Cheap Eats 2008: Cafe Pizzaiolo

Why go: Yes, there’s a stone-hearth oven, and the crisp, well-salted crusts are minimally sauced, but these pizzas aspire less to the boutique ideal than to the flat, zesty pies owner Larry Ponzi grew up eating during Brooklyn summers. →

What to get: The Neapolitan, lightly sauced and simply adorned with mozzarella and basil, or the heftier New York style, with its sweet, zesty sauce and crackly crust.

Best for: Families. This is no temple for pizza purists: Little kids crayon at the tables, while bigger kids flip through the stacks of magazines or stare at the pizza makers behind the glass counter and parents sip a glass of wine as they wait for their pies to bake.

Insider tip: Many pizzas don’t survive the trip home, steaming to sogginess in the cardboard box. Ponzi’s are an exception—the crispness of his thin crusts lends itself to takeout.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

See all 2008 Cheap Eats restaurants