Patsy's

Garnished with a few light shakes of pepper, oregano, and cheese, a Patsy's slice ($1.50) was exquisitely light, with a pliant, air-pocketed crust and (hidden here) that beautiful charring from the vintage coal oven. In addition to their full-service restaurant next door, I also found, Patsy's plans to open a deli-grocery in the papered-over space on the corner. (Seven months later, the windows were still papered.)

On a previous occasion, at the West 74th St. Patsy's, I shared a large pie split 50-50 between sausage and prosciutto di Parma ($21.20). Thin, lightly charred, smoky crust; good wide lip around the outside; bright white fresh mozzarella; tomatoes that tasted like tomatoes and not spaghetti sauce. I could quibble that the sausage would have been better in chunks than in pellets, and that prosciutto doesn't work on pizza (at least, not for me), but all in all, that was a very nice pie.

Patsy's
2287-91 First Ave. (117th-118th Sts.)
(first of several locations)