Chris E.
Yelp
From my earliest memories or lack thereof of Artichoke Pizza, it always served one important purpose at its original location in the East Village ... and that was to cure even the hungriest of munchies after an evening of bar hopping. That massive, super cheesy hunk of a pizza slice always hit the spot and it was no different at this location.
Unlike the original or most of the locations of Artichoke's, this one is located in a less busy and, might I point out, less rowdy, section of NYC, although it's still just a few blocks away from the 86th Street shopping district, which sees a lot of traffic. The location was quite small and it didn't seem like they really got a lot of customers. Once in awhile, customers came in as we ate, but at no point did were there more than 2-3 people inside at once, including us.
My wife and I were running some Saturday errands when we stumbled upon Artichoke Pizza's Bay Ridge location. It just happened to be lunch time, so we decided, heck, why not? And what was even better? They have a ridiculously reasonable $9 lunch special, which comes with ANY 2 slices and a drink. In 2020, you just can't beat that for good pizza ... if it's good.
It had been a very, very long time since we both ate at Artichoke Pizza, so we scanned through the potential options and, to be honest, I never had a clue as to what they were until that day. Surprisingly, they had quite the variety, and every single one really did look delicious - the famed Artichoke, Crab, Margherita, Pepperoni, Staten Island (meat lovers) Sicilian and Vodka Sicilian. The Artichoke slice alone was a hefty $6, while the others were either $4.75 or $5, BUT you definitely get your money's worth with the size of their slices easily longer than average human head. For every slice, it's about 1.5 slices, so when I say bring your appetite, really make sure you're hungry before stepping in. It's no joke ....
I ended up with an Artichoke and Crab, while my wife had an Artichoke and Margherita. When the pizza slices came out, they weren't really piping hot, so that was disappointing, but damn they were still so good! We both had been to A LOT of pizzerias over the last few years, including some of the best in the country - DiFaras, Roberta's, Paulie Gee's, Frank Pepe's in Connecticut and - and I couldn't believe I was thinking this, but the Crab and Margheritas were some of the best slices I had ever had in my life. Thin crust, plenty of cheese and toppings scattered and it was extremely delicious. I was in shock that they were so good. Part of it might have been my hunger, but nevertheless, they were really, really good.
Unfortunately, we couldn't say the same about the Artichoke slice. It was disappointing and not how we remembered it from years past. The breading was very thick, probably to hold up all of the weight of the cheese and artichoke, and it was just too creamy and heavy. It almost was like the creaminess of the pizza wasn't fully done and needed to be placed in the oven a bit longer.
So tip of the day? Skip the signature Artichoke slice and go with any of the other ones. The Sicilian and Vodka Sicilians are your classic square slice, but everything else is your larger than average NY slice. Although we picked the Crab and Margherita and those were absolutely delicious, the other regular slices looked just as good and we will definitely be back for them.