Situated in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst in south Brooklyn lies an oasis of pizza and spumoni.
Since 1939, L&B Spumoni Gardens is a favorite Italian pizzeria that offers all sorts of Italian eats, from pizza to pasta, and everything in between. What this place is most famous for is their signature Sicilian style pizza and homemade spumoni.
What began in 1919 with a horse-drawn cart selling spumoni has now evolved into a full-scale al fresco dining experience on a Brooklyn street corner, with additional seating inside, and a walk up window for those on the go.
The signature dish of this place is a Sicilian style pizza, or as it’s known there, “the square”.
Many pizzerias do their Sicilian pizza like an original, Neapolitan pizza with the sauce on first, then sprinkles of mozzarella. Delicious, yes, but a challenge to eat, since it can be a little messy at times.
Here, tangy sauce is layered on top of creamy mozzarella that melts into the nice, crusty, soft bread. The process is similar to that of a Chicago-style pizza, sans the enormous crust. Doing it like this, actually gives the square its singular toothsome texture.
The other famous food at L&B is their spumoni, an Italian ice cream made from spun layers of vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio. Similar to Neapolitan ice cream, but with a green pistachio swirl replacing the pink strawberry.
So, what did I think of it?
I first heard about this place on the Travel Channel’s hit show, Man V Food, in which host Adam Richman sampled some of the best food in his hometown of Brooklyn. This pizzeria was one of the locations he visited. After seeing it, I had to check it out for myself. Also, the majority of what Adam eats on his show is almost too good to pass up.
I loved the pizza, and it was very delicious. From a taste perspective, it was nice to have a pizza slice where the sauce is on top, and the cheese in on the bottom, and it’s not a deep-dish Chicago-style. The sauce is sweet, smooth, and a little tangy. While eating the slice, I tasted a hint of olive oil from the bottom of the crust; it reminded me of dipping a hot piece of bread into a bowl of olive oil, like what you get as an appetizer at a fancy Italian restaurant.
For dessert, I tried their hand-made spumoni. At this place, you won’t get the watered down stuff like you will at any other pizzeria.
Their spumoni was a creamy, wonderful mix of vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio. And just when I think it’s just pistachio-flavored, I dig in to find nutty chunks of pistachio, buried in that wonderful, green section. There’s just something satisfying about spumoni; you get three flavors in one.
If you like Neapolitan ice cream, you’ll love spumoni. Make sure you save room for this treat!
You can choose to eat inside, or for the true experience, grab a square and sit down at one of the marked picnic benches and umbrellas. That’s what I like about this place. It is a casual spot to just relax, unwind, and bite into a piece of Brooklyn. And since the restaurant is just a stone’s throw from Coney Island (it is one stop away on the N train), you could dine one minute, and then hurry over to Astroland the next.
Great food, a comfortable atmosphere, accessible via car or train, and affordable ($2.25 a slice of Sicilian), it is definitely a place not to be missed.
And if you ever get tired of hot dogs from Nathan’s, why not change it up with some Sicilian?
L&B Spumoni Gardens:
2725 86th Street (off Avenue U), NY 11223. (718) 449-6921
Nearest subway:
86th Street (N train), 25th Avenue (D train).