The Best Pizza in the U.S., Psychedelic Pasta, and More NYC Italian Food News

These Pizzas Are Tops

The 50 Top Pizza awards took place in Manhattan at West Edge at Chelsea Market Tuesday, emceed by Appetito Editor-in-Chief Andrew Cotto. NYC’s own Una Pizza Napoletana was named the #1 pizza in the United States on a prestigious list that included other NYC-area pies including Song’ E Napule, Jersey City’s Razza Pizza Artiginiale, Pizza Secret, and more. 

The top 15 finishers in the U.S. competition will now advance to a final round, when 50 Top Pizza will announce the 100 best pizzerias in the world, which will be announced in Naples, Italy on September 13. The top 15 from the U.S. are:

1. Una Pizza Napoletana – New York
2. Razza Pizza Artigianale – Jersey City
3. Ken’s Artisan Pizza – Portland
4. Tony’s Pizza Napoletana – San Francisco
5. Pizzeria Bianco – Phoenix
6. Ribalta – New York
7. 0′ Munaciello – Miami
8. Jay’s Artisan Pizzeria – Kenmore
9. Song’ E Napule – New York
10. Kesté – New York
11. La Leggenda Pizzeria – Miami
12. Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana – South Kingstown, Rhode Island
13. Ops – Brooklyn
14. Spacca Napoli Pizzeria – Chicago
15. Fabrica Pizza – Tampa

Good luck, USA pizza!

What Is Psychedelic Pasta?

One of NYC’s summer getaway locations, Atlantic City, NJ, is home to the second location of Spiegelworld’s “Italian-American-Psychedelic restaurant," Superfrico at The Hook at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino. It opens today. 

So what is a psychedelic Italian restaurant, you ask? 

“Our goal is to transport guests to a world they’ve never experienced before that contains familiar flavors presented in new forms,” Spiegelworld Executive Culinary Director, Chef Anna Altieri, says in a statement. Or, put another way, “The menu… is like hitching a psychedelic ride from central Italy in a Ferrari 458 Speciale and roaring around the hairpin turns of Positano, with unexpected flavors meeting the catch of the day from the waters of the Amalfi Coast.”

That translates to items like crab gravy pasta with blue crab and spaghetti alla chitarra, a hot seafood tower with lobster, crabs, and oysters, and Superfrico’s signature Detroit-style pizza topped with jumbo lump crab, chives, and tarragon.

The restaurant and immersive experience is the second from Spiegelworld, which opened the original Superfrico at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2021. Tickets are on sale for The Hook shows, which premiere tonight, while reservations to dine at the psychedelic restaurant are available at Superfrico.com. 

Hamptons Italian Pop-Ups

It’s summer in NYC, which means the Hamptons are hopping. The east end of Long Island is also a great place to get Italian food, from mainstays such as Sant Ambroeus, Moby’s, and Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton, to Il Buco Al Mare in Amagansett.

Now, there are Italian food pop-ups getting in on the action too. The Wafu (Japanese-inspired Italian) hotspot Pasta Ramen is now open in the omakase room at Kissaki in Water MIll. Reservations are recommended and can be made here. 

Brooklyn/Manhattan pizzeria Motorino will also be making the scene out east, albeit at private events only. Motorino’s pizza trailer and its pizza makers are available for higher for private events with up to 1,000 guests. Inquiries can be sent to info@motorinopizza.com.

Meanwhile, Lilia co-founder Sean Feeney’s Brooklyn pizza shop Fini has opened a location in Amagansett, for those who want acclaimed pizza in the Hamptons. Online ordering is now available.