Totonno’s, Upper East Side

With family in town for a Yankees game and, in my mom’s case, because I’m here, what better inexpensive, group-friendly New York dinner option than pizza? While some in our family are subway averse and others merely directionally-challenged, heading to one of the originals really wasn’t in the cards. Fortunately, Totonno’s put an outpost a lot closer to me than Coney Island, so away we walked.

While waiting for my perpetually-late brother, my cousin and I shared a pitcher of Moretti — or was it Peroni? When in Rome…

Ordering for the table proved surprisingly easy. With eight of us on hand, including my nephew’s roommate and friend, we figured four large (18″) pies should suffice, maybe even with leftovers for the young’uns to take back to Queens.

First, though, Insalata Di Spinach, at least for our side of the table. We ordered the large, which was more than enough for three as a starter salad. Yes, that’s pancetta alongside the tomatoes and hard-boiled egg. Quite a lot of it, too, which of course I picked out. This was perfectly serviceable as a spinach salad, thanks to the meat.

Then the pies started to arrive. It was a major challenge to snap photos before the jackals descended, but this one was close by. Ordered by the college kids, Pie One was salami, sausage, bell peppers and jalapenos. Yes, I would have done the same.

Upskirt. This pizza, of the four, had the best char. I suppose as it wasn’t a full house yet, this pizza had a little extra time in the oven.

I have to say, the choices worked out pretty well for this. I wish there were more opportunities to get bites with all three toppings on them, but there just wasn’t room. The center of the pizza was on the soggy side, but the crusts were tasty and the sauce, while not a worldbeater, had a pleasant tanginess. So of course I had two slices of this.

The white pizza was attacked too quickly for me to show the whole pie, but just sort of imagine eight of these. I’m a sucker for white pizza, and this was the best of the four we ordered. Rather garlicky, and more mozzarella is never a bad thing. Plus, it wasn’t possible to make this soggy, so the crust retained its integrity down to the tip.

The crust here was more of a golden brown underneath with less char. The rest of the night’s pizzas had no char at all and barely browned, so I’ll spare you those.

Sausage and peppers and onions. A classic combination.

Again, good pizza. I like red and orange bell pepper more than green pepper on pizza, and while the onions added a little sweetness, they really didn’t do a whole lot. And of course (fennel) sausage makes any pizza better, when it’s substantial enough to chew. Same problems with a soggy center as all the red-sauce pies, but tasty nonetheless.

I insisted we get a classic Margherita, but it came late and was sent to the other end of the table. But even short a slice, it’s a beautiful pizza. Even if the crust was just nicely tanned.

Taste was perfectly… nice, though short on basil. By which I mean, Totonno’s doesn’t basil their margherita-based pizzas. I know, that’s their choice, but I like fresh basil on my pie.

Overall? I was pleased with Totonno’s. They’re one of the better pizzas in my neighborhood, even if it’s just an extra outpost of the original. The more I go here, the more I’m determined to hit up the original in Coney Island. It’ll happen (and there will be a post!). While the prices for pizzas here are a few bucks more than at other places on the Upper East Side, it’s better by enough to justify the price. Recommended on nights where you want to hang in an old-school Italian pizzeria.