Little Mike’s Pizza in Coconut Creek Delivers a Great New York Slice

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Aloha Pizza. {Photos by Han Okcuoglu}

Little Mike’s Pizza finally made its way north to Coconut Creek. This is the 4th location in the franchise, and, having not been to any other location besides the Plantation one, I would say this one is bleeding New York City from every pore.

The decor is just a giant love letter to the city. Real traffic signs, traffic lights, road signs, glossy, oversized black-and-white pics of New York, with a great jazz soundtrack playing throughout our meal… the nostalgia was in overdrive.

Garlic Knots

For starters, get the garlic rolls ($8.99 for 12). Just do it. Perfectly airy, crisp where it needed to be, pillowly soft everywhere else. You’ll find yourself scooping the olive oil-drenched garlic bits and enjoying every second.

Their large Caesar salad ($12.99) had me longing for the green, leafy parts, since I was mostly getting less colorful, chunky hearts of romaine. But the Caesar dressing was snappy and lemony, and like most items on the menu, above average for a pizza joint.

Ceasar Salad

For a food review, the Little Bit of Italy ($21.99) is perfect because you get the Chicken Parmesan, Meat Lasagna, and two Meatballs all on the same plate.

Unfortunately, they ran out of their batch of meat lasagna, but were kind enough to substitute the baked ziti instead and gave us an entree-sized portion.

Everything feels like sharing in portions, since they’re pretty big. However, this is primarily a pizza place, and like most pizza places, you’ll find better entrees at a proper Italian dinner restaurant. Not to say anything was bad; on the contrary, everything here was far above average compared to other larger chains like Amicis or Rotellis.

For any of the entrees with marinara sauce, I found myself hunting for the mozzarella cheese that needed an extra burst of flavor. The marinara was a bit sweet, like traditional New York marinara, but a tiny bit bland. There was some deeper pepper flavors coming through on the baked ziti, but overall, the marinara was good, not great.

Baked Ziti

For example, when I took a bite of the very moist, well-cooked Chicken Parm, the marinara diluted the enjoyment slightly and made the breading a bit soggy, since everything was swimming in it. The breading of the Eggplant Parmesan ($19.99) suffered the same soggy fate. The meatballs, however, were tasty and kept their structure.

The quality of the ingredients was still evident, and overall, the entrees I would still give a solid 7 out of 10 despite my misgivings or slight criticisms.

Forgetaboutit Wings

The pizza and wings are why you come here, though. I’m someone who prefers lots of sauce on my pizza, not too little, so I was happy to see a place that doesn’t skimp. Combine that with more quality mozzarella and a great, crunchy crust, and it was far and away the best New York slice I’ve had in the area.

The wings ($20.99 for 10) were a smash as well. We wanted a sauce that’s unique, so we ordered their award-winning Forgetaboutit with a side of Blue Cheese. The wings were clearly fried and baked, and I find myself more and more enjoying double and triple-cooked wings. The Forgetaboutit is earthy and rich, blending bits of garlic and onion with a medley of herbs. I kept spooning as much as I could onto each fantastic, juicy bite of wings.

Many places advertise as authentic, but once you walk through their door, you’ll know this is as close to New York City as you can get. There are some good options in the area, but when that piece of New York urge comes, we’ll happily be ordering Little Mike’s.

Little Mike’s Pizza
4631 FL-7 #26
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954-775-0021

Mon – Sun 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

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Author Profile

Han Okcuoglu

Han Okcuoglu is a curious foodie, Turkish-American and resident of South Florida for over 35 years. He graduated from FAU with a degree in Information Systems Management. He also writes food reviews on various websites and social media groups. He loves to see new restaurants and mom and pop shops get the attention they deserve and flourish.