NYC Pizza Crawl: Williamsburg + GP

WELCOME TO MY SUBSTACK!!! Let's start strong with one of my favorite crawls to go on in NYC.

HI! I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve been wanting to get this Substack off the ground for a hot minute now, so this is very exciting. I often get asked for guides or recommendations but have never had a place to organize my thoughts, so this is the perfect place to do that. A majority of my posts will be about NYC, but as I travel and dine my way through my 20s, I’ll be including all of that here, too. I actually took a blogging class in college so just some ~subtle foreshadowing~ perhaps? Trying to turn this into my food/life diary essentially.

Before we dive in (trying to waste no time here), I thought I’d share a bit about myself, just so you know a little about the person behind the writing;) Where do I start? I’m originally from South Jersey, from a small town right outside of Philadelphia. I attended Saint Joseph’s University, where I studied Food Marketing and Communications. While I’d say my love for dining and food developed during college, I think it actually started much earlier. My family has always appreciated dining out. Appetizers and dessert are mandatory with us!

Now, I should mention that one of my dad’s favorite restaurants is TGI Fridays (I can’t believe it either.), and most of the food I grew up with was American or Italian or Americanized Italian cuisine. However, I was never picky and spent a lot of time watching the Food Network as a child. Once I got to college, I began exploring cuisines I'd never been exposed to, from Indian food to Thai and Japanese food - it was like a gateway into a new world of food. At this point I started posting my dinners on Instagram, where my handle was eastcoastseats. From there, my friends encouraged me to make videos and post them on TikTok. I graduated college, got a job in NYC, and a few years later here we are!

OKAY LET’S TALK PIZZA!

Pizza is one thing NYC is known to do well. It’s also one of those things you have to consume when visiting. With so many shops in the city, it can be overwhelming to know which one to choose. One of my favorite activities is going on a pizza crawl because it allows you to try a variety of shops and decide for yourself which is the best. Since great pizza can be found across all five boroughs, it’s easiest to narrow down a crawl to a specific neighborhood or two. In Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Greenpoint are filled with fantastic pizza spots, and since they’re within walking distance of each other, they make for the perfect afternoon adventure. Depending on your group size, you can share a slice or two at each spot or split an entire pie!

Alright we are starting off the day strong in Williamsburg at:

STOP 1: BEST PIZZA

Best Pizza is the no frills slice shop from Frank Pinello. Everything is high quality here. The sauce is on the sweeter side and the crust is perfectly crispy. I have been to Best Pizza multiple times now and have never once waited more than a few minutes for my order. This may be controversial but their best pizza (lol) is the Grandma style. It’s genuinely one of my favorite pizzas in NYC. I truly don’t think there’s a better spot to start your crawl than at Best Pizza.

What to order: Grandma Style, Plain Cheese, White Slice

Address: 33 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Price: Slices $4-$5.25, Pies $27-$32

Overal Rating: 8.7/10

https://www.bestpizzawilliamsburg.com

STOP 2: ROSA’S PIZZA

For your second stop, you are going to walk four minutes down the road to Rosa’s. Rosa’s has a few locations in the city and has been around since 1975. Although my favorite location of theirs is in Maspeth, I do still think they do a solid job in Williamsburg. You can get a wide range of slices here so feel free to go crazy. I don’t think this is the best pizza on the crawl but that’s up to you to decide. I really enjoy their Margherita slice but don’t sleep on the Chicken Caesar slice. I would typically find it gimmicky, but at Rosa’s, it’s oddly delish!!

What to order: Plain Cheese, Chicken Caesar Slice, Margherita, Garlic Knots!!

Address: 374 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Price: Slices $3-4, Pies $19-$29

Overal Rating: 7/10

https://rosaspizzanyc.com

STOP 3: L’INDUSTRIE

At this point I think L’Industrie has made its way to everyone’s must try list. From Rosa’s it’s a 5 minute walk so make your way there next. There is ALWAYS a line but I do think it’s a necessary stop on your pizza crawl and the line moves somewhat fast (don’t quote me on this LOL). They have a lot of fun pizza flavors with my favorite being the Bacon Fig Jam slice, but I’m also a huge fan of their burrata slice! You can’t go wrong with anything here. As a bonus, if you end up there on a Wednesday afternoon you’ll be able to grab one of their sandwich specials which are always so fab. They have a West Village location too but the line there is terrifying so I would stick to the OG spot.

