Denino’s Pizzeria & Tavern

Denino’s, established in 1937, is justly beloved by Staten Islanders and serves a great pie at a reasonable price. It has a thicker (though not thick) and softer (though not soft) crust than most of the brick-oven places in the other boroughs, with a nice exterior crunch and a well-developed interior. The sauce is perfectly balanced: both sweet and piquant. Only the lackluster cheese fails to contribute much to the overall pie, though it’s basically harmless. The free-form sausage, though a bit loose-grained, has good flavor and crisps nicely on top of the pie (it’s not nearly as exciting when ordered, mushy, in one of the restaurant’s regular dishes). Denino’s is too crowded for comfort on weekends, but you can wander in most weeknights and get seated without a wait.