The Pizza Snob was quite excited when his real job sent him to Miami on a secret mission. I hadn’t been there since Dan Marino quarterbacked the Dolphins. Since then, all I heard about was how the city’s chic factor had increased—hopefully though not to where you couldn’t find a good slice of NY pizza. After all, isn’t Miami just a home for transplanted New Yawkers?

Looking for a pizza joint, I got no good leads from a Miami friend of mine who instead just wishes he lived in New York. Likewise no place was receiving any fanfare on the internet. Running out of options, I simply chose to find the one closest to my hotel, and that resulted in Pucci’s Pizza.

Walking along the strip of tall white high rise buildings, my co-worker and I found Pucci’s on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard at the bottom of a tall condo complex. It was a mega-windy day, and outside the Italian flag-colored pizza banners were flapping big time. This would not be a day for eating al fresco on their small deck.

On the inside there were only a few tables and a small counter area where we sat after ordering our slices. As one would expect for this part of trendy Miami, the walls were lined with photos of celebrity visitors. Pucci’s had a fairly full Italian menu in addition to pizza. They looked like they kept busy delivering pies and meals to the neighboring condo community.

There were plenty of slice types available, but as per my giving calling, I ordered two plain cheese slices at a pricy $3.49 each. After taking what seemed like a long time to reheat in the pizza oven, I got my pair which were very unmatched—one was huge—at least a size and a half as big as the other! At first glance they sure looked good.

In a skeptical snobby mood for some reason or another, I kept chomping away at my slices to find something that I didn’t like about them—but I just couldn’t. First off, they were perfectly reheated to a pleasant eating temperature throughout. With great construction they were easily foldable. They had a nice touch of oil and oregano for flavoring with neither being overdone. The crust had a nice char on the bottom and both the cheese and sauce were delish!

This pair of slices sure was a tasty treat. So what kept this slice from a perfect score? I’m not really sure, but I felt that I need to give Pucci’s a second visit before giving them legendary status.

With all of the Yankees that move to sunny Florida, it was no surprise to find such good pizza in Miami. However, Pucci’s claim of being “A Real Slice of Brooklyn” was a twist since, not being of the “coal” variety, their slice was much more Manhattan to me. It’s still a fab slice that I wouldn’t pass up.

PIZZA SNOB RATING **** ½ Nearer Perfection

Pucci’s Pizza
888 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 102
Miami, FL  33132
305-358-8881
www.puccispizzaonline.com