OK, here goes nothing...best pizza in NM?

Question

OK New Mexico hounds, as much as I used to hate "Best XYZ" threads on the Boston board when I lived there, I think the time has come. Curiosity has gotten the better of me, and I'm really interested in hearing everyone's thoughts.

So...what's your favorite pizza in New Mexico? High-end or low-end, NY-style or CA-style or Neapolitan, from Las Cruces to Farmington, I'd love to hear your go-tos for this de facto food group.

In my limited time as a Santa Fe resident, it's been Dion's all the way for me. The crust has its good nights and not-so-good nights, but when it's on, a Dion's green chile, pepperoni, and red onion pizza is as close to pizza perfection as I've found in the state.

How about YOU? (and thanks in advance!)

Answer

My favorite is Giovanni's in ABQ, on San Pedro between Gibson and Zuni. Just a slice of pie with a coke takes me back to being a kid again. I also like Dion's and Saggio's.

Answer

In Las Cruces we ( specifically my husband and I) have 2 favorite spots for pizza. Number 1 is SI Italian Bistro, its located on Idaho behind Albertsons, they have a traditional wood fired oven that was shipped over from Italy and rebuilt here. The crust is thin and crisp, the toppings are fresh and of good quality, and I love that they have more then just your basic pepperoni and limited veggies to choose from. Also, they make their dough, sauce, and sausage in house, which is always a plus.

Our second choice is Zeffiro's. Its new to LC, I'd say its been open about 6 months or so, located in the downtown on Water st. The city is really trying to revitalize our downtown area and I love the fact that Zeffiro went in there. The ambiance is great, and the pizza's are awesome. Again, the crust is thin, with just enough balance of chewy/crispy. They have a few sauce options, which is very nice, their pesto is some of the best I've ever had. They have probably the largest selection of toppings as well. They really make a stellar pie and they are in the process of opening a NYC style eatery near the university, which I cant wait to try out. Also, they make homemade baguettes and ciabatta that are to die for. mmmmm. Now I want something ooey, gooey and cheesy!

Answer

Giovanni has really excellent pizza, NY style. My favorite in Venezia's. There are a couple of locations and it is really the closest to NY pizza in the area -- we know, we tried them ALL when we moved to ABQ from NY. 

California Pizza Kitchen at Uptown has good pizza for a chain.

NYPD has good pizza too; Dion's works but not NY style.

Venezia's is the all around best NY pizza.
http://veneziaspizzeria.com/

FWIW - Venezia also has EXCELLENT Chick parm heroes. Almost as good as mine!

Answer

Rooftop in Santa Fe makes really high quality "Yuppy" style pizza. They do toppings like smoked duck, salmon, and use good quality cheese. The crust which comes in both regular and blue corn is thin and very tasty.I'm from NYC and I like my crust thin with a bit of crispness to it. I think Dion's is lousy.Cheap ingredients doughy and heavy. There is also a place in the new mall near Lowes on Zarrarano which used to be called Patsy's and is now called Lucchi's which serves a simple well made classic pizza. In terms of chains, Upper crust sometimes shows up with a decent pizza, sometimes its garbage.The greek pizza is a good choice.

Answer

We like Il Viccino pretty well. BTW, finlero, I lived in Boston too and never had a decent pizza. Granted, we always had something else when we went to the North End but in the Back Bay were we lived--nothing decent.

Answer

I'd plump--so to speak--for Cafe Rio in Ruidoso. Everything about their pie is good: thin, crispy crust, nice sauce, and the correct proportion of toppings and cheese. I'd be surprised if there's a better pizza in New Mexico. The only downside is the atmosphere of the place. Too self-consciously hip, anti-establishment (or so they think) and grungy. Best to get your pie to go and eat it in your cabin.

