Tell anyone in New York or its surrounding areas that you live in Astoria and their first response is always, “Oh, Astoria! There are some great Greek restaurants around there, right?!” Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s true. I’ve had some of the best feta cheese and tomato salads here, like at E-Taverna on 23rd Ave., but here’s what nobody knows: the pizza here is god awful.

When I first moved here two years ago, I found this out firsthand and was so shocked and discouraged that I kind of gave up hope. Give me a good Greek spinach pie any day, I would say, and pretend that I didn’t miss Friday nights at my parents’ house in Westchester, where the pizza is.. better. I’d walk into Astoria pizza shop after pizza shop and be greeted with the kind of rubbery cheese and practically non-existent sauce I could have had in the Midwest. Eventually I stopped trying.

Well, I found it. Finally!

Tufino, one of Ditmars Boulevard’s latest acquisitions, has some of the best brick oven pizza I’ve had in the city. Dare I say, it’s just as good as Roberta’s in Buschwick and not nearly as crowded. The dough is super-soft and not too salty, the tomato sauce doesn’t taste the least bit processed, and the cheese isn’t goopy at all. It’s also totally unpretentious and was named one of the best new spots in the area by the website, WeHeartAstoria.com. Now I’m so inspired that I’ve decided to re-ignite my search.

Now on to Milkflower and Rizzo’s. And can I just say, I Heart Astoria.

Photo courtesy of Seamless.com.