Best New York Pizza

This was a “holy grail” pizza for me; one that had long been at the top of my to try list. Andrew Bellucci was a *legendary* figure in the pizza world. Bellucci’s career paralleled the pizza revival of recent decades. Wh…

This slice was pretty close to perfect. @cellosnyc produces exactly what you want from a classic NY slice shop, done with great craft and precision. The super thin leopard-spotted crust achieves an ideal balance between…

Fini is one of the city’s “new-classic” slice shops - places that keep the classic NY formats intact but try to perfect the execution - think @scarrspizza, @lindustriebk, @bestpizza33). These are some of my favorite pizz…

Pretty much the ideal New York slice, found deep in Brooklyn (Midwood). Crisp yet chewy & foldable - So good that I made it my profile pic. These pics are from my ‘pilgrimage’ back in April.…

@stfrancisapizza is the pizzeria I’ve posted about the most, not just because they produce top-tier pizza but also because they are regularly improving - the sign of a great restaurant. For example, they updated their do…

@brooklyndop delivers outstanding NY-style pizza with pronounced Neapolitan influence. I assumed it meant “Department of Pizza,” but DOP actually stands for “Denominazione di Origine Protetta” or “Protected Designation o…

Recently finding myself in the città dell’amore fraterno, I had a moment to stop by the slice window of this longtime “wishlist” pizzeria. Ordering at the window and eating outside, we opted for a pepperoni slice and a c…

9.3/10 Slicehaus (West Village) – The “Haus” in this Carmine street pizzas reads Germanic and brought to mind the late Germantown Pizza Haus in stately Latonia, KY. No intended offense to Ge…

This is a Canal Street outpost of a legendary pizzeria on Avenue X in Brooklyn. Lucia is a slice shop that’s fully on top of their game. We enjoyed a couple of slices on their counter last week (there is no seating). Li…

“Slices are forever.” Over the past two decades, American pizza has made remarkable advances through waves of different movements: the wood-fired Neapolitan boom, the coal-fired revival, the explosion in regional styles …

9.1/10 Fermento (West Village) Yesterday, I found myself in Lower Manhattan for the Knicks Championship Parade (it was a lot of fun). The streets were filled with would-be Lees & Turturros f…

This is a pizzeria I have long been looking forward to visiting. I first encountered Tony Scardino - “The Professor” - from his incredible-looking pandemic-era pizza-making. Scardanio has a formidable pizza resume, incl…

Open since 1973 and now run by Luigi’s son Gio, Luigi’s Pizza is a case study in technical excellence; serving one of the best slices in the city. While many slice shops drift toward excess or trend, @luigispizzaparkslop…

Located in the Lower East Side, this is one of my all time favorite slice joints. With decor repurposed from an old bowling alley, Scarr’s evokes a classic 1970s pizzeria. Aesthetics aside, @scarrspizza is notable for be…

First stop in a February NYC trip was in Gramercy Park at this E 23rd st pizzeria for slices, garlic knots, and spumoni. In my view, Luigi’s is essentially a perfect slice shop and a prototypical example of what you’re l…

A strong addition to the local pizza scene, @guardiacincy recently opened in Mt Lookout Square by the team behind @delwoodcincy. The vibe channels Brooklyn slice shops - casual counter service with a bar attached. They o…

A #WashingtonDC pizzeria with top notch New York style slices. The slices here are thin with a crisp exterior and chewy interior. The crust is lightly charred and foldable (a characteristic that I was sure to utilize). R…

An “Avant-Garlic” slice. After a visit to the New York Transit Museum (reasonably priced fun for the whole family! You can explore a 1905 subway car), you may find yourself in need of a slice. Fortunately, Norm’s Pizza s…

Located between two businesses that are also named “Frank’s” (perhaps Big Frank’s & Little Frank’s?), F&F is an outstanding Carroll Gardens pizzeria. Pictured is a slice of “The Selinunte”, a focaccia tastefully topped w…

