L&B Pizza New York
Gravesend Italian/American
Geoffrey from New York
L&B—highly ranked among NYC pizza aficionados—was founded in 1939 by Ludovico Barbati who began with a horse and cart on these very Brooklyn Streets.
Now, this old-school pizzeria serves as a fair-weather destination because of its outdoor tables-with-umbrellas setup.
Bensonhurst is an Italian neighborhood wonderful to explore on bicycle because it contains many—some legendary—pizzerias selling slices of pizza (and whole pies) with traditional toppings like pepperoni, salami, basil and so forth.
S&P slices are sold only plain. Toppings are available, but only on whole pies.
However, this restaurant also presents a typical classic Italian/American menu whose elements differ little from other restaurants like it.
For example: salads include arugula or mozzarella, tomato & basil. Calamari, clams or shrimp are served oreganata, Fra Diavolo, francese, parmigiana and marinara, and standard pasta shapes are served similarly with meatballs or sausage, pesto, carbonara, alfredo, primavera and bolognese sauces. Most of these are also available dressed as a 'hero' sandwich—a 'hero' being a long slender bread roll.
As reported by The Daily News in 2016, alleged mob connections may be real: the owner of L&B was shot dead—in the back—in his nearby Dyker Heights backyard following another near-fatal incident when a mob war over a stolen tomato sauce recipe once over boiled.
Nearby, a more formal, sit-down Italian/American restaurant, La Casa Bella, is a short walk away. There—eating the wonderful linguine with clams—you will likely find the parents of the younger crowd that gathers at S&B.
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