We've discovered something beautiful: Paulie Gee’s Hometown Brisket Pizza, a gorgeous collision of the two quintessential cuisines of our home locales.
No, Paulie Gee did not invent the concept of putting barbecue on pizza. There are lower forms of this art, the kind of chicken-barbecue-goo on top of Domino’s or California Pizza Kitchen’s floppy pizza. Those are fine. But when we saw that Paulie Gee’s, one of our top three favorite pizza joints of all time, in all of New York City, teamed up with Hometown Barbecue, our hearts began to flutter. We already loved Paulie Gee’s for their perfectly bubbly crusts, wood-fired to burntish perfection, as well as their toppings just creative enough to satisfy both pizza traditionalists and more adventurous eaters alike. That, paired with Red Hook’s Hometown Barbecue, one of the exceptional smokehouses lauded by Texas Monthly’s Barbecue Editor as rivaling some of Texas’ own, is the stuff of our dreams.
Hometown sends over the delectable caramelized flavor of southern style smoked brisket, so tender and sweet it could be candy, as well as the perky, spicy barbecue sauce that’s drizzled over the top. The copious heap of pickled onions is not overpowering at all — the onions add the perfect amount of crunch and brightness to the pie, adding a satisfying sweet-salty layer that isn’t briny or sour at all. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, salty, and spicy that Paulie Gee’s pizzas are known for, but with a Texan flair.
While we might have a few other favorites on the Paulie Gee’s menu, this is hands down the best barbecue pizza we have ever chewed on. About halfway through our meal, Janis Joplin started blasting through the speakers and Paulie Gee himself stopped by to chat — it felt so close to home, we might as well have been in Texas.
Barbecue is clearly being established as one of New York’s trendiest new cuisines; these days, it seems like every girl in Brooklyn has her favorite barbecue joint, from Fette Sau to Mighty Quinn’s to Mabel’s. But sticking some brisket so expertly smoked it could be straight out of Austin, on top of pizza? Well, we may be Texan, but we're not purists. The way to our hearts is through our bellies, and this is the best of both worlds in a single dish.