When you think about the kind of person who would own a New York pizzeria, Domenico DeMarco is that guy. As one of Brooklyn's elder statesmen—he moved there in 1959—this Napoli, Italy native dirtied his hands on a farm before stumbling into a lucky real estate deal on Avenue J. And like many New Yorkers, he's unwaveringly proud of what he built here. "If somebody comes over here and offers me a price for the store, there's no price," Dom once told The New York Times. "There's no money in the world they could pay me for it."

For Dom, it's not just about the pizza; it's a labor of love. The San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella are imported twice a week from Italy, the basil is cut by hand, and the dough is mixed fresh daily. These ingredients all go into two types of pizza: a round, New York–style thin crust and a square, Sicilian–style thick crust that's baked in a cast-iron pan. Guests can select from a variety of toppings that range from broccoli rabe to italian sausage, or they can simply order one of the 13 specialty pies. Whatever they wind up choosing, they can be sure it's one of Dom's original recipes: "Nobody taught me to make the pizza. You gotta pick it up for yourself."