If you search the web for the favorite pizza places in Brooklyn, New York, you will come across four names that appear over and over again: Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, Grimaldi's Pizza in DUMBO, L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst, and Totonno's Pizza in Coney Island, the oldest pizza restaurant in the United States. A new addition to the "best of the best" list is Lucali's in Carroll Gardens, which opened in 2006. In the 2009 Zagat guide, Lucali won the top rating for Best Pizza in all of New York City, not just Brooklyn.

What separates a great Brooklyn-Style pizza from a mass-market Domino's or Papa John's or Pizza Hut? Try hand-grated cheese, grated for each pizza as it's made (Lucali), or basil and rosemary grown on the windowsill in the shop or fresh tomatos imported from Salerno and mozarella imported from Caserta (Di Fara), or a pie cooked in a coal-fired oven (Totonno's and Grimaldi's).

We kind of think Grimaldi's is over-rated; perhaps their biggest claim to fame is that they're a real Brooklyn pizza joint you can visit after walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. In August 2010, Grimaldi's faced eviction due to unpaid rent to the tune of $44,000, but was granted a reprieve by a judge who required the landlord to accept late payments and not evict them (despite a 2008 contract between Grimaldi's and the landlord stipulating they could be evicted for late payments). The landlord plans to not offer them a renewal at the end of their lease in 2011, and will bring in another pizza-making tenant. The property is especially valuable because it contains a coal-fired pizza oven, which can no longer be built in the city. Those that remain are grandfathered under the rules and can continue to operate. So you can be sure the location will remain a pizza joint for some time to come.

At Lucali, if you're unlucky, you'll get tossed out when Jay-Z and Beyonce come to eat and the place suddenly goes "private-party" on you.

We are pleased to report that Totonno's REOPENED in May after suffering a fire on March 14th, 2009.

DiFara was recently in the news for raising their slice price to $5 and the price of a pie to $25. When can you go to Di Fara and not face a line? Well, Monday and Tuesday, because they're closed. Other days they open at Noon, so a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday at noon may be your best bet. Don't go between 4PM and 6PM. Don't go if you're in a hurry. Slice has a good "Di Fara FAQ" going.