#PizzaProject – New York City Style Part 1

You knew it was gonna happen. How could it not right? How can anyone possibly even think of talking about pizza without bringing up some slice shops in New York City? For me, that is where this all started. I grew up in New York City, that is the standard to which all other pizza is judged.

In the last 4 months, I have hit 4 different slice shops in NYC, all in different parts of the City. Let’s take a look at the first 2;

Let’s start off with Rocky’s II. This slice shop is located on 2nd ave. Near NYU Hospital. I was there in the beginning of August. It was an excellent slice. It is what I would expect from a Manhattan slice shop. The crust had no flop, a good snap and a nice chew to it. It has a hard exterior but a soft interior. Perfectly baked with excellent color. The cheese was the perfect balance of sweet and salty however was a bit too greasy for my liking. The sauce was a basic pizza joint sauce. nothing specials was kind of just their. However, they nailed the balance between the cheese and the sauce.

 

• Crust – 4
• Cheese – 3
• Sauce – 3
• Color – 3
• Cheese:Sauce – 4
• Overall – 3.4

Rocky’s II – The Basic Slice

Next, we head over to the dining concourse of  Grand Central Station, to a pizza stand called Prova. This may honestly have been the worst slice of pizza I have ever had in my entire life, and I have had bad pizza. I would honest to god take Twin Trees pizza, in Syracuse, which I absolutely loathe, over this atrocity. And before anyone gets all “oh well it is a train station food court, what do you expect?” We are talking about Grand Central Station, a dining concourse that includes, Mendy’s, Shake Shake and Doughnut Plant. We are not talking about Sbarro’s in your local mall. This slice was so gross that I could not get through the entire thing. The crust was extremely tough, boardline stale. The cheese was bland with absolutely no flavor, I get more flavor out of a frozen pizza than I did from this slice. The color of this slice was awful, with the underside burnt. There was barely any sauce and what little sauce there was had absolutely no flavor and tasted like something out of a jar.

• Crust – 1.5
• Cheese – 2
• Sauce – 1.5
• Color – 1.5
• Cheese:Sauce – 1.5
• Overall – 1.6

Prova (Grand Central Station) – The Commuter Slice