February 16, 2009
Famous Larry's NY Pizza
I've kinda given up on pizza in Taiwan, after even Costco went native with toppings such as Seafood&Corn and Beijing Duck. Sure, there are fancy Italian places serving up thin-crust Euro pies, but nothing like the bread-y topping-packed American-style big-slice.
Was browsing The Hungry Girl In Taipei blog and noticed her recommendation for Famous Larry's. Not sure about how famous Larry really is, but I'd already begged off dinner at home so I had to forage for myself. So I decided to grab takeout on the way home from work.
Unfortunately, it's not like the high-turnover American fast-food-pizza shacks, where you can choose from the ready-cooked pizzas and take a slice to-go immediately. I could choose any flavor off the big blackboard menu, but then they have to assemble my single-slice order by putting the appropriate toppings on a slice of par-cooked pizza base and finishing it in the oven. On a slow weekday evening I guess I can understand why they do it this way, but I wanted to get home and the open storefront was drafty, albeit nicely decorated with Americana touches.
So I finally received my slices and speed-walked home before they cooled off. Had to have a slice of the pepperoni pizza just to see how they do the basics. The Soho pizza adds a California touch to the NY-style pizza base, with pesto, mushroom, and chicken toppings. The crust is corn-meal dusted and thin, but not too thin. The slices are generously large, cut from a 19" pizza round. Two slices were almost too much but I could afford to be gluttonous alone at home.
I'm not a super-picky pizza connoisseur and it seems like they have the right idea except the slice couldn't be folded, a deadly sin for a self-purported New York style pizza. Maybe the crust got hard between the re-baking and the cooling-off process during transport. Nevertheless that was a pretty major bummer.
On the other hand, the flavors are all good, and it's close to home, so we'll give it a second chance sometime. Anything but Pizza Hut.
Famous Larry's New York Pizza
Yanji St, Lane 137, No. 2
台北市延吉街137巷2號
02-2771-1032
also
Heping E. Rd., Sec. 2, Lane 118, Alley 54, No. 8
台北市和平東路二段118巷54弄8號
Tel: (02) 2738 4747