Paulie's Pizzeria Coming To Huntington: 'Reminiscent Of Circa 1979 New York City Pizzeria'

HUNTINGTON, NY — Paulie's Pizzeria is set to open in Huntington Station on Friday, which could please New York City expats.

The pizzeria is set to replace Marco's at 76 East Pulaski Road. Paul Hansen and his team purchased the building two years ago. The previous tenant closed on May 31, paving the way for Hansen to transform it. Initially, he and his team planned to make it a sister restaurant of its Cactus Cafe group. They eventually decided to keep it a pizzeria but rebrand it into something old-school.

Hansen and his ownership partner were always fond of New York City-style thin, crispy slices, he said.

"We’ve spent weeks, maybe it’s been months, perfecting — what we think is perfecting — a dough recipe," Hansen told Patch.

The dough uses an old-school poolish, followed by a 48-hour ferment.

"That’s given us a product that we’re very happy with," Hansen said. "A very thin, crispy slice and pie. A slice that reheats very well. It’s reminiscent of circa 1979 New York City pizzeria. I think we’ve done a pretty good job on that, and we’re ready to open with that."

Hansen doubled down on the dough as the key ingredient that will allow Paulie's Pizza to stand out from a crowded Long Island scene.

"Long Island pizza has become very doughy and very cheesy," Hansen said. "My partner and I always liked the lighter, thinner crispier slice. That’s what we’ve come up with here."

Paulie's Pizzeria uses two different flours in its dough, including semolina, Hansen said. This bolsters the texture, he explained.

"I’ve been in the restaurant business for 27 years," Hansen said. "This pizzeria is teaching me more than any other restaurant that top quality ingredients are going to give you a quality finished product. That’s what we’re going with here. That combined with a very well thought out and well-executed dough-making. Which results in a really good product that I think is going to stand out among other Long Island pizzerias."

Many pizzerias have a specialty pie they become known for. Hansen believes the upside down pie is the most unique offering at Paulie's Pizzeria. A Mutti tomato pizza sauce is spread on top of the pie and gets direct heat from high-temperature pizza ovens, which creates "great flavor," Hansen said.

"That has been my favorite slice of pie that we’ve made so far."

Paulie's Pizzeria will be sticking to "old-school New York City slices," Hansen said. Other offerings will include a grandma slice, a penne slice, and a white slice made "very tasty and very crunchy" by the dough, he said. There will not be chicken bacon ranch and other pies popularized on Long Island, Hansen said.

Hansen said he wants Paulie's Pizzeria to become the "neighborhood pizzeria."

"The one that you come to for graduation parties. The one that you come to for your Friday night pie. That’s what we want to be. We want to take that same approach with our Cactus Cafe brand. We want to instill ourselves and bring ourselves in the community. That’s what we want to do here."