Ray Bari does for pizza what Sbarro does for, well, pizza. Spreading the joy of dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella to a city already saturated with all sorts of low-brow Italian chains, Ray Bari adds to the fluorescent-lighted, cold-slices-sitting-behind-a-pane-of-glass formula already being implemented by fellow chains like Famous Original Ray’s. The surprise here is that the stuff isn’t half bad. Granted we ate at this joint at four in the afternoon after eating only a bowl of Life cereal and a Diet Coke all day. The pizza is neither authentic New York, nor official Chicago, but is some sort of Frankenstein mixture that has sprouted from the conveyor belt in the back. So, I guess this place is good for a quick fix, but we’re hardly going to cater our next Superbowl party with Mr. Bari’s pie. [MF]
1330 3rd Ave.
212/988-3337