Bonbino's

Address:
605 Merrick Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570

Website:
http://bonbinospizza.com/

Bonbino's is another old school pizzeria, unknown to many outside the borders of Rockville Centre and Oceanside. It lays right on the divider of the two towns and has many loyal customers from both of them.

The doors opened for the first time in 1997 and ownership never looked back. A Bonbino's II even opened up for a short while across town in Oceanside.

Bonbino's has been known locally for it's sponsorship, quick delivery, and friendly service. It's been a mainstay for 15 years now.

Like many old school pizzerias, Bonbino's specializes in the regular and sicilian slices. The grandma here is also a favorite.

When I walked in, the counter worker told me a sicilian pie was coming out fresh so I waited a few minutes and sat down.

Popular Slice: Sicilian

Price: $2.50

Their dough is different from most places, a little softer on the bottom. However, the crust still had a good crunch. The melted cheese was thick over the top but plenty of sauce kept it from being overwhelming.

My Rating: 9/10

Huge slice, good price.

Gino's

Address:
187 N. Long Beach Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570

Gino's is an Italian restaurant on Long Beach Road, just off of Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre. Located at the border of Baldwin, Oceanside, and Rockville Centre, Gino's gets a diverse group of locals everyday.

The place is always busy in all four phases of a quality Italian restaurant: the pizzeria, sit-down, take-out, and delivery.

Surprisingly, Gino's slice selection wasn't that great, but some places know how to keep it simple.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't keep it simple, ordering a chicken-bacon-cheddar-ranch slice (1 of 2 chicken slices at the counter) to go.

It looked loaded and it wound up being a great choice. It was a perfect mix of breaded chicken cutlet, crispy bacon, and melted cheddar with a small dose of ranch dressing.

Popular Slice: Chicken-bacon-cheddar-ranch

Price: $4.40 w/ tax

Quality chicken, crispy bacon, and a crunchy crust makes this a great choice for anybody. However, the price is as high as it gets when you compare it to the average $3.50 range for any specialty chicken slice.


My Rating: 8.5/10

Great slice, bad price.

Umberto's Pizzeria

Address:
361 Nassau Boulevard, Garden City South, NY 11530

Website:
http://umbertosgc.com/

Umberto's is a small pizzeria on Nassau Boulevard located near Adelphi University. The place is a mini version of my favorite Italian restaurant, the original Umberto's of New Hyde Park. It has the same ownership and the same food. Perhaps this one doesn't sell as many entrees, but the pizza is still great.

The famous sicilian and grandma slices were at the front of the counter when I walked in, but after hearing about the buffalo chicken slice from an inside source, I had to try it.

The service was great and the eating area was spotless, similar to the original Umberto's. But I was still wondering if the food would have the same quality.

Popular Slice: Buffalo chicken

Price: $3.50 w/ tax

The chicken was spicy and extremely tasty but the amount was average at best. The crust was good as well. My only problem was the overload of cheese and small amount of chicken. Taste wise, it was good.

My Rating: 8.5/10

The slice was definitely of quality but I advise taking the extra time to travel over to the original Umberto's on Jericho Turnpike.

Villa Formia

Address:
136 Mott Street, Oceanside, NY 11572

Website:
http://www.kpsearch.com/df/villaformia/all.asp

Villa Formia is an Italian restaurant located in the Madison Plaza Shopping Center of southern Oceanside. It's right down the block from the Sands Shopping Center.

The restaurant is split into two parts: a pizzeria on the right and a dining area on the left. Most business is done in the pizzeria, however, they get their fair share of parties in the dining area on certain nights.

"Villa" is known for it's array of specialty slices,  including a tortellini slice and cheesesteak slice among others. Chicken slices include the buffalo, caesar salad, marsala, tomato, parmigiana, and francese.

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The spinach and riccota, stuffed meat, and fried calamari slices are others that may surprise you at the counter.

After visiting Villa a couple of times, I realized the chicken caesar slice was the most unique of them all. Plenty of pizzerias make it, but not like this. The chicken is breaded, unlike most caesar slices that have grilled chicken. This element brings out a whole new flavor that's unmatched by other places.

The slice is loaded with chicken and lettuce. And the caesar dressing glaze mixed with parmesan cheese is perfect over the top.

Popular Slice: Chicken Caesar

Price: $3.94 w/ tax

My Rating: 9.5/10

Vincent's

Address:
930 Atlantic Avenue, Baldwin, NY 11510

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

Vincent's is a tiny pizzeria located on Atlantic Avenue in Baldwin, across from the Waldbaum's shopping center. It's a quick pull-over type place that that does a lot of take-out as well. There's only room for about 8-10 people to actually sit down inside.

It's a real old school Italian spot, identical to hundreds of pizzerias across Brooklyn. They keep it simple with about five or six slice selections at the counter, however, the menu gives a few other choices.

I got to meet Vincent on my visit and he's a very friendly man. You can tell the place is very much his second home. He recommended the chicken-bacon slice and I took it on the road.

Popular Slice: Chicken-bacon

Price: $3.00


Nowadays three bucks is a great price anywhere for a specialty chicken slice so that was a good start. The slice itself wasn't bad either. The chicken was good quality, the bacon was crispy, and the cheese was just enough. The only disappointment was the crust. There wasn't much to it and it almost seemed a little stale. Overall it was a decent chicken slice.

My Rating: 8/10

This place won't blow you away but it's nice for an on-the-go slice.

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