New Hyde Park Pizza Joint Named Among Nation's Best

NEW HYDE PARK, NY — A pizzeria in New Hyde Park makes one of the best pies in the country, according to new rankings from the folks at The Daily Meal.

New York was well represented on the list, accounting for more than a quarter of the best pizzas in America. Coming in at No. 66 — Umberto's Pizzeria & Restaurant, located near Jericho Turnpike and Lakeville Road.

The authors called the Long Island joint "pizza royalty," and credited Italian-born founder Umberto Corteo and his brother for making a mean grandma slice.

If there’s Long Island pizza royalty, then Umberto’s Pizzeria would take the crown. You can thank Italian-born founder Umberto Corteo (from Monte di Procida near Naples) and his brother Joe, who opened Umberto’s of New Hyde Park in 1965. Umberto’s slings superior pizzas. Most notably, the grandma: a square, 12-slice, 16-by-16-inch thin-crust pie topped with mozzarella and plum tomato marinara. Haven’t experienced this thin, crispy-crust style before? Start here. It’s generally regarded as the originator of the grandma slice.

Patch has reached out to Umberto Corteo for comment and will update when we hear back.

Born in a rustic village on the outskirts of war-torn Naples, Corteo was the seventh of 11 children, according to his company's website. He worked in the fields of his father's farm to help feed the large family and learned how to make the most out of limited resources.

Corteo was drawn to the bountiful opportunities available in the United States, and as a teen he and four siblings made the long trek across the Atlantic, settling in Brooklyn. He worked in hot kitchens "for very little money," saving money to send back to his parents in Italy as well as to put toward a business of his own.

In 1965, he and his brother managed to save up enough to open Original Umberto's of New Hyde Park.

"With little space and no means to spread the word of his new restaurant Umberto set out to do one thing better than all others, offer the finest quality, authentic Italian food available with the belief that in time people would recognize Original Umberto's of New Hyde Park as the best," the restaurant website stated.

Joe Corteo has since left New Hyde Park and opened a pizza joint in Florida and their brother Carlo has joined the pizzeria business.

"The first cozy Pizzeria has grown into a majestic Tuscan architectural two-story restaurant with a full service cafe, four star dining room, and world-class banquet facilities and Original Umberto’s is known nationwide by the tens of thousands of guests who visit each year," the website said.