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May 15, 2023

Barstool Sports Founder Visits Greenwich Pizzeria

GREENWICH, CT — One bite, everybody knows the rules. Barstool Sports founder and

GREENWICH, CT — One bite, everybody knows the rules.

Barstool Sports founder and noted pizza enthusiast Dave Portnoy paid a visit to Greenwich and Grigg Street Pizza recently to kick off a 10-location pizza tour from New York to Boston.

Portnoy's pizza reviews have garnered a cult following. He'll visit a pizzeria or restaurant sometimes unannounced, try a plain pie and score it on a 0-10 scale. His video reviews receive hundreds of thousands of views, and the highest-rated pizzerias often get swarmed by fellow pizza lovers in the days after a review is posted to social media.

He scored the plain cheese pie from Grigg Street Pizza an 8.2.

"It's great pizza," said Portnoy to owner Matt Watson, who stood by eagerly awaiting the score. "If you're in the eights, that means you drive to it. If you're within an hour or two, it's worth tasting. You get in the nines, which I've probably done five [times], it means you get on a plane. Sevens, it's good, it's your neighborhood pizza. Sixes, I'm probably being nice."

Portnoy previously declared New Haven the "Pizza Capital of the World" and said Sally's was the best he's ever had.

Greenwich natives Jon Corbo and Watson opened Grigg Street Pizza in 2020. The spot offers a plain pie and margarita pie with a variety of toppings to choose from, and a special pie on Thursdays.

You can also grab pizza by the slice, and free beer on Fridays and Saturdays. Watson said he'll give out a can of beer to customers free of charge on their way out the door.

All pizza and bread are made at Grigg Street Pizza with 100 percent zero commercial yeast, Watson said. The pizza dough is essentially sourdough, although it doesn't have a traditional sourdough taste.

Grigg Street also offers salads, and sandwiches ranging from chicken parm to an Italian combo.

Before Portnoy left Greenwich to continue his pizza tour, Watson offered up the Philly cheesesteak for a bonus review. Portnoy obliged.

The cheesesteak features dry-aged steak, house-made cheese sauce, fire-roasted green peppers, pickled long hots, white onion mix, and salt and pepper.

The cheesesteak rating scale isn't as refined as his pizza scale, Portnoy said, but the sandwich scored an impressive 9.2.

Grigg Street has been a topic in town recently, but not for pizza.

On May 25, residents went before the Board of Selectmen to ask for a solution to illegal parking along Grigg Street, which is a small one-way street that connects to Arch Street. It's the final right-hand turn before the end of Greenwich Avenue, and it features a mix of commercial and residential buildings.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, residents said the double parking has gotten worse, with many people parking to pick up takeout from nearby restaurants.

If Portnoy's score for Grigg Street Pizza is any indication, the tiny spot off Greenwich Avenue should be extra busy in the coming days.

Grigg Street Pizza offers time slots for order pickups. For more information and to check out their full menu, click here, or follow them on Instagram.

View Portnoy's full review