$2 Slice at Famous Original Ray’s
“This ‘pizza pie’ style isn’t part of my culture, but I have seen this style everywhere and consider it is very New Yorkese. Compared to its competitors, Ray’s at least tries to make the pizza look appealing with its distribution of toppings. I wouldn’t put the dough into the pizza category at all. I can taste the dairy and sugar in the dough and this for me is not pizza. That said, Ray’s doesn’t serve the worst pizza in this category.” rayspizza.com
Old-School Pies at Lombardi’s
“Quality pizza made with quality ingredients has a relatively brief history in New York, a city in which pizza has been made for over a hundred years. Lombardi’s might be considered one of the best and most historic pizzerias by some, but I didn’t like this pizza, especially the sliced fresh tomato topping. They didn’t have the quality, sweetness or character I have found on other New York City pizzas. The dough seemed like it was leavened for a very short time and it was not very digestible.” firstpizza.com
Roman Pizza at My Pie
Neapolitan Pizza at Forcella
“It’s a technically flawless pizza. Maybe it’s missing heart, but it’s been made by the book. The dough melts in your mouth and has been leavened properly. Forcella’s pizza was the best in spite of what I call the defect of Neapolitan pizza: Because it is cooked at an extremely high temperature, the crust and base can’t both be cooked perfectly.” forcellaparkavenue.com
New Guard Indie Pizza at Paulie Gee’s
“The pizza at Paulie Gee’s is fantastic and could easily be brought to Italy and served there. It would compete with the country’s great pizzerias.” pauliegee.com
Hipster Pies at Roberta’s
“Roberta’s is fantastic! It’s the pizza your uncle makes for you. It’s comforting and reminds me, in a way, of my own pizza in that it is made with feeling and not bogged down by the coldness of technique. It’s clear the pizzaioli are having fun and even with its tiny defects, I really, really liked it.” robertaspizza.com
