Colosseo Pizzeria - A Long Island FavoriteIt was a Saturday night and we were ready for pizza. Do we stay local and enjoy a neighborhood favorite, or venture out to taste something new? The pizza lover's dilemma... We decided that, in the best interest of our site visitors (and to satisfy our own curiosity), it was time to sample more of what Long Island has to offer. So we went to the Newsday website (Newsday is the Long Island newspaper) and brought up their 2008 Best Pizza on Long Island page, scouting for a new treat. Of course, Umberto's in our hometown is #1, so it was time to try the #2 rated LI pie. Colosseo is about an hour away -- it is a long island -- and fortunately we were hungry but not ravenous, so we hit the Long Island Expressway and headed east.
Port Jefferson Station is a little bit off the main highways. As it turned out, it was well worth the trip! Colosseo was moderately crowded but in a few minutes we had a table and a menu. The ambiance was relaxed and friendly, the waiter was attentive (even though the place was full -- other restaurants please take note!). We decided to go for slices - the kind they call Neapolitan (it was really New York style), Sicilian, Marinara, Grandma, and White. It looked like a whole lot of pizza, coming out on individual paper plates -- even the waiter was surprised. Oh yes, we did order salad to keep all that pizza company in our stomachs.
It's our usual policy to sample the basic pizza, so the Neapolitan was first. The crust was extremely thin, and tended to flop at the pointy end of the slice, but the flavor was so good, we didn't care! It was firm enough up near the cornicione (you know, the end crust). There was a lot of cheese on this pizza, which is something we expect on New York Neapolitan, but it worked here: really good mozzarella, excellent flavored bread, a tasty sauce that reached just the right balance between sweet and tart. This was ace pizza. Cary likes the dough a little more well done, but even so, there was nothing to complain about here. The sicilian was another story. We'd read some foodie reviews of Colosseo and people seemed to love the Sicilian pizza here, but Cary was not thrilled. Cary: I guess I'm just not a big fan of Sicilian pizza. There are only two places that make Sicilian that I can really say I love: Umberto's and L & B Spumoni Gardens. Lil liked the square pizza at Colosseo more than I did. Too bready, too sweet, too cheesy. Lillian: Sicilian pie is always thick, but this dough had a light quality to it that I liked. On the other hand, while the sauce on it was tasty, there was so much mozzarella that the sauce was lost in the sea of cheese! It was a pleasure to try the marinara slice next, as it had no mozzarella at all. Pan-baked like both Sicilian and Grandma's, it had a thin crust, a perfect blend of crushed tomatoes and both fresh and dried spices, as well as a generous dusting of grated cheese. The whole effect was slightly tart and completely delicious.
The white pizza (mozzarella, ricotta, no sauce) was like an open calzone, which is not a bad thing. Since we were both so full at that point, we'll reserve judgment on the white slice until our next visit. And we will be back! Colosseo, 1049 Route 112, Port Jefferson Station, NY - (631)928-4972
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