I've been to NYC a dozen times. I've had lots of slices - and I never really got the concept of NY pizza. It all seemed average - n

But my last trip, I walked over to Hells Kitchen on 55th and 9th Ave and had a slice of Saccos Pizza - a little hole in the wall place with a coal fired oven - $3 slices or so. Wow.

I get it now, I think. The usual pizza places you can visit - Rays, La Famiglia, Sbarro etc. are poor imitations.. kind of like the low to average pizza joints in Chicago. But Saccos... that was like the Vito and Nick of NY pizza. I dont even think that the place is well known in NY, but it clearly has a taste and texture that stands out - and I have to assume that is what people really mean by a NY slice. And its an easy walk from Midtown. I'm now a big fan.

Going to head over there right now!! Will update. The timing could not have been better for this post!

trpt2345 wrote:The Jon Stewart video has gone from 4,000 views this morning to over 11,000 this evening. and 53,000 as of Sunday

scottsol wrote:No Man's Land at Plazo del Lago in Wilmette serves a surprisingly authentic version of the real thing.

http://www.nomanslandpizza.com

I made it over to No Man's Land for a couple of cheese slices yesterday (that's all they had at the moment). Very thin and crispy (except for the edge of course) with cornmeal all over the bottom and the edge itself. It was very good, but nothing spectacular. The sauce reminded me a bit of NY Slices in Highland Park, which was a bad thing. I am not a big fan of their sauce. On the other hand, the burgers looked really good, made with fresh ground beef and they have Yukon Gold fries, which sound interesting. I'll be back to check those out. It's a pretty small space, with only about 10 stools inside and some tables outside.

threegoofs wrote:I've been to NYC a dozen times. I've had lots of slices - and I never really got the concept of NY pizza. It all seemed average - n

But my last trip, I walked over to Hells Kitchen on 55th and 9th Ave and had a slice of Saccos Pizza - a little hole in the wall place with a coal fired oven - $3 slices or so. Wow.

I get it now, I think. The usual pizza places you can visit - Rays, La Famiglia, Sbarro etc. are poor imitations.. kind of like the low to average pizza joints in Chicago. But Saccos... that was like the Vito and Nick of NY pizza. I dont even think that the place is well known in NY, but it clearly has a taste and texture that stands out - and I have to assume that is what people really mean by a NY slice. And its an easy walk from Midtown. I'm now a big fan.

I usually swore by John's on bleecker street, but in my most recent trip to NYC I was introduced to South Brooklyn pizza in the East Village by fellow LTHer Habibi, and I no longer feel the need to go to John's every time I'm in NYC. South Brooklyn is just as good, and the line isn't ridiculous. They will even deliver if you're in the right area. Highly recommend the margherita.

South Brooklyn Pizza
122 1st Ave
(between 7th St & St Marks Pl)
New York, NY 10009

Sacco's was delicious! The slice was approved from my wife who grew up in the Bronx. However the slices were not in a coal oven. They had 4 Blodgett ovens behind the counter. Been there for over 50 years great slices. Sorry this is on Chicago Board.

Dough Boy's on Racine serves an excellent NYC slice.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2 ... eview.html

Ive been ordering delivery from
5 Boroughs Pizza
1543 North Sedgwick Street
Chicago, IL 60610-2875
(312) 988-9009

Their prices are fair, and as long as you get a pepperoni and tell them to go light on the cheese, and cook it extra well done, it is a pretty decent pizza if you like ny style. Also, the fact that they deliver downtown is great, I dont like driving all the way up to noli's and I simply dont get the love for cafe luigi even though they also deliver to me. I think I've found a suitable compromise for now, sadly.

I admittedly know very little of NYC style pie, but I'm a big fan of Boiler Room's slices. Big and floppy foldable, nice chewiness to the crust, hand tossed, etc. They keep the pies at Room temp once made as well. And the PB&J combo doesn't hurt. Shot of Jameson, tallboy of PBR and a slice for $7...

