For those of you who are new here, hi. Hello. I love pizza. I have it tattooed on my arm, to give you some more context.
Pizza is the food that I can eat pretty much any time of day, and I never ever get sick of it. I can be coming home from a dinner, full and about to burst, but if I walk by a pizza place and smell that glorious pizza scent, I always say to myself “yea I could have a slice”. And sometimes, I do.
I visited Ace’s Pizza a month or two ago and meant to write it up then, I just have been severely slacking on my blogging. But it really was awesome.
First things first: this is Detroit style pizza, not classic NYC like Joe’s (my first love). However, I saw that they do “Grandma” pies too, which is a very NYC thing, I just can’t speak to that one because I didn’t try it yet. We’re talkin Detroit today, so if you’re a fan of Emmy Squared, you will love Ace’s.
The space has that retro “pizza place” vibe which I’m obsessed with (because I’m old), complete with a TV/VCR combo, N64 (sup Mario Kart!), and a pinball machine. Chef/owner Matthew Etchemendy (formerly of Ichabod’s and The Headless Horseman) wanted to open a pizza spot that was reminiscent of his childhood, and as a fellow 80’s baby, I can confirm that he accomplished that. I wanted to ask them to pop Twister into the VCR, but I was distracted by the pizza. Twister is some of Helen Hunt’s best work. Don’t @ me.
But I digress. Back to the pizza. The first time I went, I had the Pepper Trio pizza with green and cherry peppers, pickled jalapenos, and spicy chili honey. I also asked for a side of ranch for dunking because I was told it was made in-house. And where there is homemade ranch, there is Dara. The second time I went, I was happy to see they sell by the slice, so I took the classic Detroit Double to go (plain, no toppings).
The pizza was honestly better than I expected it to be. The crust was super crisp and cheesy (which is basically the calling card of a Detroit-style pie) and the sauce was slightly sweet. I get a little cranky when my pizza toppings aren’t properly distributed, and thankfully the Pepper Trio had plenty of peppers throughout. You can see in the photos here – Detroit Double was a little undersauced (in my humble opinion). Still very tasty and overall I was very satisfied, but I wanted more sauce.
Also worth mentioning that the “Detroit Double” is $6 for two pretty hefty squares (as shown in the main photo here). Not a bad deal at all, especially for Williamsburg. My coffee costs that much usually.
Check them out if you’re in the hood. They’ve earned themselves a spot on my Best Pizza List for 2021.
Ace’s Pizza
637 Driggs Ave
Website
Menu here
