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Entries in Lombardi's (1)

Monday
May312010

Monday, May 31st, 2010—Bar 141

Day 141—Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Lombardi's

Hey, what’s that sound? Ding, ding, ding, it’s the PayPal donation board going off. And this person was cool enough to not even want her identity known. Here’s her stated purpose from the PayPal receipt: “An ANONYMOUS donation just from a fan of the site.” Thank you very much anonymous donor, I know who you are and appreciate you donating and following the crawl. Mucho thanks to you and yours.

I got a nice mention in a blog which reviews bars in Peoria, Illinois. It’s a fun blog and I get a kick out of reading about bars from my home town. Check it out here: Peoria Bar Review.

Okay, last night you met Tim and Colleen Carey who are in NYC from my home town of Peoria, Illinois celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary
. I also told you that Tim and his family own and operate Butch’s Pizza. It’s truly great pizza (order one, they deliver nationwide), so of course I had to take them to New York City’s legendary Lombardi’s pizza. Lombardi’s is not only the oldest pizzeria, it’s the first pizza parlor that was put up in all of the United States. And they’re still on the same block they started at. It’s known for its long lines to get a table and the lines are there for a good reason. It’s the best pizza in New York City. So let’s see if Lombardi’s impresses Tim and Colleen, veterans of the pizza biz.

Here we are in Union Square Park. The ice tea bottles are filled with beer so we can drink in the park. Take that Mayor Bloomie!

This guy had attracted a big crowd so we stopped to watch.

He jumped through the hoop and eventually over the row of people he had assembled. I was so impressed I was the first to give him a dollar donation.

This guy has a stand where you can go and just speak your mind to him. We had a nice conversation and I found out he's a photographer. Check out his website and photos here: www.jeffprant.com.

Okay, time for dinner, we're taking the local 6 train to Spring St.

And here it is!

And whoosh! Here we are at Lombardi's.

And of course there's a long line and I was told we'd have an hour wait for a table.

Wow, look at the crowd of pizza eaters on a Sunday night.

Lucky for me though, we've got an hour wait and there's a full bar, so I can do the crawl here before dinner!

And bartender Ricky was more than happy to be part of the crawl. Here he is with Tim.

Drinks are served and the pre-dinner crawl has begun.

Once again I leave Tim and Colleen at the bar to get a few photos for the bar crawl.

Here's Barry and Lara who were enjoying drinks while waiting at the bar. Seconds after I took this photo, their name was called and they got seated.

Abigail and Jillian came all the way from Vancouver, Canada to have one of Lombardi's pies.

Lombardi's jackets can be had at the bar.

Steve and Erin were at the end of the bar waiting for their table. At the last minute, Ricky jumped up to get in on the picture.

Meanwhile back at our spot at the bar, Tim and Colleen were checking out the menu. And then our name was called! It's table time!

Julia was our cute waitress and she gave us great and friendly service.

We had salad, some breadsticks and sauce and then the main event showed up. Check out this pizza, have you ever seen one so beautiful?

Tim and Colleen give the pie a thumbs up.

And so do I, it was well worth the hour wait. This is the best pizza in the world. The second best is Butch's, of course.

Here's the last picked at slice that we couldn't finish. Anybody out there want it? Goodnight everybody!

Review
At Lombardi’s you can get a slice of history as well as one of the best slices of pizza in the world. The pizzeria was founded in 1905 and is known for being the first pizzeria in not only New York, but in America as well. Gennaro Lombardi is the man who started the pizza phenomenon in the U.S. They’re a block down from where they were originally located, but the place is old school pizzeria with red-checkered tablecloths adorning the tables that you usually have to wait 45 minutes to an hour to sit at. The good news is that they now have a full bar that you can have a beer or three as you wait. The bar doesn’t have any stools, but it’s got a good variety of bottled and draft beers and friendly and fun bartenders. The crowd is a mix of anxious tourists and locals all waiting to hear their name called so they can sit down and tuck into the legendary pies that are being cooked in the coal ovens.

Once you finally get to sit at a table and order your pie, you’ll be surprised by the fast and friendly service at Lombardi’s. The house salad is very tasty as are the breadsticks and marinara dipping sauce, but the real prize is the pizza that Lombardi’s is known for. The coal ovens give the crust a smoky flavor that goes well with the somewhat sweet tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese. You have your choice of toppings ranging from fresh mushrooms, onions, meatballs, red peppers and I highly suggest you try the pepperoni. They also have a clam pizza, a white pizza and personal calzones.

There’s always a wait for a table when you come here, but as you take a bite of your first slice you’ll see why. It’s worth the wait, trust me. And Happy Memorial Day!


Lombardi's
32 Spring St. (Near Mott St.)
212-941-7994