Boiler Room
2210 N. California
Chicago, IL

I feel comfortable describing Boiler Room's slices as "decent." And I have to admit, there is something somewhat New Yorkey about them.

NobleSquirrel wrote:And the PB&J combo doesn't hurt. Shot of Jameson, tallboy of PBR and a slice for $7...

Yeah, way better than the $5 or whatever for a cardboard box and pop at Bacci and the like.

NobleSquirrel wrote:I admittedly know very little of NYC style pie, but I'm a big fan of Boiler Room's slices. Big and floppy foldable, nice chewiness to the crust, hand tossed, etc. They keep the pies at Room temp once made as well. And the PB&J combo doesn't hurt. Shot of Jameson, tallboy of PBR and a slice for $7...

Boiler Room
2210 N. California
Chicago, IL

Slice, beer and a shot for $7? Man, sign me up. I have been doing the slice thing at Gigio's a lot recently while at work, that has solved my dilemma on ordering while at work. Now if I could only find a decent Italian beef near Argyle......

Stopped and had a slice at a new place on Foster and Lincoln called Jimmy's. This may be some of the best "NY style" I've had here in Chicago. The crust had a nice crunch to it, yet chewy - nice cheese to sauce ratio - fennely sausage - and cheerful service. I will certainly try more here and am curious to hear anyone else's thoughts. They've evidently only been open two weeks, and I think may be Asian owned. Not to sounds like an a-hole here, but when I think of pizza makers, I typically don't think of Asians. But whoever owns it, the pizza is darn good.

Jimmy's Pizza Cafe
5159 N Lincoln Ave

I have always found NY pizza by the slice to be really greasy and cheesy with chewy bubble-gum dough. The last time I was in NY, though, I had some really exceptional pizza. I think to classify New York Pizza as a single style is a complete mistake. There are as many variations on NY pizza as there are pizzerias in New York, just as Chicago pizza varies from restaurant to restaurant. Some are interpretations are very good, while some are inedible and most are somewhere in between. Just like Chicagoans, a New Yorker's idea of what pizza should be depends on what they grew up eating.

Jimmy's is the best. The End!

FoodSnob77 wrote:Jimmy's is the best. The End!

LOL, thread here:

Jimmy's Pizza Cafe (and Beignets)

=R=

What are good representations of new york/ new haven style of pizza? I thinking about pies like Sally’s, Totonno’s, and Apizza scholls. Any leads?

Piece is New Haven-style, Jimmy's does a good New York pie and Coalfire is somewhere in between.

Dante's does a great NY Style pie.

Piece
1927 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 772-4422

Dante's
3028 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 342-0002

=R=

dagrassroots wrote:What are good representations of new york/ new haven style of pizza? I thinking about pies like Sally’s, Totonno’s, and Apizza scholls. Any leads?

For the New Haven style, Piece is pretty good, but not in my top tier of pizza joints. For New York/East Coast "street" pizza Jimmy's and Dante's are also decent, and having a slice once in a while is very convenient, but they are also not what I would call top tier either. On all three, the sauce was the weakest link for me. I found it funny that Jimmy is from Chicago, yet he's doing the NY pizza thing and New Orleans beignets.

Coalfire is the closest to a Grimaldi's or Totonno's style (coal fired oven) and I absolutely love Coalfire, it's one of my favorites anywhere.

Ram4 wrote:

dagrassroots wrote:What are good representations of new york/ new haven style of pizza? I thinking about pies like Sally’s, Totonno’s, and Apizza scholls. Any leads?

For the New Haven style, Piece is pretty good, but not in my top tier of pizza joints. For New York/East Coast "street" pizza Jimmy's and Dante's are also decent, and having a slice once in a while is very convenient, but they are also not what I would call top tier either. On all three, the sauce was the weakest link for me. I found it funny that Jimmy is from Chicago, yet he's doing the NY pizza thing and New Orleans beignets.

