. You made my day."
"Well," comes the reply, "you made mine."
Lombardi's, 32 Spring Street; (212) 941-7994. Open Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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