A dozen of Bay Ridge’s finest pizzerias duked it out on May 3 at the second annual Pizza Wars.
The event, hosted by Merchants of 3rd Avenue, started last year as a “Star Wars”-themed walking tour of the nabe’s most beloved pizza joints. Participants voted for their favorite slice, and the winner was crowned by choice of the voting public.
This year, the Pizza Wars were “reimagined” somewhat. The “Star Wars” theme was tossed in favor of “Saturday Night Fever” — which was famously filmed in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, including at the now-closed Lenny’s Pizza — and the competition was more regulated, with competitors all being judged on their square Sicilian slices.
Roughly a dozen pizzerias took part in the tour, including Nino’s, Peppino’s, Anna Bella, Frankie’s and Pizza Wagon.
Participants, dressed in their 70s best, trekked through the neighborhood, judging each slice’s cheese, sauce, crust and presentation and taking notes on each one.
Just before 5 p.m., the pizza lovers gathered at Firefly to hand in their voting cards and enjoyed some “Saturday Night Fever” trivia and themed drinks and snacks as votes were tallied.
The vote was tight, and in third place was family-owned pizzeria Peppino’s, followed by Elegante in second.
Mancini’s Wood-Fired Pizza, a fairly recent addition to the neighborhood, clinched first. They took home the Golden Pizza Cutter.
The pizzeria promptly hung their prize on the wall of the pizzeria and shared the moment online, thanking the nabe and their loyal customers.
“Thank you [to my] staff, all my great customers and everyone who supports us,” Mancini’s wrote. “Bay Ridge is the greatest neighborhood in the world!!
