[gnarcoregrizz]

I agree. There are so many crappy pizza places in NY, especially in Manhattan. It’s a risk trying some random place. NJ has better and more consistent pizza and bagels. That said, I don’t even try to get pizza elsewhere, I’ve had some really extra gross greasy pizza in other states. For some reason, I’ve never been to a mountain town that can get it right.

[mapasj]

Agree. I grew up in NJ and lived a few years in NYC. NYC has a lot of variation in what is called NY style pizza. A lot of it is bad. In NJ, the NY style pizza is a lot more consistent and overall better than NYC. Living in NYC I was always puzzled how there could exist such bad pizza there. Mostly I’m talking about Manhattan. Maybe it’s bad to me and not others, and has to do with NYC having so many residents that grew up elsewhere, bringing their own varied tastes in pizza?

[wkat4242]

> Living in NYC I was always puzzled how there could exist such bad pizza there.

Living in Barcelona I think this is pretty clear: Tourists. Though what's pizza in NYC is paella and tapas here of course.

Their reasoning is simple. Most tourists don't ever come back so why bother investing in a quality product when you can just milk them for what they're worth. Even reviews don't help with this very much.

As a local it's easy to avoid these places. Avoiding the ones with pictures of the food and sticky promoters outside trying to get you in the door does most of it. And realizing that most of the best places don't have the shiniest venues precisely because they don't need to. The locals know where to find them anyway.

[cyberlurker]

I’m so relieved to see others recognizing this and it’s not just me.

My theory is NYC had better average pizza in the past but people move out of the city over time. They probably move to lower cost areas. Many pizza makers in NJ are originally from NYC. The pizza is better in NJ on average.