Answer

Thanks all for your responses so far! Finally had a chance to try two spots in ABQ:

Venezia's - quite respectable. Crust was thin, almost crackery, but very light. Nice, if simple taste to the cheese. Tomato sauce seemed just a little heavy (almost more like a pasta sauce), and there was a bit more of it than I'd ideally have liked, but the flavors were good. And unlike Dion's, it reheated well, which is a big plus. (Dion's reheated cheese is a gloppy disaster whether microwaved, toasted, or oven-baked.)

Giovanni's - ding ding ding! I think I've found my ABQ	go-to. Super-thin crust that managed a near-perfect balance of crunchy and chewy. A very thin layer of well-spiced sauce. Good flavor to the cheese, but again not too much of it. For better or worse, this pizza was really greasy (I blot, sacrilege I know, but if you don't, this may be a little much for you), but the elements in play here were exceptionally well-balanced. Once again, excellent reheated, perhaps even better than fresh.

-----
Giovanni's Pizzaria
921 San Pedro Dr SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108

Venezia's Pizzeria
3908 San Mateo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

Answer

Besides the Rio in Ruidoso -- Farina in ABQ- hands down.

Answer

Discovered Pizzeria Centro in Santa Fe over the weekend.

Real NY-style pizza, with very thin crust, easy on the sauce and cheese. Although it's nothing extra-special (all core elements are good, not over-the-top great), it's easily the best pizza I've found in Santa Fe. Reheats as well or better than fresh, although grease foes like me will want to blot.

There are a variety of specialty pizzas available that are loaded up with an array of semi-fancy toppings (fresh spinach, fried eggplant, feta, sundried tomato, of course green chile...), but IMO it's kind of dumb to put more than maybe two or three basic toppings on a real NY-style pie, as it just turns into a soggy mess.

A large cheese pizza clocks in at an absurd $18, and toppings jack up the price even higher, but it's still cheaper and way faster than driving to ABQ to pick up Giovanni's.

Two locations, one near downtown in the Santa Fe Design Center, and a second much-needed location out in Eldorado. They close early (8 or 8:30), so plan ahead.

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Pizzeria Centro
814 Cerrillos Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Answer

Anybody tried Sal-E-Boys in Rio Rancho? It's a tiny take-out joint on Southern, but if you like NY-style pizza, it's right on. Make their own crust, sauce, etc., and it's reasonable--$8 for a 12" cheese.

Answer

Stumbled across a startlingly good pizza find over the weekend at the Lavender Festival, Pizza Van Go:

www.pizzavango.com

OK, so to get it out of the way, yes, the name is dumb. That said, this is without a doubt the best Neapolitan-style pizza I've found in the state.

Properly basic dough made with imported "00" flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and homemade mozzarella, fired in their mobile 900+ degree wood-burning oven. My only gripe with the pizza margherita was the basil: not enough of it, and they cooked it instead of adding it after the bake. But very impressed all the same. At $11 for a personal-sized pizza, not cheap, but top-quality imported and house-made ingredients cost money, so the price struck me as pretty fair. They were set up at the Casa Rodena winery, so the pizza and a glass of wine made for a pretty spectacular lunch on a warm summer day.

They appear to do only catering and events, so not exactly ubiquitous and easy to come by. But if you see them, definitely worth a try.

Answer

Cross posting to the Fano Bread thread:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/717510

Answer

Giovanni's is my favorite - not as pricey if you go to their website and print out a coupon.

Answer

In Las Cruces, Zeffiro's rules, without a doubt. Try the one with thinly sliced lemons, asparagus and prosciutto.

Answer

Finally got to Farina yesterday. We were very pleased with the margherita which was nicely done and we thought better than Pizzeria Bianco. Nice crust, not too many black spots and not scorched on the bottom. Nice flavors, could have had a bit more cheese and as always, more fresh basil. 

We tend to always order a margherita the first time we go to a new pizza place - use it as a benchmark. It is easy to get swayed by fancy toppings. We were not disappointed.

Hubby had Baltika, a Porter, from Russia which he enjoyed. I had my standard Diet Coke. They serve cans, which means no refills, I didn't like that part. 

All in all, a great experience and we will return.

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