Joe & Pat’s is the gold standard in SI. I often drive there 25 minutes for takeout and reheat the pies at home. They are very thin so cool fast. Closer to me, my fave is Nonna’s in Great Kills
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I’ve been to the EV one and liked it quite a bit.
Went with a group of 7 to Da Michele this week. Folks were extremely happy with their non-pizza dishes - pastas and an excellent arugula-citrus-fennel salad. 2 pies, on the large side for such thin crust. i ordered the diavola and it took a very long time to come out. Based on both their rep in Naples and here i was concerned about wetness in the middle for the the margherita so hadnt ordered. Well, this tomato sauced pie was very wet in the center- slices sort of were dragged out of the pan, flopping . Verydelicious light tomato sauce, correct for naples, cheese quantity and quality but too much of the very good salami. Cornice was very nice, light and airy well cooked, what i expected and remembered from Naples. I feel the wetness of the dough is a flaw - the pie ought to hit the table with a dry bottom crust and some rise in the center. maybe its partly a speed of service issue? Friends and I ate it all though, believe me, flavor was great. Others ordered the arugula ham and parmesan white pie. That one turned out much better with an intact bottom crust and removable slices (I had not ordered it because I was having the salad with arugula) It had a lot IMO a bit too much nice parmesan shards on top. It seems to me that they are puttlng an excess of luxury ingredients on these pies and maybe not enough attention to the dough.
Like I said, all of the pastas looked great, and the eggplant app and salad were excellent, I think this place should be considered for these other dishes in addition to the pizzas.
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Forgot all about that place! I went in March, and I concur about the wet pizza, the eggplant and the salad (but I might have had a different one than you).
ETA: It was the artichoke salad, sez March Me.
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Here is a bad picture of my very good but simple salad. Did you have the artichoke salad? they also have one with butter lettuce and anchovies.
Yes, I decided to search in case I wrote about my meal there. I did! Edited my previous post.
jen,
the wet center is typical of naples pizza, it should resemble a crepe. Here in the US, we like our pizza crispy and most of the places purporting to make neapolitan style pizza are not really being true to the style. having said that, there are some places in naples making a crisper bottom crust, perhaps to cater to tourists.
here’s a serious eats article which talks about the american/neapolitan expectation mismatch:
best,
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@vinouspleasure, I think there is may be a disconnect. A wet center is NOt typical of pizzas I have eaten in Naples italy in a couple of stays, at Sorbillo, di Matteo, and other places. The pies are definitely not like a damp crepe or worse in the center. It IS typical (I have been told) of the margherita pie they sell at da Michele there. Since I was in love with the amazing rise and tender quality/light char of the dough in the pies I had (which extended to the bottom) I did not bother checking it out.
Strangely, the linked article has the following update which clarifies that it is not describing pies in Naples at all:
Update/note: This post is geared toward folks in the U.S. or elsewhere who have never tried Neapolitan, Neapolitan-style, or Neapolitan-inspired pizza. It does not pertain to actual Neapolitan pizza in Naples, Italy.
I also do not remember that Una Pizza Napolitana has a wet bottom, I really liked that pie (when I had it a long time ago). Guess its time to do more sampling around town.
Well, the pizza I ate in Naples this summer was uncooked, not just soupy (50 Kalo). However, the relatively new, UWS outpost of Song E Napule’s margarita pies are NOT wet in the center (on the bottom), but left uncut, as the article describes. I can hardly resist them. Perfect char (for me), yes pillowy dough, and I do probably cut off the first bite, since otherwise it might end in my lap (messy eater am I).
Please elaborate.
I’ve eaten lots of pizzas in Naples, none of which I would describe as “uncooked”.
FWIW, this was the Margherita from Feb, and the slice from March. I havent been back since so cant compare to anything recent
In all my visits so far I was able to use my hands. Soft, floppy, but not the wetness experienced by others. Also sampled some respectable gnocchi and pastas, but what really stood out was the arancini that we saw being paraded all over the room. Havent tried it yet
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thanks Jen, I’m at a disadvantage because I’ve not been able to convince my better half that we need to visit naples so I can eat pizza 
I come by my knowledge because I participate in a pizza forum with many members who own pizza restaurants, some are “pizza celebrities”, they’ve been to naples repeatedly, taken classes in naples, competed in naples, etc and have said many but not all Neapolitan pizza have a crepe-like bottom which is soupy as you described.
as a group many of us have ovens capable of 900F temps and we exchange information on how to achieve a crepe-like bottom. Having said that, we are mostly americans and many, or maybe most, prefer a crisper (we spend an awful lot of time debating the difference between crispy and crunchy 
) crust. I’ve probably done about 1,000 dough/baking expirements and still make mistakes…or I should say used to make mistakes because I sold my oven when we moved to nyc 
anyhow, not really important, let’s agree to disagree. there’s a quie a bit of R&D going on for In-home electric ovens capable of approaching 900F, a lot of people have their eyes on this qstoves kickstarter so hopefully over the next year I’ll convince swmbo that we need a pizza oven on our limited counter space 
and we’ll have everyone over to try different styles.
best,
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as I think I mentioned, song is my current favorite Neapolitan in nyc. One of my pizza restaurant friends who has been naples many times recommended the place to me by saying “there’s really no need to travel to naples for pizza”.
best,
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How about that you need to transit through to see that tower nearby before it falls down?
and I bow to your greater expertise in every aspect. I just still dream about how great and light the dough was in Naples, a great BREAD experience Have had great pizza here but nothing that overall matched that particular aspect, tho the cornice and ingredient quality (the sauce was thin and great) on this last one was excellent. So maybe you still need to go to Naples and I still need to go to Song… and we can talk more later.
Sorry, mis-typed…We had a nightmare experience. I wrote about it when it happened, but dough was undercooked, not totally raw, but raw in the center, and cheese not really melted even.
Well, and for me, I don’t need to travel more than three blocks for pizza. When you guys are back, you’ll have to take the bus this way!
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Besides enjoying the margherita pizza & quite a few of their salads, ( CARCIOFI SALAD & BEET SALAD) which all were very enjoyable, I loved their POLIPO CON CECI E PATATE
Grilled Octopus, Garbanzo Pureé, Fingerling Potatoes, Artichokes and Herb Sauce as well 
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Another nice meal with the family. Still liking the pies, although I prefer the Diavola at Don Antonio overall for the thick Soppressata. I’m still not finding the pies here too soupy or wet. For my liking at least. Solid Arancini. Caesar salad has become a must. Tried a couple of pastas this time and liked them both. Maccheoni Bolognese was flavor packed albeit some less palatable meat chunks. Capunti al Nero e Gamberoni had a very strong bisque flavor. English translation on the menu promises Langoustines but delivered Shrimp. But very good overall. Although it feels a little corporate for a pizzeria, this is becoming one of our favorite Italian.
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Your pizza looks considerably more well done in the center than mine was last month - your soppresata Looks like it actually was in the pizza oven oven for a bit, whereas mine looked like it was slapped on after completion. Maybe the second string makes the pies on Monday nights? It took a looong time to get the pie, too.glad you liked the place tho, my group was very happy overall.
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