Mikey’s Late Night Slice

Continuing an epicurean exploration of Cincinnati’s burgeoning New York style pizza scene, I visited @latenightslice in Over-the-Rhine yesterday. I have a history with Mikey’s: I first enjoyed their pizza after midnight (perhaps how slices are best enjoyed) in Columbus about a decade ago. I also reviewed a slice during Bockfest last year as one of the first @Joey_Pepperoni67 reviews. Recently, the good folks at Mikey’s were nice enough to invite me back for a full pie. While I love a slice joint, I believe a full pizza fresh from the oven is the best way to experience a pizzeria (that way the pizzaiolo’s vision is not compromised by a hot lamp / reheating).

Traditionally, New York style pizzas are cut into eight slices. However, Mikey’s cuts theirs into six sizable slices, providing a 33% better deal on pizza-by-the-slice. The large New York style slices at Mikey’s are super thin. Mikey's pizza is cooked on a screen, a technique that imparts a pronounced screen pattern on the bottom of the slice. It also distributes heat more evenly, creating a soft evenly cooked slice - as opposed to a super crisp slice. This made Mikey’s slices eminently foldable - as New York slices were intended to be. Finally, the slices have a very pronounced and airy cornicione (crust rim). This is purposeful, as Mikey’s has top-tier dipping sauce for their crust: “Unicorn Sauce”. This complex buttery / spicy concoction (known by a more saucy name prior to 2015) is fine way to top your crust …or eggs & is sold by the bottle by Mikey’s.

Also notable: Mikey’s menu includes thick cup & char pepperoni …but we actually decided to try “vegan pepperoni” this visit (Hey, variety’s the spice of…). It was actually quite good - a fine healthier choice & I’ll go ahead and declare it the best vegan pepperoni I’ve ever had. Of course, we still went with regular cow cheese though.

Overall, it was a quality pizza, dipping sauce, and pizzeria decor experience. Nice work @latenightslice

A crisp, very thin, and foldable New York style slice. Probably my favorite NY-style pizza by the slice in Cincinnati. Artfully complemented by their excellent & proprietary ‘Unicorn Sauce’ (previously known by a now infamous name). Also, Mikey’s is an official venue for this weekend. 🍻