[chitowneats]

Well put.

That being said, the Chicago version is still better.

NYC pizza is a bad joke. As long as you're only paying $1 it's not that bad for the price. That price point and the places that offered it are going extinct unfortunately. The "slice" is dead.

Imagine having to fold your "pizza" because it's just a nasty mess of sauce and cheese.

[kenjilopezalt]

It’s ironic because those $1 slice places that popped up in the mid 2000s are what actually destroyed decent NY slices which couldn’t compete because transplants and students would rather pay $1 for garbage than $1.50-$2.50 for a true classic NY slice. Very few of them remain now.

Instead there’s this divide with crappy $1 joints (that are now a little more expensive) and good $4-5 slice joints that had to differentiate themselves. The workingman’s NY slice might not have long to live.

All that said, it sounds like maybe you’ve not had good NY pizza the way you’re describing it. The sauce and cheese should not be messy, it should be minimal. The fold is so you can walk down the street while eating it in one hand.

[Balgair]

Just want to say that I love your videos on YT, thanks for all the hard work you put into everything. You've really helped me and my family learn to cook better. My SO has a few dietary issues [0] that limits the ingredients we can use down to ~1 side of a double spaced page. So really learning how to cook and prepare those few ingredients in a LOT of ways has been super important to keeping the simple diet workable. You helped us do that. Your super welcoming tone, words, and just down to Earth demeanor have made a world of difference to us. Thanks for all the hard work you put into it all. You've made our lives better through more than just your recipes.

[0] Interstitial Cystitis + a lot of allergies

[kenjilopezalt]

Thanks for this note. It’s always nice to know you’ve made a positive impact.

[PaulMcCartney]

I'd like to add my own thank you here as well - thanks!

[myrandomcomment]

Kenji,

Have your books, watch your YT. Love the science behind the food aspect of it. My whole family does. I am proud to say my daughter, now in college, cooks a few nights a week because she grew up in a family that cooks. I have a challenge for you. In my 40s they figured out my heath issues turn out to be Celiacs. Fun. So do you think you could come up with a closes as possible recipe for NYC style pizza that is gluten free?

Cheers!

[kenjilopezalt]

Oh geez that’s a tall order!

[myrandomcomment]

Well, how could I pass up the opportunity to ask someone that has the required skill to figure this out?

This place in Portland comes pretty close to getting it correct.

https://newcascadiatraditional.com/

Cheers!

[boulos]

Sadly, I think this is true about a lot of the food in Manhattan: the middle got squeezed. There's low end, high volume and high-end, low volume. I'm always amazed Manhattan can support so many on the low end with the economics on the rent, but I think they end up with just truly amazing foot traffic and volume that other cities can't touch.

[chitowneats]

Manhattan is an absolute wasteland for authentic, cheap food. Queens and Brooklyn are much better. Some of the best food in the country there.

[frakkingcylons]

Yep. Take the 7 train to queens and have your pick of great international food for like 30-50% of the price of Manhattan food.

[boulos]

Mostly, I wasn't comfortable saying NYC when people mostly mean Manhattan and fancy parts of Brooklyn for this comparison :).

[chitowneats]

Agreed. Manhattan and north Brooklyn are very different from the rest of the city.

The Chinese food in Flushing or Sunset Park is incredible, for example.

[chitowneats]

I appreciate the context you're adding here. I lived in NYC for the better part of a decade. I feel I got a good sampling of the pizza scene. This was in the 2010s though so I can't speak to how it was before that.

I still haven't found anything that beats a Lou's pan pizza.

[quags]

The secret of course is the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey.

[JumpCrisscross]

> the best pizza in the NYC area is in Northern New Jersey

Keep going: the pies around central Jersey are a celebration of tomatoes. That said, not a New York slice (north shore included.)

[jfengel]

That's a Tomato Pie. Which is of course a pizza; the name was to avoid scaring off Italo-phobes in the early 20th century. But that particular pizza is its own distinct thing and it does deserve its own name.

[quags]

I have not tried the New Jersey version but grew up with pizza stops which is a style in Rhode Island that sounds similar to tomato pie.

[chitowneats]

Where, in your opinion, can I get the ideal New York slice?

[JumpCrisscross]

> where…can I get the ideal New York slice?

Scott’s pizza tour [1]! (No affiliation.)

Coal-fired slices are rare, now. I tend to like a charred, crisp crust and simple toppings that can be bitten through. This is a city that cares about its pizza. We don’t run impostors out of town. But the pizza is great, and there is no single ideal. Buy it, fold it, and enjoy.

(Grimaldi’s and Joe’s. Di Fara and Lucali rub me like Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, Arizona. Pizza isn’t a food for lines.)

[1] https://www.scottspizzatours.com/

[chitowneats]

These are all Neopolitan style. I've had Grimaldi's and Lucali and enjoyed them.

I asked about a New York slice, which is a style of pizza that people rave on and on about, and has been cargo-culted across the U.S., but one I've never been particularly impressed with. Especially when compared to Chicago tavern style or deep dish.

[JumpCrisscross]

> are all Neopolitan style

They’re more New York than Naples.

> asked about a New York slice, which is a style of pizza that people rave on and on about, and has been cargo-culted across the U.S.

You’re being snotty about people trying to answer your questions.

Coal-fired pizza by the slice is a New York City invention. The crust is firmer than what’s served on the Gulf of Napoli, allowing it to be confidently held with one hand (folded).

> when compared to Chicago tavern style or deep dish

Try a New Jersey tomato pie. (They’re good.)

In my experience, a lot of Chicago pizza is more properly pie. Freshness of ingredients plays second fiddle to texture and presentation. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. But I want a crisp crust, not a bready one, and a slice, not a whole pie, and that’s an innovation of New York City.

(As others have mentioned, there is a definite atmosphere element to the experience. You don’t buy a slice to soberly cut up with a knife and fork for solo Wednesday weeknight dinner.)

[ents]

Scarr's

[rubiquity]

In Buffalo

[konfusinomicon]

central jersey does alright too but the best I've had was a bar called Mario's in clifton.

[wtf_is_up]

Folding pizza is insane to me. I'll eat it with 2 hands if I have to. Even a fork and knife is preferable.