There are few things New Yorkers love more than a good slice of pizza, but add an outdoor garden and a cup of the city's finest spumoni and you've got yourself a sliver of urban heaven. Trek out to L&B Spumoni Gardens located in(conveniently) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and you'll find all of these magic ingredients: sizzling hot sicilian slices, icy cold spumoni (mix of vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio ices), and an open garden for kicking back with friends.
Founded by Ludovico Barbati in 1939, L&B takes on crowds for its 67th year and continues to boast a business that's remained all in the family. An indoor dining room caters to rainy days or an overcrowded garden, boasting an extensive menu of Italian classics like eggplant parmigiana, chicken marsala, and veal cacciatore alongside seafood entrees, salads, giant heros, and pastas.
When Gothamist visited on a recent evening we were focused entirely on the pizza which can be ordered by the slice or in small (12-slice) or large (24-slice) sizes. Fresh from the oven, crust crackling with oil and steam emanating from the fresh marinara sauce, we never thought we could love a slice of Sicilian so much. Truly delicious. Afterwards, we ran to cool our tongues with spumoni--refreshing but not too sweet, filling but not too heavy. Gothamist highly recommends spending the next nice afternoon out in Bensonhurst, noshing on pizza and spumoni, and just soaking up the summer sun.
L&B Spumoni Gardens is located at 2725 86th Street; Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. 718-449-1230. N-train to 86th Street.
