You are learning advanced passive and impersonal structures: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (impersonal passive: it is said/believed/known + to-infinitive), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Lucali, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, Friday night
Lucali is said to be the best pizza in all of Brooklyn — maybe all of New York. The restaurant is known to serve only two things: pizza and calzones. There is no phone number. There are no reservations. You just show up and wait. It is believed to be worth the wait, and after tonight, I believe it.
The restaurant is thought to have started when the owner, Mark Iacono, decided to turn a small candy shop into a pizza place. He is known to make every pizza by hand, stretching the dough himself. The recipe is said to be simple: fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil, olive oil.
The space is intimate — about twelve tables, candles on every one. It's BYOB, so we've brought a bottle of red wine. The pizza arrives after a thirty-minute wait. It's thin, slightly charred, and absolutely perfect. The crust is believed by regulars to be the best in the borough.
Lucali is said to have a cult following, and now I understand why. No website, no social media, no advertising. It is known entirely by word of mouth. Sometimes the best things are the ones you have to find for yourself.