Cincy By the Slice

Cincy by the Slice is located on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, next to Mayberry and across from the Drinkery. The pizzeria occupies a long, narrow storefront with a small bar in the back, where a friendly guy takes your order.

After opening and closing locations in Elmwood Place and Deer Park, OTR is now the only one still operating. Cincy by the Slice presents itself as the opposite of a typical chain pizzeria, aimed instead at the “true pizza connoisseur.” Its website emphasizes a high-temperature stone oven, San Marzano tomatoes, and a crisp crust.

I have tried a few lunch slices before and have not been especially impressed. Still, pizza sold by the slice can sit around for a while and does not always provide a fair picture of what a pizzeria can do. This time, we order a whole pepperoni pie.

The menu is also notable for the Pickleroni, topped with pickles and pepperoni. Pickles on pizza is something Cincy by the Slice introduced to Cincinnati.

The pepperoni pizza looked promising. The crust is thin, and the slices are large and foldable. It is chewy, with a healthy char underneath and around the edges-usually a good sign. Unfortunately, the crust does not have as much flavor as its appearance suggests and occasionally approaches cardboard territory.

The sauce is considerably better. It has a pleasant tomato flavor, presumably helped by those heavily advertised San Marzano tomatoes, though there is not much of it on the pizza. There is considerably more Wisconsin cheese, which was not exactly spectacular but did the trick. The pepperoni comes in tiny discs, similar in size to those found on frozen microwave pizzas, but it is fairly tasty.

Cincy by the Slice has several things going for it: properly large and foldable slices, good char, a flavorful sauce, and a willingness to try combinations that other local pizzerias have not considered. It is a useful destination for a quick downtown lunch and makes even more sense as a late-night OTR slice. The whole pizza does not entirely fulfill the restaurant’s ambitious promises, but it is respectable and more interesting than the average by-the-slice shop.