What to order: Burrata Slice, Fig Jam Bacon, Gelato (they have rotating favors that are amazing)

Address: 254 S 2nd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211

Price: Slices $5-7.50, Pies $29-$47

Overal Rating: 9/10

https://www.lindustriebk.com/#20

STOP 4: FINI PIZZA

Okay make your way 6 minutes down the road to Bedford Ave. From the same owners as the popular Brooklyn restaurants Misi and Lilia.. we have landed at Fini!!! Another spot where I would recommend getting something other than a plain slice. I lowkey think their plain slice is NOT it. The white slice with lemon though!!!! It’s delicious and so is the long hot pepper and shallot slice. Fini is also super involved in the community and has a 2nd location at Barclays Center!

What to order: White Slice, Long Hot Pepper and Shallot Slice

Address: 305 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11211

Price: Slices $4.75-5.50, Pies $29-$35

Overal Rating: 7.2/10

https://www.finipizza.com

STOP 5: JOE’S PIZZA

At this point you are more than halfway there!! WOOOO. Down the road from Fini you will find yourself at one of NYC’s most popular and well known pizza shops. For me this is never going to be my 1st or 2nd or 3rd or even 4th pick, BUT I think you need to try it to see for yourself. Everyone has their pizza preferences!

What to order: Cheese Slice

Address: 216 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Price: Slices $4-6, Pies $26-$34

Overal Rating: 5/10

https://www.joespizzanyc.com

STOP 6: VINNIE’S PIZZERIA

SOOO you are probably ready to wind down BUT if you have it in you I would suggest stopping at Vinnie’s on your way to Greenpoint. This is a place where you can get a fun or wacky slice that you most likely will not find elsewhere. If you are trying to save stomach space though - skip! I won’t be mad at you.

What to order: Any special they have going, Elote Slice

Address: 148 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Price: Slices $3-5, Pies $14-$31

Overal Rating: 6/10

https://www.vinniesbrooklyn.com/index.html

STOP 7: PAULIE GEES SLICE SHOP

I would think you are probably needing a minor pizza break at this point. So here is where we enter the short (but sweet) Greenpoint portion of the crawl. Take a 15-20 minute stroll up Bedford through McCarren Park and into Greenpoint until you find yourself on Franklin Street at Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop which is NOT to be confused with the restaurant a few streets over (same owner but a sit down spot). This is home to the original Hot Honey Pepperoni Pizza and it is amazing. The Hellboy is truly all you need but most of what Paul Gee’s produces is great.

What to order: The Hellboy, Freddy Prinze

Price: Slices $4-5.75, Pies $25-$30

Overal Rating: 9/10

Address: 110 Franklin Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222

STOP 8: CHRISSY’S PIZZA???? (Optional Stop)

At this point you’ve successfully powered through a ton of great pizza shops in the area, and if you’re doing it right, you’re pretty full by now. BUTTT with Chrissy’s new opening, it didn’t feel right to leave them off this list so here I am adding them. They only do full pies and the wait is going to be insane for a while but if you are dedicated I would say this is one spot that is not to be missed. The pizza has a super crispy crust with a sweet sauce and is delicious. It’s quite different from the other pizzas on this list. A full review is pending….

What to order: Regular Pie

Address: 142 Nassau Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Price: Pies $30-$36

Overal Rating: 9.5/10

https://www.instagram.com/chrissys.pizza/?hl=en

ANDDD scene.

If you want to bulk up your crawl even more I'd suggest adding Williamsburg Pizza, Ace’s, and Upside Pizza to your list. However, if you are content with the above then I would consider that to be a pretty successful day. There are a ton of great pizza spots in NYC so this is definitely not going to be the only neighborhood I write about.

Andddd that’s my first guide! I am really excited to get this Substack going and fill it up with all of my favorite things/places. Thanks for reading:)