31 Days of Pizza: Day 4, 2018: Mama's TOO! (UWS, NYC)

Exterior

Interior

DAY 4: OCTOBER 4th, 2018

LOCATION: Mama's TOO! (2750 Broadway, New York, NY 10025)

GUEST(S): Adam Kuban

ORDER: 1 slice of Bada Bing (aged mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, pepperoni cups, pickled cherry peppers), half a slice of House Pie (aged mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, basil), 2 bites of 18th Avenue Pizza (fennel sausage braised in red wine, in-house roasted peppers, aged mozzarella), 2 bites of a Vodka slice with basil and ricotta, 2 bites of pear, gorgonzola and honey

REVIEW:
Where frico meets al taglio! By combining the crisp, caramelized fried "frico" cheese of Detroit style pizza with the creative topping combination and thicker, airier Roman "pizza al taglio," Mama's Too! has transformed a cozy Upper West Side hole-in-the-wall into a happy home of two rapidly growing pizza trends. The line out the door and down the street speaks for itself. Mamas Too! is a hit. I am particularly fond of the spicy Bada Bing slice which takes the typical New York square slice and bombards it with heaps of savory sliced pepperoni and surrounds it with oil-fried cheese that tastes frico delicious! Some signature squares are lighter and more creative than others - like the pear, gorgonzola and honey - but the oil baked focaccia-esque foundation will likely break your diet while it makes your day. I am confident that the more deserved success Mama's Too! receives, the more likely they'll open one up closer to me. In the meantime, the trip to the Upper West Side and lack of a public restroom is a small price to pay for the beautiful collage of one-of-kind pies you get at Mama's Too!

PHOTOS:

Pizza options

slice of Norma

slice of Boda Bing

slice of 18th Avenue Pizza

slice of pear, gorgonzola and honey

Day 4

underside

Slice of House Pie

MISCELLANEOUS:

Sean Taylor and Adam Kuban

1. Adam Kuban is one of my favorite pizza buddies. He created both a virtual meeting place for pizza enthusiasts to meet online called sliceny.com (which predates Facebook) as well as a physical meeting place for pizza enthusiasts to meet in real life called Margot's Pizzeria. The man knows everything about pizza and was the first pizza maker I know to specialize in (and master) the thin and crispy pie.