Columbia Inn

I have only two criticisms of Dave Portnoy’s pizza scoring skills. The first is that, when scoring, he makes no distinctions between (a.) Naples style wood fired oven pizza (see: Una Pizza Napoletana); (b.) New York Style Neapolitan deck pie (see: Johnny’s Pizza of Mt. Vernon); or (c.) a classic bar pie (see: Columbia Inn Restaurant. Then the second is the fact that he can be “politically” motivated by edginess and gamesmanship. Here’s my simple review of the bar pie at The Columbia Inn. The atmosphere is holiday like and festive. The ownership is warm and hospitable. Many thanks to Tony and the staff. The service is excellent. Now on to the pizza. A lot of bar pie locations par bake their shells and it’s easy to tell, regardless of whether you think your local bar pie tavern makes the best. The Columbia Inn rolls out fresh dough for their crust and there is no par shell baking. I would have preferred a touch more sauce or the style of prep similar to Johnny’s but overall, having had two pies, one plain and one pepperoni, and seeing the other great creations around the room, this bar pie is the best I’ve ever eaten and handily beats Eddie’s of New Hyde Park. My friend Kevin was so full and unable to eat another slice, somehow picked up one more. Nine point one on the ratings scale for a classic freshly made bar pie.