Lucali

Decided to step out of my house today during the quarantine/lockdown in NYC. Thankfully Lucali was open for takeout only today from 1-4. Typically, Lucali has a line that wraps around the block. Today, I got there about 5 minutes before they opened and only a handful of people gathered (but maintained appropriate social distancing protocol!). They took my order of 2 cheese pies and they were ready in about 10 minutes. First one's out of the oven! I immediately returned to my car and dug right in. I was surprised how light the pies were (in a good way). The pizza was molten hot lava at that point. Even still, the pizza looked too amazing to wait. I could immediately taste how fresh the ingredients were. I ate a slice and then drove back home to Queens. When I got home, the pizza wasn't super hot anymore. The cheese and sauce settled a bit. I think it actually tasted better once everything cools down some. The big star here is the crust. There is a bit of char and its perfectly crispy. When I ate the pizza right out of the oven there was a lot of soupiness and flop, but once it settled it was perfect. Really love the sharpness of the parm and freshness of the basil. Easily 9+ The situation the world is in right now is anything but perfect. But I'm really happy I had the opportunity to try Lucali and also support a small business. If you have the chance, check it out. It lives up to the hype.