The waitress speaks in a melodic accent — I’m no dialectologist, but something European — and tells us why Grimaldi’s offers the best New York City style pizza in these parts. It’s the coal-fired brick ovens set to the precisely perfect temperature … she says (what that is, exactly, I can’t recall).

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The aroma, the flavor, the crisp crust cannot exist in a gas or even a wood-burning oven, she says.

This might be true. The pizza is quite flavorful, exceedingly aromatic and crispy indeed. At Grimaldi’s, you sort of build your own pizza. Select pizza or make it a calzone, which is like a pizza sandwich. Choose your sauce: red or white. I tried both and prefer my pizza with plenty of the red, but the white with garlic or pesto is a delightful twist on tradition (when I’m in that kind of mood). Then, you add your toppings. I stuck with artichoke on one side, because I am barely a carnivore, and the kids had pepperoni and pineapple, a longtime family fave, on their side. The salads are nice and big enough for two.

The menu is simple. Hey, it’s pizza. Good. Simple. Pizza. And don’t get out of their with out trying the creamy, chocolate-smattered cannoli or the tiramisu for dessert. Pizza start at $10-$18, and most toppings are $2. The ambiance is all dark woods, Frank Sinatra wafting through the air (though, if the Rangers are playing, there’s a screen for that) and jumbo posters of old movie stars and Brooklyn New York skyline (from where the original Grimaldi’s hails).

Located at Shops at Park Lane, 8060 Park Lane, Grimaldi’s is open from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily.