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NYC Slice

elkue.com

101–110 of 534 posts

Re: NYC Slice

#101
post #90

Native New Yorker here. Out of towners are obsessed with the BEST slice, but the true measure of NYC's 45 degree greatness is the decent quality following a Poisson distribution. My tip: just travel to any random spot in the five boroughs. First; you will be impressed how close you are to a pizza spot wherever you are. Second: you will be impressed with the slice, and with the variety of people who are good at making…

Like out-of-towners asking which cheese steak shop in Philly is the best. The best is whichever corner shop is closest to you. If you're local and eat cheese steaks often, you don't drive all the way across the city to get such a lunch. You walk one or two blocks whichever shop you're near. But visitors want to experience the best, not experience it as a local would.

Re: NYC Slice

#102
post #94

I'm not a New Yorker, but a New York food person I follow has a small rant about how people obsess about the best NYC slice, but that the real point of NYC pizza is that it's available everywhere in the city, like that you are never far from a good NYC slice --- so that the idea of seeking out particular slices kind of misses the point. NYC'ers: how bad is that take? (None of this is to say that it's illegitimate for…

Honestly, a solid take! It’s more of an optimization problem — find the best balance of quality, proximity, and price, and you’ve got your favorite slice shop. If you’re at a friend’s or a loved one’s, that solution changes, and you begin to associate the flavor of that slice with them and their home. Sometimes it’s worth it to make a trip out to one of the pizza Meccas—Lucali, Joe’s on Carmine, L&B Spumoni Gardens, etc.—but more often than not, you’re set with your local slice.

Unless you live in Downtown Brooklyn, where there is no good pizza. Then you’re just fucked.

Re: NYC Slice

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not just NY. I suspect it’s basically all of the US.

It's different in NY due to the ubiquity, downward pressure on price, and all-hour coverage. You can be nearly anywhere, at any time, and be fed in minutes. You often eat while standing and remaining social. The experience anchors itself in your mind as an instant, omnipresent solution to hunger. There's also probably something to the infinitely nuanced territorial aspect of which slice is better (the answer is Princ…

Less mentioned about NYC is the 24-hour egg and sausage breakfast sandwich, fresh off a griddle. This, more than pizza, was my staple when I went to college in New York.

Re: NYC Slice

#105

For anyone who hasn't been to New York this is what a slice looked like at my local pizza place down the street: https://imgur.com/a/9wRM859 Delicious.

I'd take a veggie one but damn that looks good.

Re: NYC Slice

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the late Anythony Bourdain could espouse on the greatness of an "objectively terrible" Wafflehouse meal. There's a time and place for everything, and even the snobbiest of us food snobs can appreciate the time and place for the likes of Little Ceasars, Costco Pizza, Wafflehouse, et al.

I also love Waffle House's food despite, maybe even because, it's 'bad'. Their waffles are legit good; the rest is coffee shop slop of the highest order. Recommended. (Glad Bourdain had the guts to say this)

Waffle House is open late and the food has lots of carbs and fat.

Which means it's good drunk food available when the drunks want to eat.

I live 1,000 miles away from the nearest one, but I sure did love a late Saturday night at Waffle House when I lived in the south.

Where I am now, a "109 spicy special,"[0] hot off the grill, a single serving bag of nacho cheese Doritos and Pepsi does the job too.

[0] https://bwog.com/2007/01/how-spicy-is-your-special/

Re: NYC Slice

#108
post #94

I'm not a New Yorker, but a New York food person I follow has a small rant about how people obsess about the best NYC slice, but that the real point of NYC pizza is that it's available everywhere in the city, like that you are never far from a good NYC slice --- so that the idea of seeking out particular slices kind of misses the point. NYC'ers: how bad is that take? (None of this is to say that it's illegitimate for…

True for the most part. It is arguable that brick oven or coal oven slices taste different and better. Also, 'premium' slices like Lucali’s might offer superior ingredients (particularly the cheese)

Re: NYC Slice

#109
post #90

Native New Yorker here. Out of towners are obsessed with the BEST slice, but the true measure of NYC's 45 degree greatness is the decent quality following a Poisson distribution. My tip: just travel to any random spot in the five boroughs. First; you will be impressed how close you are to a pizza spot wherever you are. Second: you will be impressed with the slice, and with the variety of people who are good at making…

Out-of-towners are obsessed with the BEST, most obscure everything. It's one of the things I liked least about living in the city. Everything always felt like a competition about who knew the coolest places.

It's comical that someone would travel more than a few minutes within NYC just to try a slice of pizza. Like if it's a nice neapolitan pie, sure. But just for a standard NYC-style slice? That's a waste of time. All the places that typically top people's list, like Joe's Pizza, Prince St. Pizza, Bleecker St., etc., are all very mid. You can get an equally good slice as those big names in almost any neighborhood.

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