Grimaldi's in
Garden City, Long Island
We were going to try the new Grimaldi’s in Douglaston, Queens, but when I searched the GPS for Grimaldi’s Pizza, it showed one on Franklin Avenue in Garden City, LI, only two miles from where we were! We weren’t even sure until we got there if this Grimaldi’s was an “authentic” coal-fired brick-oven Grimaldi’s. It was.First of all, I have to admit that we hadn’t yet tried any other Grimaldi’s, not even the fabled mothership under the Brooklyn Bridge, so we knew going in that the Garden City Grimaldi’s was going to have to stand or fall on its own. Before we continue, a quick reminder of where Grimaldi’s fits into the history of New York pizza: In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi sells the first pizzas in America. Patsy Lancieri probably learns the art of making pizza from Lombardi. In 1931, Lancieri opens Patsy’s Pizzeria, where he trains his nephew, Patsy Grimaldi. Grimaldi makes his first pie in 1941 at the age of 10. Grimaldi opens Patsy’s (later changed to Grimaldi’s) in Brooklyn, under the Brooklyn Bridge. This is authentic NY pizza. The Garden City place is the third Grimaldi’s, after Brooklyn and Hoboken. Nice place. A little high falutin’, but in Garden City, it has to be. They make up for it with a single-sheet paper menu. I did my usual check to make sure there was a picture of Sinatra somewhere on the wall (even Tomatoes Apizza in Farmington Hills, MI has one). I counted five, including Frank’s youthful Hoboken mug shot.
Note: having five pictures of Sinatra almost qualifies as overkill, but somehow it works at Grimaldi's. Lil and I went for the usual: a large pie, no extra toppings. Grimaldi’s doesn’t make a Sicilian pizza and they don’t sell slices. We also got a salad so we could make the argument that we were having a healthy dinner. As far as I’m concerned, pizza is perfect nutrition, containing all three of the basic food groups. But I digress. Grimaldi’s in Garden City makes a very good pizza. Not outstanding, at least not on the first visit, but good. The bread actually seemed to grow tastier as we ate. The crust was very thin and a little too wet in the middle. There’s a fine line between sagging and soggy, and the pizza we ate was just over the line. The tomatoes were sweet and tasty. The fresh mozzarella was… well, as Lillian put it, “What’s with the chewy cheese?” It was indeed chewy; fresh mutz often is, but it's not always this noticeable. The taste was fine, but the texture was unusual. Overall, the pizza was satisfying and yes, we finished it. We will return and see if it’s better on another night, but we won’t be making a special trip. We can’t give it the most enthusiastic review, but I’d say if you’re shopping Roosevelt Field or visiting the courthouses of Mineola, a trip to this Grimaldi’s is worthwhile and certainly better than most pizza in the immediate area. It’s also one of only four coal ovens on Long Island. Grimaldi's Pizzeria, 980 Franklin Ave., Garden City, NY 11530, (516) 294-6565
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