How New York’s Best Pizzeria Makes 140,000 Pizzas In Its Coal-Fired Oven Every Year | Big Batches

Grimaldi's is a legendary pizzeria in New York City known for its authentic New York-style coal-oven pizza. Over the past 30 years, it has gained the admiration of both tourists and locals. Recently, Joe Avella, a host of Insider's "Food Tours," named it the best in New York City: • Finding The Best Pizza...
But what truly sets the pizzeria apart is its production volume and team. Each day, veteran pizzaiolos hand-stretch 500 pies, expertly slice 200 pounds of fresh mozzarella, and manage a 1,000-degree oven.
While the pizzeria has changed hands over the years and expanded to more than 45 locations across the United States, the Brooklyn flagship has preserved the traditional recipes and kept most of its original staff.
We visited Grimaldi's flagship to see how it makes its pizzas in such big batches.
00:00 Intro
00:53 Mixing Dough
03:36 Making Pizza sauce
04:12 Slicing Mozzarella
04:48 Stoking the coal-oven
06:16 Building the perfect pizza
07:34 Cooking techniques
08:40 Customers
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#Pizza #Grimaldi #Insider Food
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How New York’s Best Pizzeria Makes 140,000 Pizzas In Its Coal-Fired Oven Every Year | Big Batches

[@toannguyen1]

That kitchen manager looked out of place at first, and then I saw him work. He definitely has paid his dues and put in the time and work into the craft.

[@ryanwaege7251]

When he spun the dough, I was convinced!

[@CityZ22]

Never judge the book by it cover right? At first I was too, but than I’m thinking he in NYC, manager don’t wear suit and tie there lol

[@IrvinGarcia-im8hf]

You know his employees respect his craft.

[@SJ-ki1eq]

why do u judge

[@user-ek2eb5md8g]

He's been doing it forever. He owns the company and pays the wages

[@GrimaldisPizzeria]

Thank you so much for coming! It was a real pleasure.

[@justagalwhocomments]

❤

[@tiacho2893]

Anyone can make a great product in small volumes. But this place seems to make huge quantities and still maintain quality. Often that quality product gets sacrificed for volume production and increased profit margin. Kudos to this place and the people that work there.

[@markheithaus]

Good point

[@thisguy73]

Yelp reviews disagrees

[@LimerickWarrior1]

@@thisguy73 You mean the yelp reviews clearly from competitors?

[@jasonslovak4766]

Nothing speciel… there is No meat or food on those pizzaer.. they wont even feed a 10 years Old boy loo

[@atta1798]

not really, your assumption is based on the common market that is completely wrong. Italians buy quality ingredients so the opposite....the more the cheaper the best quality

[@ytube777]

"NYC tap water". That always makes me laugh. As if there's a magical natural spring underneath manhattan.

[@JohnHausser]

Are you an ignorant dude ? NYC water is considered to be "soft," meaning it has low concentrations of calcium and magnesium due to the makeup of the water that flows into the Catskills and Delaware Watershed

[@jackeddemon]

lol well it’s highly valued. They even export it to other pizzerias around the country. It’s the secret ingredient

[@SiegfriedDerDrachentoter]

It’s the only thing that hasn’t been corrupted by rats and crime

[@RYTF5]

​@@jackeddemonwhich is hilarious as someone who works in the beer industry. There's such a thing as water treatment lol.

[@RYTF5]

​@@SiegfriedDerDrachentoterI won't comment on the rats but people still think crime is bad in NYC? Lol

[@Belligerentpotatoes]

Respect to those workers man, especially the first three guys. Every successful restaurant is reliant on people you could lean on to handle anything

[@ihavenonameforyou1]

Sadly new York City is working on a law that will harm all Pizzerias that use wood or coal ovens.

[@nobshistoryengineering4421]

Communist bastards@@ihavenonameforyou1

[@christophemarie6764]

the manager seems to master all steps of the process ! respect !

[@The_Gallowglass]

Manager should be able to do all of what the people under him do, or he has no idea how to manage

[@Qaranwadani1993]

That's the ideal, but must managers don't lead by example, They just order everyone around.@@The_Gallowglass

[@DWilliam1]

I remember when they first opened up. I was a fan of Patsy’s and I heard they opened up another place in Brooklyn. Turns out it became a huge lawsuit over ownership of the name and recipes etc. The original place they opened near the bridge was a bar in its previous life. It now is a pizzeria again called Juliana’s opened by the guy who originally opened Grimaldi’s, Patsy Grimaldi. It’s a crazy story. Great Pizza. Still live in Manhattan and now mostly go to the original Patsy’s in East Harlem.

[@bubbaries]

Was just trying to remember the relationship between the two, thanks! Juliana’s was great.

