It *really* is NY pizza!!!
When my husband and I saw the name "Mario's NY Style Pizza" we thought, "yeah right, not another one". Since we moved away from NY 8 years ago we've tried numerous pizza places that claim they're "NY Style". We used to get excited by the title but we've been disappointed so many times we don't even get our hopes up anymore. I joked with my husband that we were going to ask them what Zeppoli's were and if they didn't know we weren't eating there. LOL
So, we take our 5 kids and head inside. It's a fairly small restaurant but they're adequate seating. Our family of 7 sat comfortably (at 2 tables). The first "test" for us was to see if they sold pizza by the slice, and they passed - they DO sell by the slice (it's more economical for our family to buy the pie but just the fact it's available tells us they're different from most in Oklahoma. Next I noticed they sell Greek Salad - wooohooo I didn't order this but I plan to next time. They also sold calzones and they do it right, with Mozzarella & Ricotta cheeses! They SLICE their sausages, they don't look like little rabbit turds on the pizza. ;-) And the last, but very big thing for me that finally DID get me excited was that they had garlic powder ON THE TABLES! In NY everywhere you go there's garlic powder available but I've *never* seen it in Oklahoma.
So we order a calzone, 7 drinks, and a large cheese pie. this is a REALLY large pie (I want to say 14 or 16in). You're allowed one refill and then it's $0.35 after that. We didn't need more than 2 refills anyway. There are TV's to keep you occupied while you're waiting and my kids played "sand castle" with the condiments (yeah, we dont' get out much). The walls are tastefully decorated with painted Italian foods and scenery.
When our food was ready I was extremely anxious. When I lifted my first slice I realized I'd have to bend it to eat it, just like home!!! Most of the other customers were cutting their pizzas up, which my husband and I found amusing. Just fold it vertically folks! ;-) After teaching our kids how to eat it we all enjoyed it immensely. Memories of my childhood came flooding back as the taste is exact, and I mean EXACT of the good old fashioned NY pizza that sadly, is hard to find even in NY anymore. I was elated.
The calzone was just as good! The cheeses were awesome and the crust perfect. Wow! One of the men on the staff came out to see how we liked the food. He gave us his card and told us to call ahead and they'd have it ready for us next time. Really nice people.
They also have cheesecake they have shipped from NY. I was too full to try this. Rarely does ONE pizza fill my entire family of 7 but there were 2 slices and half a calzone leftover! The prices are decent for the portion size as well.
For us, finding this place was a little piece of heaven on Earth. Friendly staff, awesome food, reasonable prices, a great menu, we will travel far to go back often. We hope you enjoy it too.
Yankee Transplants in OK