Brooklyn Bites: Paulie Gee's Follow Your Dreams
So, remember my friend from Jersey, Paulie G.? The one who had the pizza tastings in his backyard that I wrote about 2 summers ago?
Well, Paulie's obsession and life long dream has become a reality.
He quit his day job as a computer nerd and opened a pizzeria in a fringe neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. Yeah, that's right. You don't have to be 20 something to do your thing.
He bought a pizza oven built in Naples and started from scratch. He has been written up in many of the NY magazines as one of the top pizzerias in and around NYC. We went there on a recent Friday night.
Remember those beautiful backyard brick oven pizzas? Well, they tasted even better in his new fantastic place in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The space is beautiful. Long wooden farm tables decorated with votive candles and hand hewn wooden beams make it look like a lodge.
There is an amazing wine list (yes, a good wine list in a pizzeria) and they use big stripped down tomato cans as wine buckets. How creative! A secret barn door entrance in an old ship building and lumber industry neighborhood invites you in.
We tried the Del Boy: Spicy Sopressata with tomatoes and fior di latte.
The Brian De Parma (don't you love the names????): A straight tomato & Parmigiana Reggiano pie.
The Red, White & Greenberg: Fior di latte, Guanciale (that wonderful pork jowl), house pickled onions and arugula. My favorite.
The Cherry Jones seemed to be the popular pie of the evening with gorgonzola and dried cherries. I am not that adventurous. Give me time.
They also had a nice selection of vegan pies and the menu changes often.
click on menu to enlarge
This is not your everyday Naples pie. Cooked for 90 seconds in the 1000F degree wood burning pizza oven (Naples law, or the pizza police will arrest you), every pie comes out with those beautiful black bubbles, yet the dough is tender and soft to the bite.
This is artisanal pizza making at its finest.
Don't forget to say hello to Paulie and tell him that I sent you.
Follow your dreams (whatever they may be), and take a ride to Brooklyn.
You will be glad you did.
Paulie Gee's
60 Greenpoint Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Comments
That's a very creative menu!
Wanda D.
Stacy, love your blog
Deb B
Wondering if you have any info on where Paulie got his backyard pizza oven? Love your blog!
...I thought all Naples pie's were cooked at high heat with a wet dough and that's just the way it is. Are other naples pizzas lesser than this one? I'd love to know your experience as I,unfortunately, have never had a pizza like this ... haven't read that other article you mention at the top.