My Spot: Maffei's Pizza In Chelsea, NYC

What do the Complex editors do when they're not serving you with endless hours of entertainment?
My Spot takes you inside some of their favorite destinations, both in the 'hood and around the globe.

Ask what pizza is the best in New York City, and you'll probably get into a heated debate. Around the Complex office though, Complex Senior Editorial Strategist Joe La Puma's (@JLaPuma) go-to spot for a red, white, and green-themed lunch is Maffei's, a no frills buffet joint on the corner of 22nd and 6th Avenue in NYC. Sure, it's the most convenient Italian place in the Complex HQ orbit, but it's also the most authentic. Family-owned since 1975, Maffei's (pronounced like "buffet" with an "m") handles the 12 o'clock lunch crowd like no other, led by commander-in-chief Dominick Maffei. Although pizza is the staple of the shop, it's the fully-stocked, changed-daily buffet (baked ziti, carbonara, seafood salad, chicken francese, and more, plus daily specials) that really separates Maffei's from the rest of the competitors. Joe co-signs Maffei's (and he should know, his last name is La Puma, capiche!), and gives you reasons why you should too below...

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• There is a different meat, fish, and pasta dish every day. If that's too adventurous for you though, there's an Olive Garden across the street (which is about as Italia-authentic as Snooki).

• The dish that gets the most chatter is a linguini with stuffed calamari in marinara sauce that is prepared two times a month. The calamari is stuffed with shrimp and crab meat.

• You can mix anything you want at Maffei's buffet. If you want fish with pasta, you get fish with pasta, if you want chicken with fish, you get chicken with fish. You can be as left-of-center with your meal choices as possible and you'll never get a roll of the eye from the staff.

• It's really tough to spend over $10, and most meals come in under $9, even when your dish includes uusally expensive items like fish.

• There was once an ATM outside the shop done up in the Italian tricolore. Fucking awesome on so many levels.

• The "Grandma" slice (above) rivals any pizza in NYC and has been a family recipe for over 17 years.

• My pasta dish of choice is the bowtie pasta carbonara: panchetta in a cheese sauce with peas. Amazing and everyone should put it in their rotation at least once a month.

• The pizza lunch special is two slices and a soda for $5.

• If you want just a small portion of the buffet items, you can get a downsized version for $3.

• The portions are large—like really large—so much so that you'll be good for hours after completing your meal (if you get that far).

• They deliver, so even if you're not in our area CLICK HERE for the menu and contact info.

What's your spot? Hit us at @ComplexMag and let us know by using the hashtag #myspot.