This LES slice shop sits on Orchard just south of Houston. Opened in 2024, it is part of the growing wave of elevated slice shops that are driving New York pizza to new heights. These spots bring advanced bread-making te…

This is a Roman style “pizza al taglio” (pizza by the cut) style slice shop in Midtown. For the most part, Midtown can be a bit of a desert for top tier pizza. But I’m pretty much always down for Roman style pizza and so…

This is one of those slice shops where the craft is evident the second you enter …especially when you walk past the bags of specialty flour. The dough here is a thoughtful blend: sourdough, poolish, malt, and a mix of ‘T…

Now celebrating its two year anniversary, @villagesquarepizza is a #WestVillageNYC pizzeria that specializes in Sicilian slices with a perhaps exorbitant count of lightly charred #ronicups - something you’ll never hear m…

This Hell’s Kitchen bakery is the workshop of legendary breadsmith Jim Lahey (not to be confused with his namesake, the overindulgent trailer park supervisor in “Trailer Park Boys”). Lahey is credited with setting off a …

A double pepperoni with fresh mozzarella (currently a build-your-own, but I very humbly suggest it be added to the permanent menu as the “Joey Pepperoni”). The style of Dewey’s pizza is fairly unique and I would describe…

The pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus famously said “No man ever eats the same pizza twice, for it is not the same pizza and he is not the same man.” This week’s visit to Nolita’s Staten Island Pizza outpost Rubirosa (…

A classic late night dive, opened in 1974, Steve’s is a North Miami (Biscayne) counter-order pizzeria with graffiti covered walls. I ordered a NY slice that was served to me by the owner (which is almost always a good si…

It’s #NewYorkPizzaMonth here, so today we’re featuring this Soho (Spring Street) institution. The classic New York style slices here are quite good, but I’d skip past them for what they call the “Palermo slice” but I’d c…

General “Mad” Anthony Wayne earned his nickname from his battlefield aggression and a refusal to compromise. According to DC Comics, one of his direct decendents is the elusive Gotham-based billionaire Bruce Wayne. Meanw…

The Cincy pizza scene has been booming in recent years, such that I think the top places match up well with the best nationally. One style that’s a challenge though is your classic New York by-the-slice: pre-baking a piz…

An Asheville shop that features 28” New York style pizzas. This oversized (too big to fit in the frame) somewhat floppy slice features an artfully charred cornicione and pepperoni cups (always a favorite). The crispness…

Pretty much the ideal crisp NY slice, found in picturesque Hell’s Kitchen. This Margherita slice (note the colors of the Italian flag) pairs nicely with some ices. (From an April 2021 visit)…

Possible there was too much pepperoni on this one? The fault would be mine in ordering a custom double pepperoni with fresh mozzarella - The oversized toppings were at some risk of sliding off, so it was perhaps structur…

Whether we remain the ash or become the Phoenix is up to each of us. After two years of dormancy, this Newport pizzeria has chosen the route of the Greek Phoenix, gloriously emerging from the ashes of Monmouth Street to …

This Evendale pizzeria has been at the top of my to-try list since before it opened, so I was glad to finally visit recently. Decored as a classic New York slice shop, @mytrophypizza serves two styles: New York and Grand…

Like most people, I was drawn to @twobootspizza by the June 16th, 1995 NYT article “The Top Pizzas In New York: Bred and Baked By Tradition”. That article, which prominently featured the legendary Andrew Bellucci & sprea…

An Americanized Neapolitan pizzeria in Ft Mitchell, Camporosso offers two styles: Neapolitan wood-fired pizza and ‘American’ New York-ish gas oven pizza. Pictured is the ‘American’. The crust is more airy/bubbly and Neap…

Some old school sauce-on-top Sicilian pizza enjoyed first in Gravesend, Brooklyn and then reheated in Cincinnati, USA. If you’re one of those people who believes everything you read in the news, you may note some of the …

