Here’s The UWS Dish: Sal & Carmine’s Pizza(s)

By Abigael T. Sidi

How many times have I walked by this place without ever noticing it? From the outside, nothing sets Sal & Carmine Pizza apart from New York City’s gazillion street-corner pizza joints; it’s just another faceless feature of the city scenery.

So, color me shocked when I learned that the hole-in-the-wall pizzeria, located on Broadway between West 101st  and 102nd streets, has been around since 1959 (it was located 20 blocks south at the corner of West 95th Street, until 1987), and is a member of the Pizza Hall of Fame.

Reviews on Google and Reddit overflow with raving comments about the place (with of course the occasional haters), but many of these reviews are rooted in nostalgia, very often written by born-and-raised Upper West Siders who have since left the city.

I decided to judge for myself.

With the West Side Rag’s editorial approval, I decided to mix things up, renouncing the solo Dish concept for the week and selecting multiple slices. I opted for three (of five) original staples from 1959 (cheese, ricotta, and pepperoni, begrudgingly passing on the Margherita and sausage), along with one of their veggie offerings of the day (roasted red peppers and caramelized onions).

The slices are LARGE, each enough for a meal, which for $4-$6 each (depending on the number of toppings, $1 each) is a bargain this side of town. 

Regardless of the slice, the first bite always delivers the same oozing, drop-the-mic feeling: it’s the cheese, there’s something about it, it’s phenomenal. There is more of it than the usual, and it is creamier, meltier, and tastier than normal.

The tomato sauce is there, for sure, with the right balance of sweetness and tang, but its ratio to the cheese is less than average, making for a less acidic experience. The dough is also superb, with a deep, nutty and yeasty flavor, a perfect snap when folded, a great thin crust on the outside while impeccably moist and chewy on the inside. The toppings are also well crafted: the pepperoni is meaty but not greasy, and the bell peppers are expertly charred.

Of the four slices, the ricotta probably was the least flavorful one. However, sprinkle some garlic powder, dry oregano, chili peppers, and salt on top, and, mamma mia, you’ve got yourself a killer of a slice.

All in all, the cheese is the true star of the show here. It is what sets Sal and Carmine Pizza apart, what makes you feel like a younger version of yourself when eating their pizza, you know, that  “ecstasy” feeling (largely aided by the excess tryptophan).

We grilled the pizzaiolo, long time pie-maker and former Mamma’s and Serafina employee, Sergio Martinez, hoping to break the secret for his Sal & Carmine’s creations. His answer: “It’s nothing special, but you need to like your job.” Asked again, Sergio shared that “we grind the mozzarella” (as opposed to shredding it), “and we put the amount we need; same with the tomato sauce, you need to put the amount you need, not too much, so that it’s good.”

Martinez, who started his pizza-making career at Pizza Picasso in Arizona in 2004, would not share more. But he did reveal an interesting tidbit about the dough: “You have to wait 24 hours before you cook it, otherwise it makes bubbles and other things and it’s not good. This is how people should make pizza.”

You can tell that Sergio and his colleague at the pizza oven, Cesar, take their craft seriously and with an infectious passion that honors Sal and Carmine’s founder, the late Sal Malanga, a 1957 immigrant from Italy who worked 11 a.m. – 3 a.m. shifts in the early days of “Sal’s.” Malanga was commonly called the “Dom DeMarco of Manhattan,” in reference to the legendary and highly influential Brooklyn pizza maker Domenico De Marco, the late founder of the iconic Di Fara Pizza in Midwood. Sal’s son, Luciano, gave up an engineering career at Delta Airlines to take over Sal and Carmine’s shortly before his father died. No, this is not a movie, it is real life. 

Sal and Carmine’s is open every day from noon till 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays). Take out and delivery available, but eating on site can be an interesting experience, dining alongside solo old-timers and young UWS dads with their kids, all the while enjoying their wall of fame of old photos of patrons you’ve never heard of. Sal’s is now my go-to spot for NYC-style pizza in the neighborhood. You have got to love their story, commitment, current operating duo, and simple yet sumptuous pies. There is greatness here. 

The Dish: Slices of cheese, Ricotta, pepperoni, and roast peppers & caramelized onions pizzas ($4, $4, $5 and $6, respectively)

The Restaurant: Sal and Carmine’s, 2671 Broadway (between West 101st and 102nd streets)

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