Coalfire is the closest to a Grimaldi's or Totonno's style (coal fired oven) and I absolutely love Coalfire, it's one of my favorites anywhere.

Taking this a step further, the mortadella pizza at Coalfire is easily my favorite pizza in the city (of any genre).

http://www.tonyandbrunos.com/

Everyone will dismiss this place because it's in the Merchandise Mart but they make an excellent NY style pie, the best I've had in Chicago by far. The margherita is my favorite.

I was over at Dimo's Pizza on Clark after the Cubs game Saturday and I have to say that it was one of the best NY street style slices I've had in Chicago so far. I haven't had any that blew me away in my lifetime, but most have been pretty good. I've never been to New York proper to have the real thing, so I can only go by what New York transplants have served me, or locals trying their own attempt. I ordered a simple plain cheese slice and it was excellent, with a sweet sauce and I loved the crust. This place is a slice mecca, as they have tons of strange toppings and combos such as Chicken and Waffles Pizza (which is very popular), Spicy Chicken Taco, Tortellini, Portabello Pesto, or Mac N Cheese. The selection of specialty slices is impressive if you like variations, but you have to ask what the hell anything is because nothing is labeled. A chaotic small space where people eat and get out quickly. Totally for the bar crowds around the area.

Dimo's Pizza
3463 N Clark St
Chicago IL
773-525-4580
http://www.dimospizza.com/

NobleSquirrel wrote:I admittedly know very little of NYC style pie, Big and floppy foldable, nice chewiness to the crust, hand tossed, etc. They keep the pies at Room temp once made as well. And the PB&J combo doesn't hurt. Shot of Jameson, tallboy of PBR and a slice for $7...

Boiler Room
2210 N. California
Chicago, IL

combo goes for about eight-fiddy nowdays:







nice piece of pizza, had a little crunch & char to the crust.

Boiler Room and their patio made for a nice 1st stop for a day in Chicago this past Friday before the WSP show.

I love Coalfire the best, but for a big, floppy, foldable slice my "go-to" is Santullo's. Their pizza reminds me of the take-out pies that I used to get as a kid in Upstate New York and later as an adult in New York City.

In my humble opinion, the best NYC pizza in Chicago is:

1) Coalfire;
2) Gigio's on Broadway in Uptown.

Coalfire very much reminds me of my last trip to Totonno's in NYC, but I prefer Coalfire because of their superior sausage recipe. While pepperoni is the number #1 topping everywhere else in America, sausage is king here in Chicago, and I firmly believe we have the best sausage pizza in the world. I've never had sausage that good anywhere in NYC. I guess having sausage this good makes Coalfire's version of sausage pizza a Chicago twist on NYC pizza. To me, Coalfire is some of the best coalfired oven pizza anywhere in America.

As for the foldable, greasy NYC slice with plain cheese, I've always really liked Gigio's in Uptown. I think Gigio's is a very good representation of every gas oven/foldable slice pizza I've ever had in NYC.

ld111134 wrote:I love Coalfire the best, butt for a big, floppy, foldable

You other brothers can't deny.

cilantro wrote:

ld111134 wrote:I love Coalfire the best, butt for a big, floppy, foldable

You other brothers can't deny.

Fixed, Sir Mix.

Not to start a flame war or anything, but I spend a lot of time in NY and the typical slice on the street is abysmal. Coalfire would be destination pizza in NY, which in no way diminishes the greatness of the best NY places, most (even all?) of which are not "slice" places, and do not sell slices. Best NY street slice is like best dirty water dog or best microwave burrito or best kick in the nads. If any Sbarros remain post bankruptcy, that's a good approximation. Don't ask me about halal meat carts. And this has nothing to do with Chicago pizza. I have never had a single good walking slice here, save dearly departed LoGalbo's under the L at Southport when it was an entirely different neighborhood, and bakery pizza.