What Is New York Style Pizza? 8 Unique Styles Of PIzza To Try In NYC
What is New York Style pizza? Perhaps I am too permissive, but I believe if you're eating it in New York, you're eating New York style pizza! In our melting pot of a metropolis (mmm…melty), you can feast on literally hundreds of different cuisines, and pizza is no different! There is a panoply of pizza parlors to stamp your Pizza Passport at - or even learn to make it yourself!. Here are seven of the best places to try different styles of pizza in New York City!
1. SICILIAN STYLE PIZZA: Prince Street Pizza / 📍 27 Prince Street
If there's a slice - or rather, a SQUARE - worth standing in line for, it's Prince Street Pizza. The ever-present line of eager pizza-seekers makes this NoLita gem easy to find. That… and the name. Prince Street specializes in Sicilian and Neopolitan styles, but it's their Sicilian square style that's the showstopper here! Characterized by its thick, focaccia-like crust, Sicilian style was brought to Manhattan island from the Mediterranean island of Sicily in the 19th century. This fluffy four-sided feast is loaded with sauce and toppings - including some vegan options! Eye-catching and over-the-top, tourists and the trendy alike continue to flock to Prince Street Pizza for their iconic offerings, which now include gluten-free whole pies. Some things are worth standing in line for!
2. ROMAN STYLE PIZZA: Unregular Pizza /📍 135 4th Ave
What distinguishes the Roman style from the Sicilian style is the crispness of the crust: Sicilian style pizza is baked for a long time at a lower temperature for an even bake, whereas Roman pizza is baked for a short time at a much higher temperature, giving it a characteristic crispness! Garbiele Lamonaca's rather irregular start in the pizza trade began with barter - during COVID-era lockdowns, he swapped his pizzas for meals, baked goods and home brews to test out his flavors and techniques brought over from his home city of Rome. Now, through his Unregular Pizza locations, he can share Roman style pizza with New York City! To top it off, any slice can be upgraded by adding a WHOLE BURRATA on top! HIGHLY irregular, but totally indulgent. You can order any of the pies as a gluten-free Neopolitan style pizza, too! And of course, add the burrata.
3. NEW YORK & 4. GRANDMA STYLE PIZZA: Williamsburg Pizza /📍 various locations
New York Style pizza was invented in a manner that all New Yorkers are familiar with: Improvisation! (No, I can't make it to your boyfriend's roommate's Improv show this Wednesday at 11pm, please, stop asking me). In 1897, Gennaro Lombardi set out to make his native Neopolitan-style pizza for his customers here in New York City, but he didn't exactly have the necessary ingredients,so he used what he had to make a pie with a lower outer crust than the Neopolitan style, cow's milk cheese, and a coal oven, and New York style pizza was born! Williamsburg Pizza is known for their classic New York style pizza, but they really have the market cornered on their wide variety of Grandma squares. Sometimes called the Nonna style, Grandma style pizza is related to the Sicilian pie. But what makes Grandma unique is that, while the Sicilian crust is left to rise for a long time to get the thick crust, the Grandma style doesn't rise as long before baking, giving it a thinner crust. How can one pizzeria serve both the crispy and delightful cup and char pepperoni, AND a vegan pepperoni Grandma slice at the same time? What is the magic within their new gluten-free Grandma crust that makes it so soft and yet so crispy? That's Grandma's secret - she contains multitudes! Williamsburg Pizza serves their classic pies and garlic knots late into the night across the city that never sleeps, so you can even enjoy some after your boyfriend's roommate's Improv show this Wednesday at 11pm.
5. DETROIT STYLE PIZZA: Emmy Squared /📍 various locations
Emmy Squared has a special place in my heart after my husband and I celebrated an anniversary there and I fell in love… with my husband, of course, AND the pizza! This unique style was invented in 1946 at a bar called Buddy's in Detroit. After opening their first location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2016, Emmy Squared has developed a cult following and even spread out across 24 locations. The secret? It's the crust. Slightly thinner than its Sicilian counterpart, this rectangular pie derives its shape from the deep pans it is baked in - resembling the pans used to collect motor oil in Detroit, Motor City, USA! On Detroit style pizza, however, the cheese goes all the way to the edges, caramelizing against the metal edges of the deep-dish pan to create the frico of crispy, crunchy cheese. Who needs a handle to hold when you can have cheese all the way to the edge??? It gets better - the gluten free crust at Emmy Squared is one of my favorites in the whole city. What's not to love?
6. NEOPOLITAN STYLE PIZZA: Kesté Pizza /📍 77 Fulton Street
Chef Robert Caporuscio of Kesté went to the source - Napoli - to study the 300-year-old art of pizza making, offering classes in the traditional ways. Neapolitan pizza was the first style of pizza ever invented, so if you're a purist, this one's for you! Strict rules determine what is authentic Neopolitan style pizza, but since New Yorkers are known to have strict rules about what is and isn't authentic about New York, I think this just makes Neopolitan pizza feel even more at home here! The crust is very unique - thin and floppy, but high and soft around the edge. The wood-fired oven (gotta be wood, if you're doing it right!) will catch the high crust and singe it with characteristic spots, called cornicione. That's a delicious mouthful! Of all the gluten-free crusts I have tried personally, this one made me do a serious double-take. So maybe the old ways CAN be flexible?
7. CAJUN STYLE PIZZA: Two Boots Pizza /📍 various locations
Blending Louisiana flavors with Italian traditions - they're the two boots, see? - these boots were made for PIZZA. Sorry, Nancy Sinatra. Created in Greenwich Village in 1987, Two Boots oozes with NYC cool as their pizzas overflow with some of the most creative toppings I have ever seen on a pie! Cajun sausages, chicken, peppers, and their iconic pesto drizzles make their pies almost as interesting to look at as their maximalistic, art-filled pizza shops. Can I tell you a secret? I HATE MUSHROOMS. On EVERYTHING - except - on the Tony Clifton slice, which combines them with vidalia onions and a drizzle of sweet pepper pesto. Two Boots also offers a variety of vegan pies and gluten-free crust options! Are you ready, Boots? Start walking…to one of their many NYC locations!
8. FUSION STYLE PIZZA: Cuts & Slices /📍 various locations
With New York being a blend of so many cultures and flavors, it's only natural that the future of pizza trends would see more fusion of different cuisines. Recently opening their 3rd location on the Lower East Side, Cuts & Slices is the New York City pizza innovator on the rise! Cuts & Slices has become beloved by their devotees for their Trinidadian-inspired take on the classic New York City slice. You can get classic cheese or beef pepperoni-topped pizzas, or try jerk shrimp, curry oxtail, even chicken and waffles! Founded in 2018 in Brooklyn by coolest-couple-ever Ashlee & Randy Mclaren, they have been making serious waves on the pizza scene. I mean, when Bronx icon Desus Nice brings one of your oxtail pies to share with Jimmy Kimmel Live, you've basically made it here, right?
Where else but the Big Apple can you try ALL of these iconic pies? Only in Unique New York! Try them all and become a legit pizza expert - and maybe an expert at making another popular Italian food…
