Great Pizza Where You Least Expect It

Rose & Joe's Italian Bakery is a small hole-in-the-wall joint on 31st Street, at the end of the Q and N lines, in Astoria. It looks sweet from the outside, the way all Italian bakeries ought to. Inside there are several cases of the usual cookies and treats you find in such places, but that's not the hidden treasure that makes this place remarkable.

In the back, there is another counter where pizza is made and sold. There were a few round pies when I was there, but it was the large Sicilian that caught my attention. I asked which kind of pie the bakery was known for, and an old lady indicated the Sicilian. It was indeed special, thinner, lighter and flakier than many of the heavy, sodden Sicilian slices I've had around town, with good quality sauce and cheese. I'm not saying its one of the best slices in town, but it's well above average, an quite a surprise to find inside a bakery.

Rose & Joes's is roughly forty years old. I'm told they only make the pizza when they have the time and the extra dough.