Prince Street Pizza

My first day in New York after relocating my team had a pizza party.  It was not something I planned, nor even knew about, until right then.  I had other plans actually, but, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to at least grab a slice.  It felt like the proper NY thing to do.

"Our pizzas are available by the slice and as whole pies and are prepared using the freshest ingredients and handcrafted sauces made daily from scratch.  To get the same dough texture in markets outside of New York, we even use a water filtration process that replicates the water used in New York."

The host ordered from Prince Street Pizza, which I had certainly heard of, but hadn't tried before.  They have a few locations, in NY, and strangely in Miami and California.  I remember thinking that it seemed like people generally find it decent, not amazing, not the sort of place people line up for, but, a decent option for takeout or delivery for an office celebration like this.  They make both classic NY Style Rounds, and Sicilian squares, which I think is what makes them a bit more unique than most similar places.  They also have a couple token salads, motz sticks, garlic bread, and generic desserts (cheesecake, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie). 

Since then, I've stumbled into their leftovers at various events in my building, so I've had the chance to try it several times.

New York Style Rounds

"Thin, crispy crust for those that like a round-or-bust kind of pizza."

Our group started with a couple of the most basic NY style rounds.  

The Fancy Prince.

"Original Pizza Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, Fresh Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil."

First up, the Fancy Prince, or as all other establishments call it, the margarita.  I'll admit it looked pretty good.  I almost grabbed this just to have a good baseline.  But I only wanted one slice, and this wasn't my top choice.

The Boozy Broome.

"Vodka Sauce (contains Prosciutto) and Fresh Mozzarella."

The host's favorite pizza is the Boozy Broome, e.g. their vodka sauce pie.  I didn't try it however either.  

Sicilian Soho Squares

"Sicilian-style squares with a thick, crisp and fluffy crust."

The Soho Squares are their Sicilian style rectangular pizzas.  Cut into 8 slices.  I'm not usually one for Sicilian style, but I think this is what they are more known for.  

I didn't really care for this crust.  It was exactly the style I'm not into - it looks like Detroit style at first glance, which I do love, but then I taste it, and ... yeah, Sicilian style.  It tastes like the pizza I grew up with: airy, chewy in the wrong way, way too much crust, no interesting base flavor, and greasy.  Not the crust for me.

Spicy Spring.

"Fra Diavolo Sauce, Pepperoni, Fresh Mozzarella, Pecorino Romano."

I almost grabbed the Spicy Spring, as the fra diavolo sauce sounded interesting, and hey, what's not to like about fresh mozz and pepperoni?  I appreciated the use of cupping pepperoni.  I have to say though that not much care seemed to be used to apply the toppings, they looked pretty haphazard (which seemed the case on the prior pizzas with uneven application, but was much more clear here).

The Naughty Pie.

"Spicy Vodka Sauce (contains Prosciutto), Pepperoni, Fresh Mozzarella, Whipped Ricotta, Zab's Hot Honey."

Instead, I went for the final choice: the Naughty Pie.  It also featured vodka sauce, so I felt that was honoring my host's recommendation for the vodka pie, yet it was a spicy version of the vodka sauce, which is more my style, and it had the same pepperoni and mozzarella as the previous square, AND it had hot honey (trendy, I know, but it works) and ricotta.  Ricotta I can take or leave, but the rest sounded like clearly the best of all the pizzas.

I eagerly plucked a pepperoni off that fell off as I took my perfect slice (I had first pick!). Again though, toppings were kinda all over the place.  The pepperoni was thick classic cupping pepperoni.  No more, no less, but good.  The little bit of hot honey drizzled on it gave it a delightful sweet and spicy element.  I plucked off a few more.  I really liked them.

It was oozing sauce everywhere, so that definitely dominated.  

I wish I could tell you more about this slice.  But I actually wasn't hungry for pizza in the middle of the afternoon when this party happened, so I saved my slice to heat up in my toaster oven later for dinner.  But ... I put it in a fridge that failed, and I decided not to risk food poisoning and thus sadly had to throw it out (I was soooo tempted to still eat it ...).

Houston Jalapeño.

"Spicy Pepperoni + Jalapeño + Hot honey."

A few weeks later, another event, so I got another stab at (spicy) pepperoni and hot honey, this time with jalapeños too (although regular sauce, not vodka).  I was thrilled to see how ridiculously loaded up with toppings it was, three of which were spicy.  Bring it!

