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3. Nick's Pizza

108-26 Ascan Ave. • 718-263-1126

In a reversal of Zeus' shift to Jupiter, Greek pizzaman Nick Angelis has translated a Roman staple to the Grecian palate. Since the 1994 debut of his eponymous parlor, Nick's Pizza in Forest Hills, Angelis has breathed new life into the old Italian guard of New York pizza. There's now Angelo's in midtown and Adrienne's in the Financial District (and brother-in-law Nick Tsoulos operates the Patsy's chain), although the Queens flagship remains the best. Rejecting both coal and brick, a gas oven fires the thin, tender pies, which arrive bright with creamy blobs of fresh mozzarella, rich red sauce and long leaves of basil. Toppings veer from the veggie patch (broccoli, tomato slices, spinach) to the Mediterranean (fresh garlic slivers, olives, feta cheese). Even the sausage pie is light and graceful. For a pizzeria, there's an unexpected aura of health here. The space is open and airy, decorated in Greek diner blue and white, with a high pressed-tin ceiling. Behind large picture windows the neighborhood's young pros kick up their quietly designer sneakers and nip at the wine and beer list, which is expertly and globally curated, reaching far beyond the Aegean Sea to embrace Australian shiraz and Belgian Duval ale.

For more information, visit the New York Observer.