This New York style pizzeria is located onsite at @16lotsbrewing in picturesque Mason, Ohio. @madmonkspizza serves a quite thin style pizza, with a crisp bottom and a chewy interior. The lightly charred crust, had a good…

On a snowy day, what could be better than some Past(a) + (P)izza? i.e. “Pastizza.” This New York-style pizzeria just opened in Madeira in November, and we were able to try a few takeout pies during Thanksgiving break. @…

The ‘Lotta Trotta’ (with half pepperoni) is a pan pizza intended for 10-12 people …but is it actually enough Trotta? @trottaspizza is a storied Cincy Pizzeria; you probably recall it won Cincinnati Magazine’s best pizza …

This Walnut Hills wood-fired pizzeria is built into an old Cincinnati firehouse designed by the great local architect Samuel Hannaford in 1869. @firesidepizzawh opened here in 2014 & I’ve been a number of times over the …

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 inf…

Chicago Style Deep-Dish pizza in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood. ~300 miles from Chicago, Cincinnati (like many Midwestern cities) features an assortment of mediocre deep dish pizzerias (often featuring wall decals …

Napoli, Palermo, New Haven, Chicago, Detroit, and even Old Forge are great places for pizza. But there can be no question that New York stands above them all as pizza’s second city (after Cincinnati). As such, we have pr…

A “Goetta Grip” pizza topped with crumbled Goetta sausage & Grippos BBQ potato chips (the world’s greatest potato chip), available at this brewery+circus+Neapolitan pizza mashup. Bircus’s full circus brewery is located …

a cartoonishly oversized (two plate) New York slice, with the chewy foldable crust you look for in that style…

An exceptionally well named NY slice shop, Joe’s Pizza went from a West Village classic to Hollywood stardom after Peter Parker was cast as their pizza delivery man in Spider Man 2. As befits such a legendary place, the …

@qualitypizzaco is a Hoboken New Jersey pizzeria with a second location in Midtown renowned for being a short walk from our Flatiron District hotel. It’s a typical slice shop, and a relative slice of quality in the pizza…

“The Biggest Slice in Town”. It’s not officially summer until I’ve had a fresh slice on the boardwalk of New Jersey - affectionately known by locals as “The Sideburn State”. Officially, summer kicked off this weekend at …

The “only slice in Little Italy” is a tasty one with a soft yet chewy & foldable crust. That crust is just crisp enough to prevent the slice from drooping down onto the table. On top of that, the pepperoni was plentiful …

A ‘Roman Style’ slice with a crunchiness that stands it apart from the other Vegas Strip pizzerias. Available on a Skywalk, Pizza D’Italia’s pizza is thicker & crispier than all the NY slices I’ve seen in this area. So, …

New York style pizza from a new restaurant in an old Italianate building in Bellevue (the former Virgil’s). When a restaurant is run by engaged onsite owners who really seem to care, the difference is palpable (as oppose…

The ‘Perfect Pepperoni’ 16” pizza represents a grease-forward New York-ish style pie. Note what’s left on the plate after just one slice in my 3rd pic. The sauce is mildly spicy although fairly minimal. Instead, the pizz…

A substantial New York slice utilizing just the right amount of burrata to approximate the colors of the Italian Flag. The crisp/super thin crust could use a bit more life, but I rather enjoyed the combination of flavors…

A classic New York slice in the monumental canyons of downtown Ft Myers. Close your eyes & you might even believe you’re at say a @famousoriginalrays in the East Village…

Walking the Mason concrete boardwalk, I was drawn to @tonyspizzeriaandcatering by its “A Taste of Jersey” mural. I had recently been to a Mason pizzeria most notable for its stylized bathrooms, and was craving something …

Doughy Cheesy Midwest pizza - it always hits the spot! Baked using a pizza screen - It’s essentially a better version of the “hand-tossed” pizza seen at chains, with a buttery Parmesan-encrusted crust. Pictured is the ‘M…

