Patsy's Pizzeria Inc   

Free from any bells and whistles, the pizza at Patsy's is exemplary. The essence of pizza-- crust, cheese and tomatoes -- is very simple, and variations in quality can usually be explained by variations in the tools and the attention and care put into preparation. On both counts, Patsy's cannot be faulted. The sauce is bright with the simple, sweet taste of tomatoes, the cheese is fresh and slightly salty, and the crust is a crisp lower platform with an airy upper layer. The lightness of the crust is a subject much-debated and has been attributed to everything from the recipe (flour, water, yeast and salt -- no sugar, no olive oil) to the age of the coal-fired oven (it dates to 1933) to the magic properties of NYC tap water. While working your way through a pie in the tile-floored dining room, you might find a family celebrating Baby's First Pizza or two elderly neighborhood women wheeling in with walkers and then downing an entire pie between them. And who could blame them? This food embodies the sensations and flavors that all New Yorkers, on an almost primal level, understand as the definition of pizza.