[@urbananalrapist]

Juliana's will usually have a line when Grimaldi's doesn't. But during the busy summer season, Grimaldi's will always have a line as well. If you are a hungry tourist or New Yorker visiting the Brooklyn Bridge Park area, pray that you can get a spot at either Juliana's or Grimaldi's. Whatever you do, don't settle for Ignazio's, which is located at a super prime corner spot across from the park and around the corner from Shake Shack. It is an awful place with food that takes forever to come out even when they're not busy, and they have the gall to be a "cash only" business. You are better off spending money on train fare and going elsewhere.

[@NidPhutain]

Such an amazingly shot video. Content to the point and explained the whole thing. Thanks guys!

[@aspjake123]

Kitchen Manager Tony has put in his dues, you can tell by the way he stretches that dough and works the pies. Well done Tony and kudos to your hard working crew.

[@hv5304]

This video reveals professionalism .The place seems very well setup.The process of the food is very precise, the material unique.The culture of the restaurant gives good example to people who work there. A lot enthusiasm I d love to try it.

[@rockturtleneck]

Walking from Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldi's is one of the quintessential NYC experiences. And the pizza is every bit as good as it looks.

[@death2pc]

Absolutely. A single pie will easily satisfy three people. We deliberately walk down from the UES and tool in there about 2:00 or so. Always a rock solid hit. We take the ferry back up to 35th and hoof it home from there. A great day!

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

You should try Juliana's right next door to Grimaldi's. I personally think they make better pizza. There is also a Grimaldi's in Hoboken, NJ. It is not associated with the Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, but regardless, they make just as good of a pizza as a lot of places in Brooklyn.

[@ramencurry6672]

True. I’ve had Grimaldis pizza at their South Carolina location which is just as good. However the atmosphere and vibe does not capture that city vibe. Although the pizza is great it’s in a boring shopping center

[@vBDKv]

Not gonna lie, those pizzas looks absolutely delicious. I'd love to try one.

[@garysofko]

Love and Passion. The two most important ingredients in good food

[@guitar45rocks5]

We used to get Grimaldi's every time we had a team lunch back when I used to work downtown. I miss it!

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

I saw the video with Joe and Harry, and it's great to see a more detailed documentary of their daily operations!

[@DecayingReverie]

Man, those pizzas look crazy good. If I ever find myself up north, I'll definitely keep this place in mind.

[@princeprince9227]

Go to johns on bleeker instead

[@aldocuacuas5838]

Go to patsy’s in east harlem Patsy’s along with grimaldi’s and a couple other pizzerias are also some of the first coal over pizzerias in NYC Waiting line is not as crazy in Patsy’s compared to Grimaldi’s

[@princeprince9227]

@@aldocuacuas5838 both overrated in my opinion.

[@Nickwesterbork]

vetzak

[@moseskongi4746]

​@@gman8361 *You can get one of em plain pizzas for $15. Fancier toppings / ingredients goes up to about $26.*

[@AlQuadrato2]

That’s how you make pizza. Very nice idea of going behind the scene to film that. The whole process makes things different for us. Will probably “steal” the idea to make something similar in my channel here in London

[@user-ek2eb5md8g]

I'm gonna tell

[@peterkeleher]

honestly, they look amazing

[@user-ct6nu8qz5e]

The cooks deserve all the applause 🎉 wow, so much work being put into every ingredient! I wish I visited this place when I was in nyc a couple years ago. TIL next time 😊

[@lulubartnik3834]

such hardworking crews for making that much and special tasty pizza job well done sir

[@jordan614444]

Respect boys, not an easy gig to keep it all uniform. Nice to see people giving a shit from the start to the finished product!

[@johnyoung2702]

One good thing about owning a pizzeria in NYC, is you can still make great money and run a low risk of mobs looting your store. Pizza dough dont look cool on instagram

[@HighlySensitiveHealer]

Thank you for putting this video out as I’m trying to learn this beautiful art form of making pizza.

[@Anurania]

Walmart sells a coal burning outdoor pizza oven that that can handle pizzas up to 15" and is only around $90. It's apparently pretty good.

[@HighlySensitiveHealer]

@@Anurania thank you so much for that info my friend. I truly appreciate it 🤙

[@robertrogers7939]

Fantastic dedication to the art.

[@lorenl9262]

Good for you for keeping it REAL and to your HARD work!! :)- Kudos to you and keep it "orignal" !!!! LOVE IT!!! :)-

[@Romafood]

I love pizza, I love this video! Greetings from Italy

[@ShoelessJP]

That pizza looks so tasty. Great vid.

[@JG-no3iz]

Nice operation, systems and quality. Bravo!

