Una Pizza Napoletana named best pizza in US for 3rd year by 50 Top Pizza

EAST VILLAGE - For the third year in a row, Una Pizza Napoletana was named the best pizza in the United States by 50 Top Pizza. 

It is tucked away in the East Village.

The prestigious online guide is seen as the gold standard for measuring the perfect pie.

"The fact that the organization is based in Italy and specifically Naples means a lot because at the end of the day — that's where pizza was created. And now it belongs to the world — and there are a million different versions that are all wonderful. But to have people from where it started to acknowledge what you're doing means a lot to me," Mangieri said.

Mangieri has been in the business for 30 years — the New Jersey native is considered a Neapolitan-style pizza pioneer in the United States.

"In my opinion, a good pie starts with the dough. If you don't know how to make the dough — it's like you're building a house with a, you know, a foundation that's going to crumble," Mangieri said.

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And while all dough is not created equal, there are also different types of dough.

"There's New York-style dough that can be great. There's Neapolitan style. What we make is kind of our own hybrid that started out as Neapolitan and has become this thing that it is now. Now it's more puffy and wild. It's very hydrated," Mangieri said.

In addition to evaluating pizzerias on the quality of the pies, the 50 Top Pizza Guide also takes the customer experience into account.

One customer told FOX 5 that the dough is "absolutely amazing," adding its "just the right balance between the cheese and the sauce, and it's just wonderful." Another customer called the 'za, "So fresh and delicious. The texture. The flavor."

"The most rewarding part is people that come in and are really touched," Mangieri said. "That really inspires me."

Una Pizza is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 5 p.m.