10 Times Food Critic Robert Sietsema Obsessed Over Bensonhurst Cuisine

If there is one thing Bensonhurst has an abundance of, it’s old-timey charm.

So it should come as no surprise that one of the neighborhood’s many pizza shops, Bad Boys Pizza at 2313 86th Street (as well as two great Bay Ridge spots), made Eater’s roundup of “Great Old-Fashioned Neighborhood Pizzerias.” Legendary food critic Robert Sietsema — formerly of the Village Voice — compiled the list as part of Eater’s 10 old-fashioned restaurants series.

Sietsema writes of the pizza joint:

Situated in the midst of what is rapidly becoming the city’s fifth Chinatown, Bad Boys is a classic full-service pizzeria, rolling out such sidelines as baked manicotti, pepper-and-egg heros, and fried calamari. But the star of the show remains the pizzas, especially the fresh mozzarella pie with a soupcon of olive oil dribbled atop the cheese, and the square Sicilian, with a crust a little thinner and crunchier than most and a fragrant scatter of dried herbs.

It is not the first time the author of Secret New York and Good & Cheap Ethnic Eats has explored to our parts. Sietsema has built his reputation by highlighting obscure eateries that are a little off the beaten hipster path, so southwest Brooklyn has gotten a fair amount of love from the foodie.

Just this week, he fawned over Little Saigon Pearl (9 Bay 35th Street), a teeny tiny Vietnamese joint that set up shop just a few months ago, calling the pho “superb, with a broth a little lighter and sweeter than usual,” and the rice noodles “especially fragrant.”

In the past, Joe’s of Avenue U and L&B Spumoni Gardens — both in Gravesend — as well as Dyker heights’ Colandrea New Corner and La Sorrentina made Sietsema’s compilation of “10 Old-Fashioned Italian” restaurants in Brooklyn.

Another one of our favorites, Spicy Bampa, a Szechuan restaurant on 18th Avenue, recently got an enthusiastic shoutout from the critic — twice! Speaking of Chinese food, he also applauded the seriousness of Dai Wah Yummy City (7218 18th Avenue), an upscale Cantonese family-style restaurant, and had similarly high praise for the “four eye hot dog” at 68 Mei Mei Bakery (7814 New Utrecht Avenue).

Finally there was Sietsema’s full-page tribute to Bensonhurst’s hidden Uzbek gem, Uzbechka on Avenue O, where he gave two thumbs up to the kabobs, the plov, and the Tashkent salad.

Hey Robert: Next time you are in Bensonhurst, give us a ring! Maybe we can grab a Bad Boys slice and compare notes on Bensonhurst’s incredible food selection.