I did really like the pepperoni.  It was quite flavorful, thick slices, lightly curled up, and indeed spicy.  A great pepperoni, but because the pieces were so thick, and there were sooo many of them, this was obviously an exceptionally pepperoni forward pizza.  The pepperoni gave it actually plenty of heat, so the extra kick from jalapeño almost felt unnecessary.  And then of course, the hot honey, which was delicious, as expected, a bit of sweet and spicy, and always goes so well with pepperoni.  I did like all these toppings.  

It was a very topping heavy pizza, obviously, with the pepperoni and jalapeno so visible, but also underneath all that.  Lots of sauce.  Sweet, tangy, kinda in your face red sauce.  Too much sauce for my tastes.   Full coverage of cheese, this was a good element, it melted well, had good cheese pull, etc, but, definitely a cheesy pizza.  

And then the aforementioned Sicilian style crust, which I just don't care for.

Did I really enjoyed the pepperonis?  Absolutely. Was I happy to take any extras that fell off of slices?  Absolutely.  Did I think the cheese was good?  Yep.  But ... did I actually like this pizza?  Not really.  When I disliked the crust and the tomato sauce, and they were so dominant (well really, every element was so dominant!), it just made it hard to really like it.  4/5 pepperoni, 2/5 crust and sauce, 3.5/5 cheese, so, yeah, probably just a 2.5/5 for me.

Mercer Margherita.

"Fresh mozzarella, basil, fresh garlic, and extra virgin olive oil, also pecorino romano."

I also tried a small piece of the margherita, but it was even less enjoyable for me.  Just so much of the sauce that I don't care for, the crust I don't care for, and some decent cheese.  Meh. 2/5.

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Joe's Pizza, NYC

Joe's Pizza is a known place in NYC.  If you've spent time there, you've likely walked by one of their locations, and seen a few folks on the sidewalk with relatively attractive looking slices in their hands, devouring on the spot.  The location near Times Square has ridiculous lines, and hoards of people, but the others don't tend to.  My impression is that locals don't hate it, but they don't consider it destination worthy.

Joe's started in Greenwich village in 1975, and now has a handful of locations in Manhattan and surrounding areas, including Boston, but also randomly Miami and Ann Arbor.  It is a very classic NY pizza joint.

Joe's has a no frills, basic menu.  This is not a place to get fancy toppings like burrata, prosciutto, or hot honey on your pizza, not a place to even get pineapple and/or ham if those are your thing.  Nope, this is a place to get the simple toppings: pepperoni, sausage, or meatballs for meat, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, spinach, and, perhaps the most wild one, artichokes, for veggies.  And that is it.  Pizzas come with red sauce the majority of the time, although they have a white sauce option.  And that is it, no bbq sauce, no buffalo drizzle, etc.  You can upgrade to fresh mozzarella.  No vegan cheese.  Whole pizzas come in one size, cut into 8 large slices.  Round is the majority of their product, although they do a Sicilian style square as well.  Regular crust only, no gluten-free.

And that is the menu.  There is a house salad with all the pizza veggie toppings, and that is it for appetizers/sides.  Not even garlic knots.  No desserts.  No interesting drinks, just soda or Snapple.  Don't expect anything else.  And really, you don't need anything else.

Joe's Curb Appeal.

At the shop, slices are a main attraction, served on paper plates, eaten on the street out front where there are a few tables. I've still yet to have that experience, but instead had whole pies, delivered.

I was very pleased with my experience, and I understand the staying power.

Pepperoni. $32.

Here you have it.  Iconic NY Slice.  For good reason.  This isn't a fancy slice, but it is a good one for this style.

Right level of char.  Crust is chewy in a good way, holds up well to being held/folded.  Sauce is well distributed, not too thick, not too sweet, not overwhelming in any way.  Generic cheese that is not in excess, but not skimpy.  Each element plays a supporting, but necessary, role.  Generic pepperoni, not cupping style, just basic. Slightly haphazardly applied.

Like any 1-topping pizza, this is priced at $32 ($4 more than plain cheese).

I liked this about the same as my previous favorite basic NY slice, NY Pizza Suprema, 4/5.

Veggie Pie.  $35.

I also got to try the "veggie pie", even though the menu gives no description of what veggies it will be. The answer seems to be mushrooms, onion, peppers, black olive, broccoli.  Basically everything but the spinach and artichoke.  This is one of the three predefined options (along with supreme or meat lovers), no other curated selections are offered.

