I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I need to get something off my chest: I don’t like Sal’s Pizza in Mamaroneck.
There. I’ve said it.
I’d been a couple times before, and always wondered what the big deal was. People rave. It wins “Best Pizza of Westchester” in all kinds of surveys. Heck, even the Zagat Survey says: “there’s none better.”
So I went again last week.
I ordered the signature slice:
I waited while they heated it up, staring at the boxes piled high awaiting takeout orders.
I took my slice to the “dining room.”
Here’s the “dining room.”
I blotted  sopping up any of the extra oil on top of the pizza. It was a two napkin job.
The best part about the pizza is how thin the crust is. I’ll definitely give it that. It’s thin. And you can never been too thin.
But when I ate it, the cheese slid off the crust in a big slimey mess. The tomato sauce (too sweet), was blotchy underneath.
I was left with a cheeseless slice: sweet, cloying tomato sauce on a very thin crust. I’m not saying I could make it better. I’m just saying that the joy of pizza is in enjoying it as a package: the crunch of the crust, the bright sauce, the intermingling of cheese and, if you choose, toppings.
This slice was not that. Tell me I’m wrong. What do you see in Sal’s?
19 Comments
Wow. I don’t know if we can still be friends… I like to let my slice sit just a few minutes- it lets the cheese “set”- and there’s no slipping off. And sorry- but it’s that sweet sauce that gets me every time… and the cheese… now I want to drive over there!
Liz, I think the attraction is that it is the most like the pizza we used to get in the old days, before pizzerias started using canned tomato sauces laden with corn syrup or fake mozzarella cheese (maybe 30 years ago?). Maybe back then it used to be more about the pizza, and now it’s more about making a living.
Think of it this way…that slice of Americana has been switched—-pizza instead of apple pie. Sure it is drippy and the cheese doesn’t stay on. But it harkens back to a simpler time when uncomfortable psuedo-wood booths and bending paper plates were not obstacles to a good time. Think back to a time when if you mentioned “salad” pizza, everyone in the place would have thought you were crazy.
Sal’s pizza is so good because of all it represents, not because of the sauce, cheese, and crust.
I worked in Mamaroneck 22 years ago, and Sal’s was over-rated then too.
Brave! And true. Sal’s is one of the Burbs most overrated joints. I think people like it because it reminds them of when they were young and they went there for a slice – so its mostly folks born and raised here that actually like the stuff.
If you’re hungy for cheap eats in Mamaroneck it’s far better to head down Palmer to Walter’s for a truly great dog or down Mamaroneck Ave towards the Sound to Lupita’s for a succulent taco!
Sicilian is the thing to get at Sal’s, not the regular pizza. I wasn’t too impressed the first time either, but then I realized I had to come back…again, and again, and again.
If it’s a good salad pizza you’re looking for, though, you’re best off with Joe’s, down the street.
Liz – I was so glad to see what you wrote about Sal’s. The pizza is “ok” – kind of oily, as you said, and the sauce sweet, which is better than spicy. However, did you ever get the salad there? A friend of mine raves that they have the best salad and what is it – chopped up iceberg lettuce with a little bit of tomato plus Italian dressing. It’s not exciting or interesting and has little nutritional value. I don’t get it either… – Robin
It’s the Sicilian slice that is the best in Westchester County. Forget everything else.
Liz,
I live in Rye Brook, and every now and then, I have to go to Sal’s. The thing is that they are very inconsistent. If you catch them on a good night, it is the best pizza in Westchester. But just as often, it is almost boring. When it is good, it is because of the thin crunchy crust, with just the right amount of sauce to cheese. Most other pizza places have rubbery, thicker crust, with almost no tomato sauce, and nasty cheese.
Eric’s right, the sicilian slice is remarkably good. The regular slice is passable at best.
Best all-around pizza in Westchester can be found at Pelham Pizzeria, which, for some reason or another, always seems to be the first runner-up to Sal’s in those county-wide ratings.
Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven’t come back to discuss this… I’ve been busy with restaurant week. The scilian, huh?
Sal’s is now, and always has been, overrated. The pizza is fair at best. My wife loves the sicilian but I just don’t see it. The best pizza is at Via Appia in West Harrison.
After reading the comments, I felt I had to try Sal’s for myself. While the pizza was pretty good, nobody prepared me for what an insane asylum I was walking into. I went on Friday at 6 pm and it was a total mad house. My wife and I got a pie to stay and all we could do was eat it at a very small table in front and it was just a mass of humanity coming and going. I don’t live close enough to go through that again. I’ve tried a lot of places but can anybody give me their favorites in the Scarsdale/ Eastchester area and vicinity?
I’m with you Liz. Sal’s is non-spectacular but yes as others have said their sicilian slices are more notable.
I was born in Brooklyn and had some great neighborhood pizza joints around as a kid so I understand the joy of a great simple slice of pizza.
After college I moved to Danbury, CT for 7 years before “coming home” (my wife’s from westchester) this year.
The local pizza joint near where I lived in Danbury (John’s on Rt 37) had an awesome sauce that put it way ahead of Sal’s or anything else I’ve had in Westchester.
Now in Westchester, for pizza we almost always go for Nicky’s on Chatsworth Ave in Larchmont. Better quality than Sal’s (for non-sicilian) and right near home. Inconsistent though. We just ate there tonight and the crust was thicker than usual. And I’m spending a few bucks more per pie than I used to for better pizza in freaking Danbury!
(To be fair I must admit that aside from our spot, Danbury pizza was pretty lousy)
You naysayers are all corrupt. Go to the freezer or Dominoes and get your MacDonalds perfectly consistant faux pizza. Stay away from Sal’s. This way true believers can enjoy it. Yes we look at you while you eat it and ponder the grease or the cheese or the sauce, or the crust. We just eat it.
By the way, Sal’s best is the Sicilian. I try to always buy a pie and take the rest home. Also notable is the salad pizza. Simple and so complimentary.
Either way, if you are too snobby to eat from a metal pan on formica tables with real people, good people, or you need some fine dining experience of some outerworldly kind, then get the hell outta our mecca.
Sincerely,
Rick Everett
Hi
Based on what I’ve read, it soumd like Sal’s is Ok ay best. I’ve been to many a pizza joint and have realized that the true tradition of pizza preparation is for the most part gone with the use of inferior sauces and cheese, and shitty crust. The best pizza I’ve ever had is located in the Bronx. It’s called Louie’s and Ernie’s located on Crosby St near E. Tremont Ave. It’ s all homemade ingredients and perfect combination of Cheese’s with the tangy sauce and ultra thin crust amke it the very best I’ve ever had
Mike
Rick  I didn’t mean to imply that I don’t like Sal’s because you have to eat from a metal pan at a formica table.
Michael  Louie’s & Ernie’s sounds great!
Rafi  I’ll put Nicki’s on my list!
So. About Sal’s Scilian. What makes it outstanding?
the only thing worse than the pizza is the attitude.
If you had a “reheat” you missed the real thing. if you didn’t try sicilian you missed an incredible sensation. If you cheese slid off you don’t know how to fold and hold the slice right (you probably used a knife and fork as well).
If you went there for the atmosphere you were duped. Don’t go for the service, the reheats, the atmosphere. There is only one reason to go the best damn pizza anywhere.
You have to do it right, you don’t go to the Louvre to look at the building. Try again, nothing beats Sal’s