Feature Photo: by Brian Kachejian
Ronkonkoma is home to a surprising number of great Long Island pizzerias, so I recently stopped into Eddie’s Pizzeria on Ronkonkoma Avenue to see how this longtime neighborhood shop stacks up today. It’s a town I know very well, having worked there many years ago at the local A&P. Recently, I visited Eddie’s Pizzeria, located on Ronkonkoma Avenue in the Kohl’s shopping center. The shopping center that I mistakenly called the “Caldor Shopping Center” in my video below, because for many years it was anchored by the old department store Caldor. This is a large shopping center, yet there is plenty of parking, so don’t sweat it if you’re visiting Eddie’s Pizzeria.
Eddie’s Pizza and Restaurant has been a fixture in the Ronkonkoma community since 1976, making it one of the longer-running neighborhood pizzerias on Long Island. The story has a personal touch at its core. One of its future owners actually began working there as a 15-year-old in 1979, never imagining that decades later they would own and operate that very same shop alongside friends and family. That kind of deep-rooted connection to a place tends to show in the food and the atmosphere, and Eddie’s has always reflected that.
Over the years the pizzeria passed through several sets of caring hands, each owner building on the reputation the last one left behind. A man named Mr. Herbst became closely associated with the soul of Eddie’s for a significant stretch, earning strong loyalty from the neighborhood for his consistent pies, fair prices, and genuine hospitality. Around 2012 or 2013, a new owner named Michael took over, continuing that family-focused tradition.
As you can tell from the history above, this is an old-school pizzeria. When I walked in, I was greeted by someone who was incredibly friendly. In my pizza reviews, I always get a regular slice because that’s the go-to comparison between pizzerias. However, I always purchase an additional specialty slice, something that distinguishes one pizzeria from another. I usually ask what the most popular specialty slice is, but when I looked at the chicken bacon ranch laid out in front of me behind the glass, I thought, I’m not even going to ask about this one. I am getting this one.
The Regular Slice
The slice size was fair. It was an average-sized slice, nothing huge like a Ciro’s, but nothing small like a Little Vincent’s. I believe it was $3 and change, also a fair price. The dough was cooked well, not burnt, and most importantly, very clean. This is a place that cleans their ovens, and that’s important to me. There was a nice blend of sauce and cheese, nothing overpowering the other, which is how it should be done. I tasted a little oregano and maybe some basil, but I wasn’t sure. Some hints of garlic salt and oil, but not too much. It had a nice, fresh taste. The sauce itself was a bit on the sweet side. This is a really good slice of pizza. Make sure to watch the video below to see what I rated it.
The Specialty Slice
The specialty slice I purchased was called a chicken bacon ranch. This is a pretty popular slice on Long Island, so it’s not a very original choice here, but it looked really good. A lot of pizzerias make it with buffalo sauce. This did not appear to have any buffalo sauce on it, and sometimes that’s a good thing. I don’t always like to suffer when I’m eating pizza. The chicken tasted very fresh. Sometimes when you buy a chicken slice from a pizzeria, it tastes like old fried chicken. Not this one. The chicken was fresh and moist, the bacon pieces were also nice and fresh, as was the cheese. This was a sensational slice. I asked a little about it and was told it was probably their most popular slice and that they sell a lot of it.
In the end, one of the best ways to describe any pizzeria is whether it delivers quality food at very affordable prices, and Eddie’s does exactly that. The regular slice and the chicken bacon ranch slice cost me around eight bucks, which is pretty good when you add a specialty slice into the mix. I noticed that their whole pies and heroes were reasonably priced. The place also tends to run specials every couple of days, and you can check those out on their Facebook page. Would I recommend Eddie’s Pizzeria? Oh yes, I definitely would. Check out the video below to see my review and my genuine reactions to the pizza I was eating. That’s the best way to do it. You can see the food for yourself.