This pizza reminded me of my childhood.  My family always got green pepper and onion pizza, and if my mom was making it at home, she always put black olives and mushrooms on her side (my dad was strictly peppers and onions).  I used to love black olives.  At Subway, our frequent family dinner out splurge, I'd get extra black olives (and extra pickles!).  I used to be all in on the family favorite green peppers and onions.  And somehow, probably about 20 years ago at this point, I just simply stopped liking black olives and green peppers, in any application.  Not cooked, not raw, not in salads, etc.  I actively avoid bell peppers at this point, and pick around black olives.  And yet ... I was really drawn to this pizza.

And I kinda loved it.  It was part nostalgia for family pizza night, just, with a far superior base product that we ever had, and perhaps just a crazy mood I was in, but, I really enjoyed this slice.  The toppings were even less well distributed than the pepperoni, some bites were all black olive, others were all green pepper.  There were very few mushrooms, and not nearly enough onions.  And again, I still loved it.  I'm not sure about the broccoli on pizza, at least, not with these other basic veggies, but all the toppings were well cooked, and seemed fresh. 

The base product, the crust, the sauce, the cheese, were all the same as the previous, great char, great chew, no dominating elements.  Another 4/5, higher side, and I liked this one even more.

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Ziggy's Pizza, Lebanon NH

Ziggy's Pizza is a small chain in New Hampshire, with a location in the town my parent's live in.  I had heard about it when it first opened, lauded for introducing a new style of pizza to the area (*not* the super cheesy, greasy, fairly awful "Village Pizza" ... yup, really).  But I certainly never sought it out, I'm not really a pizza girl (and, I'm not in town that often).

But summer of 2020, I went to stay with them for a couple months to enjoy fresh air, warm weather, and, "escape" from the COVID lockdown in San Francisco.  My family has a ritual: pizza night.  Every week.  Basically without fail.  Usually when I'm visiting, I can convince them to skip that week, or sometimes mom will make pizza, or more often, I choose to go visit a friend on pizza night.  It just isn't my thing, and they generally order from the closest place (yup, Village Pizza, or the even worse Mickey's - review coming soon!), and they complain about the quality every time.  After a few weeks of such orders, I proposed trying somewhere new, even if it was a bit further away.

I picked Ziggy's, since I remembered people praising it, and it seemed to have some staying power, in business for a few years, and with a location in Sunapee too.  (I couldn't convince them to get Ramunto's, which at least has decent garlic knots - and cinnamon sugar dessert knots! - as it is even further, sadly).  So Ziggy's it was.

This review is for takeout only, so I cannot comment on the dine-in experience.  

Ziggy's has a larger than average menu for a pizza joint, in addition to the pizzas (both hand tossed or chicago style, including tons of ridiculous custom creations), they have calzones, wings, burgers (with *many* custom creations), hot dogs, a decent sandwich lineup (ranging from BLTs to warm cheese steaks to meatball/chicken parm), classic pastas (meatball parm, chicken broccoli alfredo, a very well known mac and cheese made with local dairy cream), salads, and a very unique menu of starters.  Oh, and desserts.  There really were many things I'd like to try.

Update Review, June 2025

I don't intentionally seek out Ziggy's, but my parents order from there/dine in usually once a week, so, of course I encountered it when visiting.

Sweet Potato Fries.

My parents love Ziggy's sweet potato fries, so when they went out to get pizza one night, I asked them to bring me a few home to try.  I ... don't understand the hype, although yes, I realize I had them reheated later (in air fryer), but I regularly reheat fries and enjoy them more than this.

They were just pretty generic fries, fairly soft (even when air fried) and ... I know this sounds strange, but, they were too sweet potato tasting for me.   Like, really sweet.  And kinda mashed inside.  Some skin on.  Just not my style at all.  For me, 1.5/5, but my parents do love them, so clearly, I'm just one data point.

These are available as a side order for $4.99 / basket for $8.99.  My parents got the basket and I tried the leftovers, so the portion here is not representative of either of the sizes.  They come with honey mustard to dip as well.

Honey Mustard.

I was excited to try the honey mustard too.  This is described on the menu as "our honey mustard", which I think means it is housemade.

It was ... fine?  Definitely pretty sweet, and very creamy (likely mayo? based).  3/5.

Update review: I had it again a few months later.  Yes, it is a very sweet honey mustard, but I love how creamy it is.  I wouldn't want it as a salad dressing as it is just far too sweet, but it was good with sweet potato fries. 4/5.

Original Review, September 2020

First Time Ordering. Wonderful!

The first time we had Ziggy's, it was really quite good.  I am not a pizza person, and lamented that my family does pizza night so regularly, but this I was impressed by (granted, mostly by the non-pizza items), and I admit the Margarita pizza was good.  It inspired me to suggest ordering from there again, a few weeks later.

