🤴🏻KING OF QUEENS ALERT👸🏻 Known as the “Don of Dough,” Andrew Bellucci was an iconic visionary in the pizza game, some might say a “pizza genius.” After closing its doors in the late 1980s, Bellucci revived Lombardi’s in the 90s, a more than 100-year-old pizza institution in Manhattan. In February of 2020, he opened a slice shop in Astoria, Queens but walked away after a falling out with a co-owner over quality of ingredients in 2021. Shortly after, Bellucci partnered with Matthew Katakis, opening Andrew Bellucci’s Pizzeria at its current location, just down the block from the reviled Bellucci’s. Sadly, Andrew passed away from a heart attack in 2023 but through his vision & dream, he left behind a veritable pizza legacy. He referred to his pies as “traditional pizza, not old fashioned.” With a balance of old school recipes & modern techniques, this is classic New York style, thick & filling football pizza. The attention & care pertaining to the dough is clearly evident, with a firm foundation, a dueling crispy & soft texture, to go along with outstanding crunch in the remarkably charred crust. Smokey & delicious, the undercarriage has equally magnificent char. The balance of taste & texture in the dough is the basis for this entire pizza; the quality is spectacular. A thick & heavy shredded mozzarella blend, the cheese is as thick, if not thicker than the dough. Weighty & somewhat cumbersome, the mozz also has a rather salty flavor, possibly generated from the manageable excess oil. Similarly salty & slightly subdued, the sauce is more savory than sweet. Perhaps the saltiness from the grease is to blame; but the sauce still has plenty of pizzazz, with sensational spice & seasoning, it’s zesty & zingy, though not nearly as sweet & tangy as I had anticipated. While the sauce & dough work in perfect harmony, the heavy volume of cheese creates a small imbalance with the other ingredients. The dough & sauce are too fantastic to let the cheese dominate this pie. Dial back the mozz a smidge & maybe slightly sweeten the sauce to elevate this pizza into elite territory. Overall, the exceptional dough is what drives this pie, placing it among some of the best pizzas in Queens & NYC. The taste & texture of the dough carries this pizza into the travel-worthy category. Andrew Bellucci left behind a true pizza legacy; make sure you find time to come pay your respects.
