Nuovo York Pizza

I moved to New York, and became a cliché.

After years of not caring about pizza, I suddenly crave it, all the time.

"We focus on delivering authentic New York style pizza built on consistency, quality, and precision. Every slice is designed to meet a clear standard with balanced flavor, proper texture, and a reliable experience you can count on every time you search for great pizza near you. Our process starts with carefully selected ingredients and a dough that is fermented for optimal flavor and structure. From the sauce to the cheese to the final bake, every step is controlled and repeatable. We do not rely on shortcuts or guesswork. We rely on systems, measurements, and constant refinement. That is how we maintain the same quality across every order. Rooted in classic New York pizza tradition, our approach is focused on improvement, not imitation. We aim for a clean and well balanced slice with the right crisp, the right chew, and a flavor profile that stands out without being overwhelming. "

In particular, what I've been craving is classic New York slice shop slices.  Yes, I've also had all the fancier well known places (e.g. L'Industrie Pizzeria, where I was completely blown away, finding their crust to be exceptionally crisped and lightly chewy, and their signature burrata slice to be totally flawless and well worth the hype, Slicehaus Pizzeria, that I noted that while it is far more accessible than its peers with no crazy lines and great 48-hour fermented dough, and Mama's Too!, where I found their heavy Sicilian-style square focaccia bases to be far too greasy and spongy, though I did enjoy the toppings and sauce on slices like the upside-down and poached pear). But lately I've been into trying out random slice shops (ok, not totally random, at least ones that have good reviews, just not ones I see anyone really talking about much).

Setting

Nuovo York Pizza is one such place, located in the East Village.

Slices.

The setup is pretty standard slice shop, with mixed pies on display, and slices plucked from there and heated up to order.

Seating.

They had a reasonable amount of seating, with a few seats at tables, and high chairs along a counter.  Oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce available to garnish.  Slice shop style, so no table service or anything.

Food

Pizza comes in two styles: round or square.  Round has the largest selection with 8 styles by the slice (your standard cheese, pepperoni, margherita, plus common white or vodka, then three more unique ones: pepperoni pesto, "cherry charm" (with cherry tomatoes and fresh burrata), and their signature spinach and mushroom white pie), plus two more that are whole pizza only.  Squares are either plain, pepperoni, or bbq chicken or buffalo chicken by the slice, or a few more whole.  No custom orders.  Pizza is available by the slice, one size only round pie (18"), or one size only square pie (16").

For sides, they offer 3 kinds of dough based products: garlic knots (orders of 3 or 6), parmesan bread bites, or cheese sticks. There are no salads, fries, wings or other options for sides, just more pizza dough based items.

Garlic Knots (6).  $4.

For a side, I went for the garlic knots, not really wanting more cheese along with the very cheesy pizza. 

The garlic knots were great.  Puffy, nice golden edges, great garlic flavor.  Buttery but not overly oily.  I really enjoyed these.  3.5/5.

The marinara sauce was fairly standard, a sweeter style but not overly so, nicely seasoned.  Some small chunks of tomato.  Not necessarily better than a really good jarred sauce, but still good. 3/5.

These are available as a trio for $2 or half-dozen for $4.  I actually ordered just 3, but got 6.  One dipping sauce is included, choice of marinara/ranch/blue cheese.

Spinach Mushroom White Pie. $33.

I'll admit that a white pie was an odd choice for me, as I usually do want the marinara.  But I saw so many reviews raving about this pizza, and I knew it was their signature thing, so, hey, why not try it.

My pizza was ready right as I walked it, plucked from the pizza oven and boxed up on the spot.  Can't beat that freshness.

It was a well executed pizza: NY slice thin crust (not fancy thin crust), thick enough to hold up to being eaten without utensils, but not overly bready.  Nicely crisp, slight char on the undercarriage.  Back crust was sufficient for holding but not bigger, so you didn't fill up on crust.  Fairly classic New York slice, executed pretty well.  The slices were massive, 8 to a pie, and 18" diameter, so these were very big, although not very evenly sliced (which I preferred actually, but for a brand that talks about precision, the slicing was not).

The cheese was a very thick layer, and it had nice cheese pull to it.  The white sauce ricotta was creamy under it all.  Definitely some garlic and seasoning in it.  The spinach wasn't dominant, and was barely noticeable, but I suspect it did add a bit to the flavor, even if I didn't quite detect it.  I liked the hearty style of mushrooms used, but they weren't particularly evenly applied.  The toppings came together well, and I liked how creamy it was, but it was pretty heavy with all the cheese.  I think I'd prefer a little less of it.  

So overall, a reasonably well executed slice, and a slightly unique offering, but, not completely assembled with care, and probably not something I'd get again.  I still enjoyed it though.  3.5/5.