Pizzas With Everything Bagel Crust Now Available At Zucker's

Is this the most New York side hustle of the pandemic era? A few weeks ago Matt Pomeranz and Dan Pace, co-owners of the mini-chain Zucker's Bagels, launched Pizza Bungalow out of the back of their Flatiron location. Here, they're using their bagel dough and bagel ovens, to make individual- and full-sized pies, officially slinging two of the most iconic NYC foods out of a single kitchen.

Pomeranz is a native New Yorker with deep ties to the downtown community — his parents ran a clothing business on Rivington Street for more than 35 years — and, as such, he takes his pizza seriously. So when he, Pace, and partner Rich DiBari decided to put their ovens to work overtime on 23rd Street and get into the pizza game, they brought in veteran pizzaiolo Josh Watkins to do the actual making and baking.

Watkins has 17 years of experience making pies in this town, at places like the Rossopomodoro in Eataly, and Two Boots, and Danny Meyer's Papa Rosso at Citi Field. Even so, making pizza at a bagel shop provided some unique challenges. The oven at Zucker's, for example, is one of those rotating models, so he has to rely mostly on time, rather than visual feedback, to determine when each pizza's done.

On each of the Pizza Bungalow pies I ate last weekend the bagel-dough crust held firm throughout, with no hint of wetness in the center, or floppiness when grabbing the mini-slices. It's not terribly chewy, but neither is it crackery, nor is there much charring or blistering. Meanwhile, the toppings are all pretty high quality and bring enough flavor to the proceedings to make it a party.

The most exciting pie—and certainly the most committed bagel-pizza hybrid—is the Bungalow, which is loaded with thinly sliced discs of spicy pepperoni, some gooey mozzarella, and a decent amount of tomato sauce covering an "everything" crust. The Nolita was also good, with crumbles of Esposito's sweet pork sausage and whole cloves of roasted garlic doing most of the work. I liked the melted pieces of fresh mozzarella on the Margherita, though the tomato sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste.

You can also get a Cinque Carni (the five meats being prosciutto, sopressata, 'nduja, more of that Esposito's sausage, and pepperoni), a three-cheese Bianco blanketed in ricotta, mozzarella, and parmigiano reggiano, or make your own combo from more than twenty toppings options. There are a couple of salads on the menu as well.

Pizza Bungalow was originally conceived as a delivery-only "ghost kitchen," but now you can also walk into Zucker's and order takeout. There's no inside seating right now, but picnic tables await within a sturdy bit of curbside construction or, even better, you can bring your pizza half a block over for a picnic in Madison Square Park.

Pizza Bungalow is located within the Flatiron Zucker's Bagels at 40 East 23rd Street, near Madison Avenue, and is currently open for delivery and takeout (with outdoor seating available) from noon to 8 p.m. daily (pizzabungalownyc.com)