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NYC Slice

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Re: NYC Slice

#121

Post by mgce »

tptacek wrote: 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…

I find that more true for bagels than pizza. Some bagel places are better than others but I don't find much value in crossing the city vs. just going to the best place in your neighborhood.

But pizza's a totally different story for me. First off there's no single "real" point - people like what they like and there's no reason people have to have the same kinds of interest.

I have always and will continue to always travel large distances through NYC to enjoy the pizza places I like. There are clear differences - both in style and quality.

When I'm in a pinch and want pizza, sure. I won't go far. But I personally find the difference between your average place down the block and a sought out destination huge. And if I have the time and energy I'd much rather experience my preferred places.

Re: NYC Slice

#122

Post by yamtaddle »

ethbr0 wrote: post #117
LarryMullins wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: A $10 large "brooklyn" pizza from Dominos today is vastly better than any Pizza Hut or Dominos pizza ever was in the 90s. Not as good as a pizza from a halfway decent independent pizzeria, but half the price.

That's only because Dominos infamously, sometime during the 2010s(?), ran a campaign that amounted to "Our current pizza sucked, but we've got a new recipe that's better."

What's weird is I was around for that, was in college and ate Domino's pretty regularly at the time, and everyone seems to believe it was indeed a lot better, but I thought it was a ton worse than what they had before. Just tasted like a lot more MSG and oregano.

Re: NYC Slice

#123

Post by LarryMullins »

ethbr0 wrote: post #117
LarryMullins wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: A $10 large "brooklyn" pizza from Dominos today is vastly better than any Pizza Hut or Dominos pizza ever was in the 90s. Not as good as a pizza from a halfway decent independent pizzeria, but half the price.

That's only because Dominos infamously, sometime during the 2010s(?), ran a campaign that amounted to "Our current pizza sucked, but we've got a new recipe that's better."

I think they were right. Their standard crust is still trash that scrapes up my mouth, but the "brooklyn" crust is passable.

Re: NYC Slice

#124

Post by terran57 »

Been living in New York for the past 20+ years. Sadly, inflation has diminished the quality and quantity of the average corner pizza shop's slice. Yes, the Artichoke Basil slice the author refers to is much more expensive, but it's also bigger than the average slice of pizza in NYC - and the quality of ingredients seems better. The $1 slice shops (now more like the $1.50 slice shops) live on low margin and high volume. I can attest that it's great when you're in a hurry and just want to get something in your system. For quality pizza slices, well, you're just going to have to pay $3-$5 for a slice nowadays ($1 or more for toppings).

Re: NYC Slice

#125

Post by scoofy »

I used to live above Best Pizza (Williamsburg) and lived there when they opened. In my opinion, the best heuristic for good pizza is just the quality of tomatoes they use. San Marzano or Roma for the east coast, but on the west coast you have a ton of local options. I'm not saying you can't have good pizza from processed tomato sauce, I'm just saying that a place that cares about the quality of tomatoes also cares about the quality of their pizza.

A lot of quick order places will just have the cans visible. A great way to experiment with pizza is to just experiment with local tomatoes. I never wanted to become a pizza snob, but living on top of one of the most quality pizza joints in town and knowing the guys there and their favorite spots... well... now i am.

Here's a basic recipe from Frank. Anyone can make extremely high quality pizza at home by following his advice: https://youtu.be/whnvQBhXh3A

The funniest thing that happened there was probably when this interested guy was asking 'the locals' how we liked it, and what was popular... we found out a week later that he was very probably this NYT food reviewer: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/dining/reviews/09under.ht...

Re: NYC Slice

#127

Post by blastro »

harrydehal wrote: post #78
alar44 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Little Caesars is objectively terrible, sorry.

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 read this in Bourdain's voice.

Re: NYC Slice

#128

Post by dcow »

ethbr0 wrote: post #117
LarryMullins wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: A $10 large "brooklyn" pizza from Dominos today is vastly better than any Pizza Hut or Dominos pizza ever was in the 90s. Not as good as a pizza from a halfway decent independent pizzeria, but half the price.

That's only because Dominos infamously, sometime during the 2010s(?), ran a campaign that amounted to "Our current pizza sucked, but we've got a new recipe that's better."

Yeah I occasionally get caught in the trap of trying their Brooklyn crust and every time I come to the conclusion that it's a lackluster disappointing product that isn't in any way different from any of their other pizzas in terms of quality. I've maybe had dominoes 2 times in the last 5 years which is why I keep forgetting XD

Re: NYC Slice

#129

Post by ethbr0 »

harrydehal wrote: post #78
alar44 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Little Caesars is objectively terrible, sorry.

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.

To be fair, Waffle House completely overhauled their menu ~2 years(?) ago.

Gone is the 90s yellow a la carte one. Gone even is the replacement that at least kept the classics on the back.

Now it's $8+ meals, with token hashbrown options at the bottom.

Used to be, you could get a perfectly serviceable meal there for under-$6. E.g. double hashbrowns ($3) + single hamburger ($1) + drink ($1.5).

Now the closest thing to the same meal is double the price. Double hashbrown $5. Single hamburger doesn't exist, and hamburgers start at $6.

Re: NYC Slice

#130

Post by awhitty »

billiam wrote: 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…

I 100% agree, and I've only visited NYC a couple times.

Each time I visit, I try to eat at least one slice of pizza and one bagel every day. The thing that blows me away is how generally good they are, no matter where I buy them. Of course I'll look at reviews, but I won't walk more than 5 blocks to get a slice. Never been disappointed.

Same thing visiting Paris - you can hunt for the BEST croissant, but the remarkable thing is that nearly everywhere you shop, you'll find a really, really good one. I live near Arsicault in SF, and though they might make the BEST croissant in the US (and I will probably live a shorter life due to the number of them I put in my body every week), I'd trade that for a really good croissant on every corner.

I think it reflects having shared cultural values around the food and a knowledge in the community of what makes the food great both in terms of inputs and outputs, and I hope we never stop valuing good pizza!!

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