By Scott Belding

Scott loves pizza, and he lives in New York. There is no better excuse to explore all of the pizza haunts this great city has to offer. If you didn’t see his piece last week, you can find that here. Buon appetito!

Cheesy Pizza Manhattan Valley

>$3 slices, $AM

What you notice most is inconsistency between bites of the margherita: too much sauce or not enough. The sauce itself is overly sweet, the cheese is somewhat lacking in flavor, and the crust does a good job holding everything together despite not being quite crisp enough. All that said, it’s fairly well-textured and satisfying, especially the regular cheese slice.

5.5

Mama’s TOO! Manhattan Valley

>$3 slices, 10:30PM *earlier than advertised

This brick-lined counter serves up big, thick-crusted slices with a good amount of cheese and a chewiness that will exercise your jaw. The sauce is reasonably flavorful and the pizza is satisfying overall, but the basil lacks freshness and the whole experience is a little doughy.

6.5

Motorino Upper West Side

table service, whole pizzas only

Top-tier crust. Equally good for supporting toppings as for stealing your neighbor’s remainders. The sauce also pops with freshness, and the cheese is very tasty, if not quite at optimal levels of coverage or up to the lofty standards of the other two players (though the buffalo mozzarella is on point). Delightful little restaurant with rare sparkling Italian wine available too.

8.5