The pepperoni pie at Mama’s Too.
The New York Times often criticizes the Upper West Side as a food desert. But the newspaper’s top reviewer struggled through the hot dry sand of the local food scene to find a pizzeria that he thinks is part of a “reawakening” of New York’s pizza scene.
Mama’s Too Pizzeria at 2750 Broadway between 105th and 106th Street opened late last year. We’ve been hearing lots of good things since. The secret to the pizza comes in how owner Frank Tuttolomondo lays down the cheese and sauce, according to Times reviewer Pete Wells.
“As they do at Totonno’s and some other brick-oven pizzerias, Mr. Tuttolomondo lays the cheese down before the sauce. Rather than drippy, milky discs of fresh mozzarella, though, he covers the raw dough (after priming it with olive oil) in shreds of a slice-friendly variety that is known in the trade as low-moisture mozzarella and that the rest of us call pizza cheese. Over this, he ladles a few blots of tomato pulp. This helps the crust to bake through without getting soggy, keeps the cheese from sliding off the crust, and most of all lets you taste the tomatoes, which are very good. You could, I suppose, think of the house slice as a white pizza with tomato-sauce topping.”
After it comes out of the oven, he sprinkles basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano onto the pie. The combination is so good, Wells says he “ripped into it like a pack of hyenas.” He likes the pepperoni slice in particular.
“Those bloodhounds who follow the city’s melted-mozzarella trail will recognize that Mama’s Too is part of a great reawakening of slice culture,” he writes.
Read the whole review here. And yes, it made us hungry too.
NYT’s !The secret is now out . They actually have been open since mid-2017. Yummy
WSR had it first!
UWSHebrew and I have been recommending Mama’s Too since it opened.
It is the only thing we seem to agree on.
Maybe pizza is the secret to world peace.
I can definitely get on board with this. You might be on to something here.:)
So deserved!!! Mama Too’s is AWESOME!!
The food desert is in the 70’s and 80’s where I unfortunately live . All the great places are opening and/or moving above 90th St to escape exorbitant rents
Sounds like Miranda needs to get out and explore the neighborhood a bit more.
Really? Could you name some great restaurants above 90th.
Pizza, cakes and hamburgers seem to be all that exists here these days!
While I’m not a huge fan of dining in the neighborhood, you’ve got:
80s:
Mermaid Inn
Sirinetta
Han Dynasty
Celeste
Jin Ramen
Gazala’s
Bustan
Cibo e Vino
90s (none of these are destinations)
Gennaros
Boru Boru
Pio Pio
Buceo
100s
Xian Famous Foods
108 Hot Pot
Mamas Too
Koko Wings
Arco
Osteria 106
Marlow Bistro
Agreed. I think there are pretty sad options up here. I’m thinking of launching an internet campaign to get Westville to take over the Macchina/Gato Nero spot. That would really jazz up the neighborhood.
Totally agree that we need Westville on the UWS!
There are plenty of perfectly fine restaurants in the 70s and 80s. This is a residential neighborhood, and most of the restaurants cater to that concept. There aren’t a lot of “destination restaurants” here but I am OK with that.
the best pizza on the uws comes out of my oven.
Mama’s Too! is what I call “beyond pizza”. This may sound dramatic, but their “house slice” is a work of art. It is perfection. I am so glad that Frank is finally getting the recognition and attention he deserves, especially after a certain internet “personality” from Boston (yech!) gave him a bad review. The ingredients Frank uses are very expensive. It is the most delicious and satisfying piece of pizza I’ve ever had.
I like to blow past my stop on the subway home after work, grab a few square slices, glass of wine then walk home. Owner seems like a good guy too.
If you’re interested in the slice culture thing, here’s a good article about it by a bunch of pizza fanatics, which mentions Mamas Too:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/10/best-ny-pizza-slices-2018.html
In particular, here’s the origin story:
“Mama’s Too opened on Broadway and West 105th Street in late 2017, having spun off of longtime Upper West Side pizzeria Mama’s, just around the corner. Too often, the story of decades-old mom-and-pop restaurants ends with the youngest generation “moving up” in the world and out of the business. But there’s a great counter-narrative to that, and it’s one where fresh blood pulls the business into the present while honoring the past. We’ve seen it here in NYC with Wilson Tang at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Niki Russ Federman at Russ & Daughters, and Jason Wang of Xi’an Famous Foods.
“For Mama’s Too, owner/operator Frank Tuttolomondo built on foundations established at Mama’s, where the pizza is standard slice-joint fare. “I knew I couldn’t change the pizza there, or regulars would be upset,” Frank said. “So I opened this place.”
Good one, RK. I’ve been into pizza in the past—hunting and so forth—and the article you linked to is a useful update. I feel re-stimulated.
I’ve been eating a lot of Patsy’s East Harlem lately. I CitiBike over there, and sit in the nice community garden around the corner on 118th street which has really nice fruit trees.
locally, Traviata (67th street?) meets my needs. Any useful recommendations?
Great article!
Noticed Mama’s Too and Sal & Carmines were included. We are a lucky bunch living in such a pizza-rich neighborhood.
You can’t eat money, but you can pizza.
Pizza pizza pizza everywhere and another new pizza joint will be opening up at Amsterdam Avenue and 80th St. Where Moniko was.
It’s good, but a little heavy. A small pie could feed an army. But good.
Bad customer service though :/
I know it is a different type of pizza than this (I prefer very simple pizza by the slice), but I am very excited that the little pizza place on the east side of Amsterdam between 79 and 80 has reopened – I think it changed its name. They have one of the best slices in the city.
I’m very happy to see the place doing so well and Frank getting recognized for being a truly special pizzaiolo. it’s pretty clear that his attention to good ingredients and patience in his process make these pies so amazing.
OK, I’ll try Mamma 2. I’ve had Mamma 1’s many times and it was fairly generic ny pizza. I like Sal and Carmine’s and I love some of the Two Boots pie’s so I rarely bother trying the various new slice places. Although I also like a lot of the (overpriced) restaurant style pizza around the neighb. For me, the best of the lot is the place on the corner of 110 and Amsterdam.
there is no pizza on the corner of 110 & Amsterdam (do you mean Columbus?).
I always stick with Sacco–55 & 9th.