When the Moon Hit My Eyes at Lucali's

I find one of the most challenging decisions in NYC is where to dine. On one hand you have all of these amazing high-end restaurants with world-renown chefs. On the other hand, you have amazing cheap ethnic food. And then there is the pizza. So my recent trip up there involved some decision making. Based on finances and flexibility and my sister’s wonderful post a month ago, we decided on pizza. I suggested the “old man” but she was concerned about the wait. She instead pointed me to Lucali’s. While I may never know taste the wonderful craft of the Old Man, I can say that I had a wonderful experience and a magical pizza at Lucali’s.




















I often don’t discuss service when talking about a restaurant unless there is something out of the ordinary. The staff at Lucali’s was especially cool to us that night. We had a really long, frustrating drive from RVA and it was pushing 9 PM when we were finally on the George Washington Bridge heading into Brooklyn. Anyway, they let you call in and place your name on the wait list. So we called while on the bridge and they actually had seating at the moment. We left no name and said that we would see them in a few minutes. 15 minutes later, there were people waiting, but we had a table. They saved it for us.


The restaurant itself is very similar to many of the fan restaurants here in RVA, classic row house, pressed tin ceilings, glass store-front. The one big difference was that the tables only made up half of the room (maybe 15 at the most) and there was no bar. The entire back-half of the restaurant was an open kitchen with a brick-oven. The room had very dim lighting that was accentuated by the small candles on the table. The combination of the lighting and the lively conversations surrounding us made for a very surreal experience.




















The menu at Lucali’s is very simple. You can have pizza and you can have a calzone. There are a handful of toppings but those might change on a daily basis. There are also a handful of bottled soda pops. The restaurant is BYOB, and gee I wish there were some BYOB places here in RVA.




















We ordered a pepperoni pie and a mushroom pie. They served us the pies one at a time. I am not sure if this was due to the size limitation of the table or the timing in the kitchen, I just remember liking that they did it. So yes, the pizza was wonderful. The crust was delightfully light, airy and crisp. There was a light char on it, but it provided a nice flavor. The sauce was simple and elegant. The tomatoes were bright and cheery and there was no overwhelming salt or sugar flavor. The cheese seemed to be a mixture of fresh and shredded mozzarella. And while the toppings provided the accents to the pizzas, they didn’t dominate it the way they often do. Between the four of us there, we finished off the 2 pies (four slices each) and each one of us left content but not stuffed. It was that light.




















The price on the pies was a bit steep. Each one was $24 plus toppings, but I didn’t feel that it outweighed the experience. As I am writing this, I just want to get back there.


I want to give special thanks to the staff at the Paupered Chef. Mrs. Marinara would not let me take any photos due to the lighting. She thought it would be too obvious. Anyway, the Paupered Chef was gracious enough to let me borrow their images. Please check out their review of Lucali’s when you get a chance.