I eat pizza almost every day.
And almost every day isn’t enough for me.
Not that any New Yorker has to justify their slice consumption, but I mention my dough-forward diet because I was tickled to see the latest edition of the NYT Pizza Guide by Nikita Richardson, Korsha Wilson, Priya Krishna, and Luke Fortney. As is the case with last year’s guide, which omitted Lucali, a few places also fell off this time. One of them is Lucia of Avenue X. Another is F&F Pizzeria.
There are also additions. Brooklyn DOP in Park Slope snuck onto the list, which is a nice little surprise, as folks don’t usually mention it in the same breath as viral shops like Mama’s Too, Ceres, or L’Industrie. My highly subjective take is that DOP quietly sells one of the city’s top cheese slices, with a particularly light crumb. It also serves a very good Americano on those rare occasions when the espresso machine is working. Ops East Village, with its crisp tavern pies, also joins the list!
Check out the full NYT pizza guide right here!
It’s Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The Knicks are looking better. The Philadelphia Eagles are not. And my Super Bowl picks remain The Bills and The Rams. Bar Cosme is open with a $135 set menu, replacing my beloved Atla, Eater NY reports. And Chad Robertson’s Altbau bakery is up and running in Williamsburg, per Grub Street.
And on a very different note: Denver’s dining scene is still booming. During a trip to the Mile High city the other week, I ate well at the Basque-themed Heretik (two visits!), the Mexican tasting menu spot Milpero (twenty courses!), and one of my favorite pizzerias anywhere, Cart Driver (just $9 for a margherita after 10 p.m.).
We have a full slate of restaurant stuff to get to, including my NYT review of El Califa de León — published both in English and en español.
You’ll also find a guide to some of New York’s top Latin American burgers if you scroll down to the bottom. But, first, allow me to share four brief observations about the midterm elections.
One
I’m never one to bring up politics to strangers, but strangers often bring up politics to me. During a restaurant-related trip to Birmingham this summer, a bartender at House of Found Objects said something to the effect of: “We can’t expect the South to change if we all leave the South.” It struck me as a heartwarming point of view, in direct contrast to the “let’s go elsewhere” sentiment we’re seeing a lot of (one of my last living uncles, bless him, moved to Spain a few years ago).
So the story goes that Alabama Democrat Shomari Figures managed to win reelection even after the Supreme Court greenlit a 2nd congressional district that was gerrymandered to favor Republicans. Democrats also managed to flip four statewide legislative seats — and made the governor’s race somewhat close. I don’t mention this to favor one party over the other. This is about a more basic precept: We can’t abandon our communities or our democracy if we want our communities and our democracy to change.
Two
Disillusionment with the workings of government will reach an all-time high, I reckon, if the new Congress and the executive branch can’t come together to make ACA health care plans more affordable in the coming year.
Over three million residents lost coverage as Obamacare’s enhanced tax credits expired, NBC reports. And while the employer mandate is still alive, it only applies to businesses with 50 staffers or more. That means hardworking servers, bartenders, and cooks often don’t have access to cheaper coverage — because they work for small or even mid-sized restaurants. Those folks will have a rough go of it when premiums rise by double digits in 2027. And it’s quite possible that scores more hospitality folks will get kicked off Medicaid when burdensome work eligibility requirements go into effect in the new year. So, yeah. Let’s get on it.
Three
I try to use Spanish phrases and words as much as I can in my writing. I believe, deep in my heart, that it’s important to further normalize a language that over 40 million Americans consider their native tongue. That’s especially true this year, as English-only initiatives gained traction, and as communities of hispanohablantes found themselves struggling amid fears of ICE raids. But while both Democrat and Republican candidates have used Spanish campaign slogans over the years, it felt like more than window-dressing when Gina Hinojosa used “no te dejes” as part of her victory speech as the incoming governor of Texas.
And even though politicians have historically thrown around “si, se puede!” quite freely, it felt all the more powerful when California’s next governor, Xavier Becerra, used it to honor the generational farm labor activist who coined that phrase, Dolores Huerta. She died in October at the age of 96.
Four
As I’ve said before, we’re all in this together, no matter whom we voted for.
Behind the Paywall: The Rise of Latin American Burgers
Where to find some of NYC’s best Mexican, Peruvian, and Cuban burgers
Test-driving the Sonoran hot dog and rice cakes at Bar Chucho!
What the other critics have to say about El Califa, and….