This historical restaurant dates back to 1934 when it was known as Albanese’s. Joe La Manda took over in 1947 and eventually sold the joint in 1967 to new owners, keeping the name of this brick oven, cash only, bar & pizzeria. In old school fashion, they’re closed on Mondays & Tuesdays; and they don’t open until 4pm Wednesday through Sunday. The OneBite community gives this place a collective 8.1, while Portnoy scored it a damning 5.9, driving my expectations all over the map going into the review. When I first opened the box, I was overcome with dread. Aesthetically, this pie looks like an abomination scoring between a 1 & 2, pale & sloshing with an oily discharge, like a crying ghost, abysmally unappetizing. The box was also incredibly heavy, likely from the 7 lbs of mozzarella, smothering the entire pie like a blanket and sweating all over itself. While it may look like grease, it’s actually moisture from the extremely thick and massive amount of mootz, pouring sweat like Tony Soprano walking up 12 flights of stairs on a 90-degree day. The moisture is pooled and rolling around the surface, cascading and gushing down each slice. The dough is soft, floppy and soggy, not nearly firm or crispy enough to handle the hefty weight of the cheese, despite the undercarriage caked in flour that’s supposed to prevent moisture buildup. And even though the mozzarella is creamy and flavorful, it just swallows up the entire pie. Entirely too much cheese suffocating the pizza; it needs to be dialed back significantly. The crust is the only salvageable part of the dough, in both texture and taste. As if the excess mozzarella mayhem wasn’t enough, the sauce is completely MIA…not an ounce on the pie. All I can see and taste is flimsy dough and highly moisturized mootz. This is un-sauced, tomato-less, pale white pizza. I was so full from just one slice, it had felt as if someone melted a block of mozzarella and poured it down my throat. Good pizza often lives and dies by the quality & quantity of the sauce; so this was massively disappointing. I have nothing but respect for the history of this establishment; but the pizza here is a poorly constructed atrocity. I’m not sure who is giving out these ludicrously high scores; but Portnoy’s assessment is accurate.
