Pizzeria’s in East Harlem

Growing up in East Harlem you could find a great pizzeria practically on every block.  For that matter, you could find a great Italian bakery on every block too!  There was Patsy’s, Louie’s and Ernie’s, Andy’s, Coppola’s, just to name a few.  Brooklyn also had some excellent pizza parlors as we used to call them.  We always referred to it as “apizza.”  I later found out this was the Neapolitan way of referring to pizza.

Patsy’s was the most popular of all the pizzerias.  It was mainly a sit-down restaurant, but when I was as kid they had the usual outdoor glass display cabinet where they sold slices.  Whenever I had to walk past 118th Street and First Avenue, I would grab a slice.  There were famous Italians who would come to Patsy’s for pizza.  Frank Sinatra was a big fan of Patsy’s.  

Louie’s and Ernie’s  was located on First Avenue and 114th Street.  I remember passing by when I was just a kid and getting a slice through their open front window for something like .25 cents.  If you’ve ever seen the movie Saturday Night Fever, the pass through window was exactly like Lenny’s in the movie.  The brothers Louie and Ernie were always there.  They both had curly brown hair and looked very much alike.  I think they might have been twins, but I’m not sure. They knew everyone in the neighborhood.  They moved up to the Bronx in 1959 and the brothers were there for a while, but Ernie sold it during the 80’s when they retired.

Andy’s was not that well-known… I don’t even remember if that was really even the name.  It might have been Madonna’s?   It was also owned by two brothers, I remember Andy Madonna but can’t remember his older brother’s name, although I have a vivid picture of him in my mind.  Maybe that’s why I called it Andy’s.  It was a little hole in the wall. I swear the store was maybe eight feet wide if that and very deep.  They had one oven in the back and a glass display cabinet in the front where they sold the pizza, also great pizza.  Maybe I called it Andy’s because the bar on the corner was named Andy’s Colonial Tavern?  That’s where I used to get off the bus every night at the corner of 116th and First Avenue on the way home from work when I was older.  Next to the bar was Claudio’s Barber Shop.  I remember my nephew Donnie getting his first haircut there.  I think it has become a NYC Landmark, it’s been there since 1950.  On the other side of Madonna’s Pizza was a coffee shop where all the old Italian men would hang out.  They made an espresso Italian ice which to this day I have never found anywhere else.  Delicious!

Back to pizza parlors, from which I transgressed.  There were a few Coppola’s pizza…one was a restaurant that was owned by Sal Coppola in the 40’s and 50’s.  He was married to my mother’s friend Anna.  I remember going in there to see my mom who was hanging out with Anna, who cooked in the kitchen.  They had great pizza too, but unlike all the other places you had to sit down for dinner to order it.  Then there was the other Coppola’s who had a restaurant on 116th Street, between First and Second Avenue.  You had to walk down a few stairs to get to it. I think they were all related in some way.  One of the brothers had a bit part in the Godfather Part II movie because I think he was a distant cousin to Francis Ford Coppola.  Good pizza there too.

It wasn’t hard to find a great slice of “apizza” in the old neighborhood.  We had Neapolitans coming out of the woodwork in East Harlem.  Thousands migrated from Naples beginning in the 1890’s along with Sicilians, Barese, Calabrese…  You could also find great bakeries, great latticinis’, and other specialty stores.  Unfortunately a lost culture. Happy Columbus Day!