Lia's Pizzeria Cucina Italiana

Address:
60 Atlantic Avenue, Oceanside, NY 11572

Lia's Pizzeria is a local favorite in Oceanside, located in the Lincoln Shopping Center at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Road. This place may not be as popular as far as large dining room crowds go, but this place could get packed out for it's pizza. Lia's really knows how to make a specialty chicken slice, whether it's BBQ, buffalo, caesar, marsala, francese, or some other invention.

I would have to say that the top-seller here is the buffalo chicken. It's the one at the front of the counter, the one they're always making, and the one that customers are always eating. In fact, many people around this area will call it the best buffalo chicken slice they've ever had.

The slice is loaded with large, tender pieces of spicy buffalo chicken and is covered with just enough mozzarella cheese. Many Lia's veterans will eat this particular slice with a fork and knife, and even a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing for dip.

Trust me, one buffalo slice is all you need, it's a full lunch within itself. One of these with a 20 oz soda makes a perfect cheap lunch for anybody.


Popular Slice: Buffalo chicken

Price: $3.40

My Rating: 9.5/10



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Gino's

Address:
16 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY 11561

Website:
http://www.ginospizzaoflongbeach.com/

Gino's is considered by many as the best pizzeria in Long Beach. Located on the main strip of West Park and across from the train station, this spot continues to bring in large crowds. It's also a traditional Italian restaurant, however, Long Islanders may not realize that Gino's of Long Beach specializes in the dessert department.



There is an ice cream and gelato bar to the left when you walk in. This part of the restaurant is especially popular during the warm months when beach-goers stop in with one thing on their mind, Gino's gelato.

Upon entering the pizzeria, you'll notice a little different set-up at Gino's. Instead of displaying the pizza under glass, Gino's keeps various slices on a pizza rack behind the counter workers. The first slice that stood out to me was the supreme slice, known there as the "special slice". Usually you could only find this at a pit-stop Sbarro or some other fast food pizzeria. However, at Gino's, the supreme slice is a well-known favorite.

The second slice that stood out was the regular. For some reason this spot gave me a traditional feeling, so I went with the regular slice (w/ pepperoni). I also selected the grandma slice, which looked a little different than most, and sat down to see what the place was made of.

Popular Slice: Supreme, Pepperoni, Grandma

Price: $3.50, $3.00, $3.00

Of course, the pepperoni made the slice a bit greasy but you have to expect that at any pizzeria. It was still delicious and lived up to expectations. However, the grandma was definitely under-par. There was very little sauce and the top was over-cooked. It came out very dry and there wasn't much taste to it. Overall, it was an average experience for me. Great place, atmosphere, and tradition but the food might of been a little off on the day I visited. 

My Rating: 8/10

Pizzaiola

Address: 
3191 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY 11572

Pizza Menu (click)

Pizzaiola is located within a shopping center on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, just a few miles down the road from the south shore beaches. It's a great pit stop for anyone on the way to the beach during the summer and is always a place to go for the locals. The shopping center provides hundreds of parking spaces, making it easy to park at anytime of the week.

Upon entering, you notice the large amount of seating separated for people stopping in for a slice. Booths and tables fill the back of the restaurant and are used for patrons enjoying waiting service. The counter is customer friendly and is usually accompanied by several workers. You'll also notice the variety of food prepared under the glass counter. At all hours of the day, Pizzaiola serves everything from potato croquettes and sausage rolls to calzones and specialty slices.

Popular Slice: Grandma

Price: $2.30

Pretty much the perfect grandma pizza...Neither thin nor thick with a crust covered in melted mozzarella cheese. The sauce is very original (somewhat sweet) and supplements the slice to perfection. 

My Rating: 9.5/10

Vincent's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant

Address:
14 Atlantic Avenue, Lynbrook, NY 11563

Website:
http://www.vincentspizzeria.com/

Vincent's is a well known spot in Lynbrook, located on the shopping strip of Atlantic Ave. between Merrick Rd. and Sunrise Highway. During the afternoon, countermen serve groups of twos and threes that flow in and out of the doors. Lynbrook High School students often enjoy the quick walk down the block to grab a slice as well. At night, Vincent's staff waits on families sitting down for entrees and pasta specials. It's very much an all around Italian Restaurant.

Today I was able to meet with a few countermen, Rudy and John, just before the afternoon rush arrived. The first thing I notced was the cleanliness of the restaurant. Tables were being cleaned the moment after a customer got up, each and every time. The second thing that stood out was the variety of pizza. They might have the most beautiful display of pizza I ever laid eyes on. John quickly declared the Christina slice as the most popular. However, Rudy saw the Margarita as the most delicious so I had to taste both.

Margarita (top), Christina (below)

Popular Slice: Christina, Margarita

Price: $3.00, $2.50

The Christina slice is a crunchy garlic bread covered with fresh mozzarella, thickly cut. Thick tomatoes are also layered over the top. The Margarita slice is very different from any other I've ever tasted. First, it's square like a grandma slice but it's covered in a spicy marinara sauce. It is then topped off with a melted layer of fresh mozzarella. I'd have to go with Rudy on the Margarita slice here. It was definitely something I've never tasted.

My Rating: 9/10

Mr. Miceli

Address:
19 North Park Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY11570

Website:
http://mrmiceli.com

Mr. Miceli's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant is perfectly planted in the heart of Rockville Centre on Park Avenue. Surrounded by restaurants and bars, this pizzeria does its best to benefit off it's lively location. It's for this reason that it has so much popularity. From Thursday through Saturday, Mr. Miceli keeps his doors open until 5:00am. Many people in Rockville Centre on weekend nights will stop in to satisfy that unstoppable crave.

I was able to catch up with Mr. Miceli himself today before the afternoon crowd rolled in. We engaged in a friendly conversation which taught me a lot about his passion. "I like people," he said. "Some people just do it for the money."


I also learned that most of his past took place right where we stood. "I've been doing this everyday for 30 years," Miceli said. "It'll be 31 in October."





After this he told me about the customers favorite slices. The regular slice goes fast during the day but the buffalo chicken is the heavy favorite at night. He also said the chicken-bacon-ranch slice was very popular.



Popular Slice: Regular

Price: $2.50

You know you'll always get friendly service when you come to this spot. And on a night out in Rockville Centre, there's nothing better.

My Rating: 8/10