[@danielroque8504]

Dang, that looks good~~my mouth is literally salivating~~😋

[@RoyalDuggars]

Pizza Tours?? Be still my heart!

[@systemshocker2875]

My god mother's sister took me roller blading in Brooklyn. We then went to Grimaldi's and got a pizza. We wound up ordering another pizza because of how great it was. True Story.

[@rareform6747]

Man Thats a lot of Work . Greatness !

[@drsreelakshmikaamaakhya7553]

Loved the video

[@user-yw7ob7tu3k]

great video!!!!and high quality pizza...it must tastes so yummy!!!!🍕🍅🧀

[@scoobtoober2975]

Thanks for sharing. This is very detailed. Thanks. I've been making pies at home for a few years and have a good process. I stretch wait, stretch a little more then top. then bake. Good deal. i'm at 530 on the back of a cast iron pan. 14" round. Dough is rested a day in the fridge. Cheers Coal is super old cool

[@thedude8153]

Why do they call them pies? Why not just say pizzas?

[@agsnt]

Had Grimaldis in 2014, still the best pizza I've had in my life

[@inshanity84]

Me too, but in 2009

[@ramencurry6672]

Back in the 1990s before social media and before the rise of the internet, they were like one of the default pizza places recommended in the New York guide books.

[@richardwulf1382]

The guy in the red shirt is the heart of Grimaldi's, he is in all parts of the process.

[@LordSupremeKara]

This channel always makes me feel hungry which is bad lol 😂

[@finrodfelagund3968]

this is a good video thank you

[@aisle_of_view]

Good luck to these folks. Looks great.

[@sanitary103]

looks awesome. Tony's in SF is the best I've had and this one looks to be right up there.

[@rubythomas5386]

There used to be a Grimaldi's near where I live in Southern California. I am so sad that it no longer exists there anymore.

[@lostfoundmusic1327]

I literally lost it when she said "NYC tap water" 😂 made me second thought

[@ComeeAndSee]

Grimaldi’s is soooooo good!! Hands down best NY pizza I’ve ever had - BK native!!

[@thisguy73]

why only 3.5* on yelp

[@franklininterviewsvancouve8605]

That guy was on point with everything

[@288theabe]

I would hate watching these foodie videos without something to eat in front of me...🤤🤤🤤

[@xxkasperxx]

Our first pizza stop on our NY trip...best pizza we've had next to Tony's out here in SF...Lucali next trip 👍🏾

[@pmaigotthat7211]

Lucali is way better

[@xxkasperxx]

@pmaigotthat7211 That's what I hear...hoping we get there next june...Lucali is at the top of the list

[@laoch5658]

American pizza is trash.. Pizza in Italy is far superior

[@xxkasperxx]

@@laoch5658 doubt that

[@JourdainWong]

@@xxkasperxx You doubt that the home of pizza makes a better pizza than the knock-off?

[@murphychris9811]

i love the way she says BATCHES

[@timwright4263]

I am four-thousand miles from New York but I can smell the passion and perfection 🍕☺

[@GrimaldisPizzeria]

❤

[@Von_RX]

excellent work ethic and pizza

[@boohere2]

That looks so delicious

[@Blueskies7775]

Looks SO good! I wish I could teleport there to eat it!

[@user-ws7ej1sf8p]

Don't let your dreams be dreams

[@nahor88]

@@user-ws7ej1sf8p Yesterday you said tomorrow....

[@fartingbonerboy]

i promise you in a million years your wish would never come true. humans are very far from discovering teleportation, if it even is possible. idiot. wish smaller :/

[@Zane70K]

Grimaldi is really good. I go to the one in long Island every few weeks

[@load714]

Coal or wood ovens, cook the best pizza. Especially on a nice seasoned stone.

[@Mikeylikesyou123]

Always love Claudia"s segments!

[@michaelburgard1096]

They also have them in Arizona. Some of the best pizza I've had. Same recipe, tablecloths, logo, etc.

[@JasonAMauss]

I live in the Phoenix area and Grimaldi's is my fav pizza spot to hit up. Such tasty pizza!

[@JasonAMauss]

@@alexm7063yeah I just ate there earlier this week.

[@statusstate322]

Looks good 👍

[@maul_]

the "new york city tap water" part got me dying LMAO

[@michaelXXLF]

GAwd, would I love to have one of those pies like right now!

[@bojanmrdja2803]

"New York tap water..." Jezzzzus🤣

[@abarairenji123]

Inside food has found the most "Italian dad" man ever.

[@bvc100]

Ok, marked. Such beautiful pizzas

[@true_jw]

that coal-fired oven is fire!!!

[@Xolozo]

thanks! im hungry now

[@balaji.viswanathan]

Great video! What is the brand of pizza sauce and dough flour that is used?

