Lucali - View this location on map Accidental pizzaiolo Mark Iacono opened Lucali as a labor of love, to save the local candy store of his Carroll Gardens youth from an uncertain, generic fate (i.e., becoming a Subway or Dunkin Donuts, no doubt). After devoting himself to the monklike regimen of making old-fashioned thin-crust, brick-oven pizzas, Iacono has created a business that has instantly become woven into the neighborhood fabric, a cozy, softly lit, and effortlessly soulful spot where families commune over the simple pleasures of Iacono s rough-hewn, satisfying pies, all of them made front and center at a workstation that looks like a stage. Vestiges from the candy store hang on the brick walls, along with a chalkboard menu restricted to pies and calzones. It s cash-only, BYO, and like Graydon Carter s Waverly Inn, not really officially open, according to Iacono, but the lack of familiar trappings only adds to its charm. NY Magazine 575 Henry St, New York, New York Restaurant

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