Paulie Gee's — Restaurant in New York

Nothing makes me happier than when a place lives up to the hype. Paulie Gee's is easily one of my favorite Brooklyn pizza places, if not in all of NYC. There's no sign outside, so make sure you peak your head beyond the wooden storefront to make sure you're in the right place. Then get ready for some all-star pies.

Paulie Gee's is small, but certainly big enough to seat parties of 6+. The wait staff are friendly and more than willing to take you through the staggering selection of pizzas. (The wine and beer variety is also impressive, might I add.) The pizzas are all personal-sized and beyond plenty for a hungry patron.

This round - as I'll sure there'll be more - we went with the Hellboy and the Ricky Ricotta. Oh boy these were divine. The Hellboy is what Paulie Gee's is famous for: fresh mozzarella, sopressata, parmigiano, and wait for it, Mike's HOT honey. Every slice is spicy, but never overwhelming, and the sweetness of the honey blends so well with the saltier sopressata and gooey mozzarella. The Ricky Ricotta, meanwhile, is probably the most refreshing (I mean that) sausage slice I've ever had. The sweet fennel sausage, dollops of cool ricotta, drizzled olive oil, and arugula made a pizza that was rich, but never heavy. (How do they do that?) Paulie Gee's cooks their pies in a coal fire oven, Two very different pizzas, both very good choices.

The pies are a little expensive (around $17), but the prices do include tax. Aaaaand that's my only critique. For a unique take on a New York staple, Neapolitan-style pizza, this place...

My girlfriend and I were in the neighborhood on a Tuesday night. We walked in and were told there would be a 20 minute wait, which is totally fine. When we came back and were sat at our table it was at least 10 minutes before a server came over. We ordered a Gates of Eden salad to split, then my girlfriend ordered the Hellboy pizza and I ordered the Greenpointer. Salad came out pretty quickly and was good. Then the lag for the pizzas was crazy. We waited over a half an hour for our first pizza. The Hellboy came out after 35 minutes, by itself. We waited for a few minute thinking the other pie would be right behind it. Every service employee who walked by pretended to be too busy and would not make eye contact to help. Our server finally came over and we asked about the Greenpointer. She seemed immediately panicked and confused that we had in-fact ordered a second pizza. She references her notepad and sees the second pizza, snd turns and dashes toward the kitchen. We finish the Hellboy before the Greenpointer comes out. The pizza itself was just okay at best. Soggy even when we got the second pie and dug right in. Just okay. Nothing special. Anyway, it took us another insane amount of time to get a check and pay and leave. I now saw the 20 minute wait and why it existed. Maybe we hit it on an off night. The reviews looked so good, and we had high hopes. The only redeeming thing was the salad. Our water bottle was never replaced we never were asked if we wanted more of other beverages. The whole thing was a sham...

We arrived just as they opened the doors and there was a line out the door. People were seated quickly and we were the last to get seats so we sat at the bar.

The service was quick and friendly and the restaurant had cool music and warm cozy decor. But the food is the crown jewel.

We started with the Garden of Eden salad. It had miniature greens, sliced pears, candied pecans, dried cranberries and Gorgonzola cheese with a red wine vinaigrette. It’s a perfect starter as the portion is perfect for one person.

We ordered the margarita pizza to start. But this place has over 34 varieties of pizza including vegan. The crust is tan on the bottom and not burned as many places the have this kind of pizza usually burn the bottom. The tomatoe sauce was light, fresh and was not acidic in any way. The pizza was just perfect.

So we ordered the Ricky Ricotta pizza that had dollops of fresh ricotta, and arugula as well as fennel sausage. This was very tasty but could have used a little drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.

The restaurant is so cozy with special touches throughout including an old red coke machine dispensers. Lit lamp shades decorate the rafters. And an old four foot tub proudly frames the bar. The bathrooms have these gorgeous wrought iron locking handles and a dual giant sink basin with 2 giant bronze faucets. I wouldn’t normally mention the bathrooms but it just shows the detail the owners put into...