If you’re a New Yorker living in South Florida, you’ve likely been on the hunt for a proper New York-style pizza, eating through tepid pies and soggy slices in search of the real thing.
The NY Pizza Place co-owner Alicia Allen felt the same way when she and her husband, Kelley, moved from New York to Florida. “It’s very hard to find good pizza. At first we thought, let’s be creative. Then, we decided we won’t be creative — we’re just going to bring the best down.”
Alicia and Kelley, along with the friends and restaurant partners, Francesca Perina and Kris Slusser, decided to open the NY Pizza Place, making authentic New York pizzas using Italian plum tomatoes, real cheese, and pizza dough made in Brooklyn — the secret to a great pizza.
The dough is made from semolina flour, salt, a touch of yeast, and New York City water. Made from a generations-old recipe, it’s allowed to rise slowly, then lovingly packaged and trucked to Florida weekly. The sauce is also made in-house using Italian tomatoes and a secret blend of herbs and seasonings. Finally the pizzas are baked in an Italian brick conveyor oven to give each pizza a crust that’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
The pizzeria was a hit, not only with New York expatriates, but with anyone who loves a good pizza, with the company expanding to three locations in Tamarac, Boca Raton, and Coral Springs.
Now, NY Pizza Place is opening two new locations, at the Cove, at 1582 SE 3rd Court in Deerfield Beach and in Pompano Beach at 330 S. Federal Highway, just south of Atlantic Boulevard. According to Alicia, the Cove location should open in about six weeks, with the Pompano Beach location opening about two months from now.
Alicia shares that she and her husband travel back to New York frequently to try out new pizzas and keep updated on trends, there’s still nothing like the classic New York pizza. “It’s still all about that Brooklyn dough.”