“Brewery Pizza” - isn’t it great? Brewery pizza embodies a distinctly American multicultural synthesis: Italian culinary tradition reinterpreted with extra cheese, German brewing heritage filtered through competitive inn…

A few weeks ago, after some heavy elbowing through a herd of blissfully uncomplicated wanderers lulling outside Madison Square Garden, we reached NY Pizza Suprema. Suprema has traditionally been my go to for a slice in M…

Located on Queen City Avenue in the northern outskirts of South Fairmont (Cincinnati’s ‘Little Italy’), Queen City Pizza feels like an old school throwback. Before all the glitzy pizza trends of recent decades, Cincinnat…

An oversized very thin crust New York slice on the Vegas strip. This is a floppy, nearly structurally unsound slice, that is a tad difficult to eat due to its size (although you better eat fast before the slice droops in…

“Andiamo” Pizza (Italian for “Lets Go”) is another Midtown slice shop. We visited for dessert slices after @qualitypizzaco (which I reviewed Monday). Andiamo wasn’t on my “to try” list, but I saw they were one of the hig…

A greasy cheesy heavily-topped West Village slice popular with NYU students. Bleecker Street is an institution & on a late night this kinda slice can really hit the spot.…

Straddling the edge of stately Old Milford, just off the Loveland bike trail, and overlooking the Little Miami River is this brick (gas) oven brewery pizzeria. Little Miami’s style might be described a thick heavily-topp…

Greasy foldable NY pizza, overloaded with cheese - note how the cheese overhangs off the side when you fold a slice. The crust could have a bit more flavor, but it’s still a true crowd pleaser.…

Some trivia night pizza in Cincinnati’s oldest neighborhood: Columbia-Tusculum (Sidenote: I love the early Cincinnatian tendency to evoke republican Rome). The East End’s @localpostcincy is an early 1900s post office tha…

Don’t get me wrong, I like damn dirty hippies as much as the next guy. But I usually consider their powers as limited to artisan tie dying, virtuosic bongo circles, and post-modern macrame. No offense Sage, great pizza i…

Deep in the modern Labyrinth that is Caesar’s Palace, a latter day Daedalus will come upon a slice shop named after the venerable @difarapizzanyc of Brooklyn (one of the all time greats, which I reviewed recently). As se…

A very crisp, thin, yet heavily topped New York style slice in SOHO. Champion pizza is so-named because it’s owner Hakki Akdeniz is a world champion of pizza acrobatics (i.e. he’s world class at tossing & juggling dough)…

A 16” Double Pepperoni Pizza in Mt Lookout, featuring extra pepperoni and extra cheese. I’d last been to Ramundos in 2010 to try their 26” pizza challenge (scroll to the far right to see those results). The pizza this ti…

This Norwood pizzeria was opened in 1956 by the DeLuca family, recent immigrants from southern Italy who named their restaurant “Sorrento’s Pizza” after the Campanian town. The pizzeria suffered a truly tragic fire in 20…

It’s not on any map… Down an unmarked hallway is an unnamed pizzeria that’s become something if a pilgrimage destination over the years (this is a return visit for me, a decade+ after my 2011 stop). ‘Secret Pizza’ serves…

Being perhaps a better pizza/architecture nerd than speller, I was very excited to visit *Italianate Pizza*. A pizzeria dedicated to Cincinnati’s outstanding stock of 19th century Italianate architecture might even give …

Il Gusto (“The Taste”) is a straightforward New York-style pizzeria offering pizza, stromboli, calzoni, insalati, and subs. With its steady flow of Deer Parkian customers, it’s clear @il.gustopizza has quickly become a n…

The Masons, who it is said used secret knowledge to construct wonders like the Great Pyramid & Solomon’s Temple, turned their attention to constructing the perfect pizza (pie-ramid?) in 2015 opening Two Cities Pizza Co. …