[@bestkksser]

Love it there pizza amazing ❤❤

[@Bad_News_Bear]

food safety gloves are priceless

[@Monica-Rowland]

This channel always makes me feel hungry which is bad lol

[@politicsuncensored5617]

That is 383 pizza's each day of the year - Wow~! I would say they know what they are doing & I wish they had been in NYC when I was stationed in the navy yard. Shalom

[@xsamus223x]

How did I know this was Grimaldi's just by looking at it.. 😉

[@mariajaujou]

I can always recognise Claudia’s unique voice!

[@dantefajardo347]

There are 576,500 minutes approximately in a year. They make 140,000. You telling me the make almost 1 pizza every 4 minutes based on a 24 hour operation?

[@user-ds6uv9hd8s]

The recipes are easy to follow, and the presenter's passion for cooking shines through in every video. From mouthwatering desserts to savory main dishes, there's something for every palate. I've tried several recipes, and they've all turned out fantastic!

[@swampshack6975]

He looks and sounds exactly like Frank Pinello from The Pizza Show, I know they're both from Brooklyn, but damn.

[@LUVninety]

Genius!

[@amado7760]

my mouth is watering

[@user-tv5ht8ig6q]

Make mine topped with Italian sausage and green peppers ! ❤😊

[@LucianPrimeOneMillion]

Youll never know how important that base tomato sauce is.. Damn I look forward to tasting it every time i bite into a pizza.

[@pancakedemon]

I love this video

[@delilah8476]

Pizzaiolo is my vocab word ford the day!

[@PrettyGoodLookin]

Every City and Town should have a Grimaldi's.

[@user-of3rn7bm1f]

Finally a pizza in America that's not greasy and full of cheese.

[@NoName-ge6wc]

Im impressed. They are a machine.

[@TKVdaboi]

And now im drooling. Pizzaaaaaaa

[@user-oe1mk8wr7d]

Question) Is nyc tap water soft water or hard water? I wonder because I only have lived in korea. Where the all water is soft water.

[@eliyahusvocalcoaching]

"You can't get a gas oven or a wood oven up to 1,000 degrees the way we can". That's BS. You're not cooking these pizzas at 1000. These are closer to 600. And you ABSOLUTELY can get a wood fired oven up to 1000.

[@mikeymcflyhd]

Funny thing is the original owner sold the grimaldis and open up his on the same block prolly less then 500 ft away. If you trying to eat the original grimaldis youd go there

[@cracknoir8397]

WoW good pizza Smooth operation they got going !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Bossanovawitcha]

bugs me how much I love grimaldis

[@brunoantony9257]

Grimaldi's pizza is truly amazing

[@Hunteriscoming]

How much does it cost?

[@waterfordrs22]

@@Hunteriscoming$15-$30

[@ramencurry6672]

@@Hunteriscomingabout $20 or more

[@JohnHausser]

I consider myself a 🍕 purist ! This place looks legit

[@johnhoffay9081]

I sure they would love to here that! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MrDeyugo]

It's not legit

[@thisguy73]

not per yelp 3.5*

[@treetreeplant]

patches of sauce, and the expensive basil flavor burned to a crisp in the oven. Yeah, count me out. They don't survive because of their love for pizza, but because of consistency and good business relationships with tour bus operators.

[@captainmo3064]

NYC TAP WATER! It's the aquifer from the Catskills. Delicious.

[@AGZraider15]

Proof us Mexicans 🇲🇽 are the kings of making Pizza 😂 best chefs in the world we are in all kitchens!!! 😅

[@305_zb6]

No it’s cause the labor is cheap😎

[@MikeyLee559]

Mexican some of the most hard workers people out there, willing to cook and learn how too cook in any restaurant no matter I'd it's Chinese food, Italian food, Japanese sushi, they can do it all because they work hard.

[@maddogdidi8460]

​@@305_zb6not in America...

[@johnnyrico707]

I remember when I got a job at the olive garden. I honestly thought there was going to be Italians working in the kitchen cooking all the food. When I walked back there I was shocked to see a whole bunch of Mexicans all working the line! If I remember correctly they were even bumping Mexican music!

[@laoch5658]

no, Italians in Italy are the kings of making pizza

[@user-je3pk7qh6j]

legendary

[@user-ox9nm1ov9b]

It looks tasty ❤

[@craigcooknf]

Grimaldi's has the best pizza I have ever tasted!

[@GrimaldisPizzeria]

🥰Thanks!

[@atwoodca]

I'm in Canada, and booking my flight to Grimaldi's

[@Trollmaster-xb1hz]

I work in a pizzeria and they expect me to learn quick how to make dough

[@martyme6793]

that looks like a DAMN good pizza.

[@Limc3207]

damn...they have a team only of masters. Damn.