New Yorkers never tire of Neapolitan pies, which is why Paulie Giannone, a former software quality assurance engineer and long-time pizza aficionado, decided to throw his own version of America's favorite pie into the ring.
Now with a space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Paulie Gee has extended his love of making pizzas in his backyard brick oven to a welcoming crowd around Greenpoint Ave and Franklin. The former space of a Top Chef-testant (RIP Paloma) is now decked out in relics, brick, wood, and Paulie Gee himself rolling dough by his white-tiled brick oven.
So far diners give Paulie two-thumbs up, but some skeptics aren't ready to throw Paulie Gee's into New York's Best Pizzas pool.
The Good News: Miss Heather over on NY Shitty runs some gratuitous food porn and files a rave: "All in all we had a great time and my Marianna pie was garlicky and delicious. A glass of wine would have been a nice accompaniment, but Paulie assured me they were anticipating their liquor license in a week or so." [NYShitty]
The Positive News: One eater says: "The pies were well-spotted, with thin bottoms and bready crusts. Neither crisp nor rigid, these are almost knife-and-fork pies. Not a bad thing— in Naples, Da Michele’s pies are eaten that way." He also gives a nod to Paulie's creativity: "Lemon juice might not be the first thing you’d think of on pizza. Normally, acid on a pizza comes from tomatoes, but lemon succeeds in drawing out the other flavors." [Always Hungry]
The Not so Awesome News: One Yelper loved the interior design by the same people that did Manhattan Inn but felt the service wasn't as memorable. The Yelper felt "disappointed by the value. The pizzas could be a bit larger and the dough would be better if it was more airy and had more salt/flavor. Maybe some really good sprinkled sea salt atop the pizzas would suffice. Though I suppose for a highly anticipated pizza place with good quality ingredients, one can't expect it to be any cheaper." [Yelp]
The Fantastic News: Most Yelpers were blown away by the new pizza spot and and one believes Paulie Gee's makes the best pizza crust in the world: "The decor is terrific and feels very warm and inviting. But this is not why you come to Paulie's. First, they have Mexican Coke. Second, the ingredients are amazingly fresh. The crust is soft and chewy and flavorful and pretty much the best crust I've ever had. I'd like to think it's the NYC tap water but I'm probably biased. They carry Van Leeuwen ice cream. Lastly, the service was wonderful, which is a welcome departure from the petulant service that plagues The Burg." [Yelp]
The Mixed Review: From a Chowhounder: "I went tonight. I thought the pizza was very good, but the dough had a serious lack of salt. It was very disappointing because the crust seemed great in every other way. I didn't finish eating it because it was bland. Hopefully that's just an opening glitch and they up the salt in the dough. Other than that, very good. Sauce was very fresh tasting. Pizza gets a bit soggy after a while, so probably not a great take-out option." [CH]
The Bad News: While one Foursquare user thinks it's the bees knees, another leaves this short assessment: "smallest pizza ever. not worth it." [Foursquare]
—Jessica Lin
