Welcome!

For my senior initiative in 2011, I went around all five boroughs of New York City to find the best pizza. After testing each venue, I updated the blog with my review of the slice and some photos of the pizzeria. I already visited a huge list of places, but if you have any recommendations, don't hesitate to e-mail me at dso35@cornell.edu

Thanks for visiting the blog and giving me your support. Please comment on the reviews, to do so, click on the title of a post and scroll to the bottom. Be sure to come back for more updates!

-Daniel Ortega

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Patsy's Takeout Pizza

Patsy's is arguably the most famous pizzeria in Harlem. There are two separate places where pizza is sold: one in a restaurant and one in a small space for take-out pizza. I trekked my way to the take-out Patsy's to try some of their famed pizza. Many say Patsy's is so great because it is cheap and affordable (slices are only $1.75).

*****NOTE: Pasty's Take-out is different from Patsy's Pizzeria Restaurant. I will be visiting the restaurant soon and giving a completely different review with its own grade *****


View Larger Map


Pizza Overall Grade:  C-

Cheese: 3
Sauce: 3
Bread/Crust: 1
Presentation: 1
Pizzeria: 2
Service: 3

I have to say, I was completely surprised by my visit to Patsy's Take-out. The first thing that struck me was the slice of pizza itself. Despite being cheap at a mere $1.75, the slice was smaller than a normal slice of pizza. Also, the pizza crust was burnt black on one corner, along with some patchy spots of missing cheese. The pizza itself was not too bad, however, I could not get over how burnt the crust was. The pizzeria itself was not spacious enough for even three people to eat inside, since there was a randomly placed vending machine inside the small venue. The service was pretty good, my food was fresh and made in a fair amount of time.

Another important thing I noticed was that the Department of Health Grade was missing. Either the pizzeria did not post it up on the front window, which is illegal, or they did not receive a grade yet. I checked online and saw that they had 11 violation points, which corresponds to an A (More than 28 points requires the venue to be shut down).

I gave Patsy's a C- because my experience was horrible. Not only did the pizza look bad, but it was not as good as I expected. I may have had the wrong pie or visited the wrong day, but what happened is now set in stone.

*****NOTE: Pasty's Take-out is different from Patsy's Pizzeria Restaurant. I will be visiting the restaurant soon and giving a completely different review with its own grade *****

The Patsy's Take-out pizzeria I visited is located on 2287 1st Avenue (Between 117th and 118th Streets).
Phone: 212-534-9783
No Delivery, Take-out
Cost of Slice: $1.75
Dept. of Health Grade: N/A (8 violation points, corresponding to an A)

4 comments:

  1. David Rampersad Jr.May 11, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    I am absolutely appalled with this review of Patsy's. I've had their pizza before, and suffice to say, it was some of the best pizza I've had in my life. It is majestic in it's simplicity, and extraordinary in it's humility. The pizza is legendary, and you should feel horrible for having slandered it's name. You, Daniel Ortega, and I have very different opinions on Patsy's amazing pizza. Good day sir.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Reminder: This is the take-out pizza. Patsy's is not famous for the take-out pizza, but rather the restaurant pizza. I will review that Patsy's soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yeah, it's not that you got takeout, it's that you got a slice from a pie that's been sitting around for a while, you need to order a whole pie, which will be made fresh and then you'll be good. Also (and I don't want to tell you this because it might discourage you from going to get a fresh pie) but the takeout place is where they get all of their pies for the restaurant. It all comes down to freshness. They have a FREAKING COAL OVEN!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've had Patsy's take-out and have dined in, as well. Their pizza is delicious! I was struck watching people from the neighborhood ordering their slices to go. Do they know that they're ordering from such an historic venue? I wish this were my neighborhood pizzeria!

    ReplyDelete