Bronx’s Venerable Louie and Ernie’s Is Now Packaging Its Pies for Frozen Pizza Takeout

Iconic Bronx pizzeria Louie and Ernie’s is now selling frozen pizzas

Good news this week for the city’s pizza fans. Louie and Ernie’s, the venerable 61-year-old pizzeria in Throggs Neck, is now packaging and freezing its popular pizzas for takeout. The pies that come out of this corner restaurant in the Bronx stack up to the city’s most iconic pizzerias, and the frozen versions, which have been in the works for more than a decade, look like a promising alternative for those who can’t stick around to snag a hot pizza in-person. The 12-inch pizzas — available plain ($10) or with pepperoni ($12) — are cooked three-quarters of the way through and then frozen, for diners to finish-off at home. Orders can be placed by calling Louie and Ernie’s at (718) 829-6230.

As far as New York City pizza goes, Louie and Ernie’s is the real deal. The neighborhood pizzeria has been open since 1959 and has since snagged headlines for its gracefully topped thin-crust pies. The white and sausage versions in particular have landed the restaurant on Eater’s list of the city’s best pizzerias. The restaurant’s pivot to frozen pizza takeout actually started about a decade ago, when owner John Tiso’s daughter was away at college. For the most part, that business was kept on hold until the coronavirus pandemic, and already the restaurant has received calls from out-of-state admirers in Nevada and Florida, according to local publication Bronx Times.

In other news

— Tony Park, the owner of Midtown’s popular Sam Won Garden Korean Barbecue, has opened CV-19 Essential, a coronavirus supply store for restaurant owners. The new general store, located at 41 West 35th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, sells restaurant dividers, thermometers, and air filters, among other supplies.

— This month’s reading list includes a new series from Resy, called “the Classics,” an ode to America’s diners, mainstays, and neighborhood restaurants. Also consider Zagat Stories, a series of longform interviews with industry-defining chefs, minus the Q&A formatting.

— Lucali is now accepting reservations for outdoor dining, a first for the popular Carroll Gardens pizzeria. Snag a table by calling the restaurant at (718) 858-4086 at 4 p.m.

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— Chinatown’s iconic Nom Wah restaurant is teaming up with the Brooklyn Hot Dog company on a scallion pancake hot dog, available starting on September 24.

— Punjabi Deli, which was already struggling, now has to contend with this new scaffolding.

— Kimika, the buzzy Nolita sequel from the Wayla team, is now doing takeout.

— Inside the race to save outdoor winter dining, which expires in roughly 40 days.

— Happy Latinx Heritage Month: