Skip to main content

For Pizza With a Side of Sand: “Totonno’s”



After Best Pizza it may have seemed pointless to go on trying pizza from other places but I am not a quitter. I still had a to do list (https://bit.ly/2qeVUqY) to work on. 

Totonno’s in Coney Island has finally been scratched off. 

When you think of food in Coney Island the most popular place to go is Nathan’s Famous (https://bit.ly/2JxBhPF), where America goes to get a good hot dog. They have been doing it at this location since 1916 after all. 

But besides the hot dogs and the many types of entertainment you can take in, such at the Ford Amphitheater, you have to add great pizza to the list.

Totonno’s has been a family business since it opened in 1924. But I wouldn’t say it has that warm welcoming vibe exactly.






Naturally it was a #pizzafriday when I visited and there was only one other table occupied. This was a first for me. Every time I have attempted to visit there was no where to park and a full house. Apparently #pizzafridays haven’t quite caught on just yet.

When my family walked in we were greeted with a rough “what do you want?” and then told to sit anywhere. I proceeded to look around and take pictures and apparently Mike (the man making the pizza) thought he would be funny and said: “who said you could take pictures in here?” I replied with “I am a blogger and it’s my job”. 





We went with a mushroom pie here as well and didn’t wait too long since those at the table across from us were already eating. 

There were no niceties. No asking if we needed anything else. In fact if I didn’t get the plate and bag myself I would still be waiting for that waitress to wrap up my leftovers. But I wasn’t there for the service, although I did appreciate Zagat’s use of the word “utilitarian” in their review. 


As for the pizza, well that was another story entirely. It was really delicious. To begin with it had fresh mozzarella cheese which is perhaps my very favorite kind. I have been known to eat it all whenever its near me without regard for who else might want some. This cheese is on all of their pizzas. That fact alone automatically gave it a near perfect score in my books. 

Next up was the mushrooms, which were sautéed. If you read my previous blog about Best Pizza than you know what a big difference that makes. It was another pleasant surprise. 





The combination of the cheese and mushrooms prepared this way made the pizza out of this world. Here too they use ingredients from Italy and there is much thoughtfulness in the detail in how its made.

If Best Pizza currently has the number one spot on my list, than Totonno’s is a close second.


Despite its long history, Totonno’s has gone through some hard times. Over the course of the past ninety-three years there have been two fires and of course six years ago Super Storm Sandy hit. That kept the restaurant closed for almost a year. But the pizza community is not without heart.

After news of the storm had spread the owners of Totonno’s received a call from Geja’s Cafe in Chicago. They wanted to raise money so that this Coney Island institution could reopen once again. By January 2013 Totonno’s was able to purchase a new dough machine. 

That kind of support makes me proud to be a pizza lover and sponsor of their community, each and every Friday. 


For More Information:






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth

For a Doughnut Worthy of Food Network Glory: “Dun-Well Doughnuts”

All because I wanted a Boston creme doughnut. That is how this blog truly began. It was Father’s Day weekend and although I was initially thinking of myself, I knew my father wouldn’t mind having a sweet treat for dessert. Brooklyn is synonymous with great pizza, bread, and of course bagels. But it also has many great bakeries producing some of the most delicious doughnuts you have ever tasted. Just to name a few, there is: Doughnut Plant , Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Dough .   On the day of my craving, I did what any of us do countless times a day - I opened Google. When I Googled “best Boston creme doughnuts in Brooklyn” Dun-Well Doughnuts appeared high on that list. Intrigued I researched it further and learned that it had won the Canadian  Food Network’s contest called “Donut Showdown” in 2013. That was enough information for me to decide to visit the very next day.  Dun-Well Doughnuts was opened by Dan Dunbar and Christopher Hollowell in December 2011. Despite