Second Time Ordering: MEH!

The next time though ... wow, quality difference.

Same pizza, this time over cooked and lacking flavor.  Missing a dressing I ordered.  Salad much smaller.  

Eh.  Some things were fine, don't get me wrong, but, the quality difference was striking.

Starters

The starters is where Ziggy's menu really called out to me.  If I was dining in, I'd be in a world of indecision, with fried pickles, sweet potato fries, rings, etc, etc, all with house made dipping sauces.  I still was able to find starters that would work for takeout, and gladly tried several.

Buns & Oil. $3.99.

"Basket of freshly baked buns served with a side of homemade garlic oil for dipping."

Perhaps the most boring appetizer available, but, sometimes, I like a good roll, and I love a good dipping sauce.

I'm so glad I ordered these.  I really liked these rolls, my favorite dish that we got.

The bread was soft, fluffy, slightly crisp, not too much flour on the outside.  And the garlic oil?  DELICIOUS.  A bit of herb, plenty of garlic, and seemed high quality.  Seriously, that oil.  I still think about it.

I kinda could not stop eating these, particularly with that oil.  Would get again in a heartbeat! 4/5.

Ziggy's Sticks. $4.99.

"12 inch freshly made dough brushed with garlic oil and Romano cheese. Baked up golden with a side of marinara."

The next time we ordered it took all my willpower not to just order the buns & oil again, as I had loved them so much last time.  But I was eyeing the "Ziggy's Sticks", their version of garlic bread sticks, also made with that signature garlic oil.  Available with or without mozzarella cheese on them as well, and served with a side of their (pesto) marinara.

We got without the mozzarella.  I ... was not pleased.

They make the sticks by taking a medium 16" pizza crust, but only stretching it to 12", so its thicker and puffier than the regular pizza.  But otherwise, it's the same pizza dough.  It was ... um ... just pizza crust, kinda overcooked.  Too crispy.  I missed the soft, puffy buns.

But the real reason it failed is the utter lack of garlic flavor.  We were excited for the garlic oil, and it was ... not detectable in any way.  Yes, it was slightly cheesy, at least most pieces, from the romano, but otherwise, this was just oily (it clearly had oil soaking into the top, it just sure didn't taste of garlic), and crispy, boring pizza crust.  And the dipping sauce had spilled in, because the lid melted. 1/5.

I liked the dipping sauce at least, but would never get the sticks again.

Pesto Marinara.

The pesto marinara though was quite good actually.  I'll give them that.

Nice tomato sauce, not too tangy, not too sweet, just, pretty good marinara.  It is what they use on the pizzas.  I really liked the cheesy, herby touch the pesto added as well.

Another good sauce at least. 3/5.

Soup & Salad

My parents always order a basic dinner salad when they get pizza, but Ziggy's does have a decent lineup of salads, some entree style.  All are available with your choice of ranch, blue cheese, house vinaigrette, thousand island, or maple mustard vinaigrette.  The dressings are all made in-house.

The soup lineup is even more interesting, they feature one kind of base soup, a chowder.  A cheesy chowder.  Available in two forms: the basic cheeseburger, or, the "Cowgirl", which is the same base cheeseburger based chowder, but with differing toppings (onion rings and bbq sauce for the Cowgirl, lettuce, tomato, ketchup for the regular).  I couldn't resist going for this ridiculousness (which you can also get over fries).

Basic Salad, Large. $6.99. House Vinaigrette and Mustard Vinaigrettes.

"Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber and red onion."

This was for my parents, as I had no interest in a generic salad from the pizza place, and had my own fresh greens from my sister's garden, along with her heirloom tomatoes, but I did try a few bites, and it was a decent salad, I was impressed, above average for a pizza place.  Everything seemed quite fresh.

I did try the mustard vinaigrette, and it was, well, mustard vinaigrette.  Very tangy.  I'm not one for vinaigrettes.  They do make all of their dressings (except the ceasar), in house.

Basic Salad. Large.  $6.99. Thousand Island.

The next time we ordered, same salad, the onions were white rather than red.  I really liked them, sweet white onions, for some reason, I just loved the flavor.  And stole them all to eat dunked in dressing.  #sorrynotdorry.

The salad was much smaller the second time it seemed, fewer cucumbers and tomatoes, and much less lettuce.

Marinated Mushrooms / House Made Thousand Island.

The salad lineup also has a salad, the "Merry Mushroom", that includes marinated mushrooms.  These sounded good to me, so I asked for a side of them, knowing my dad hates mushrooms, and I shouldn't put on the salad directly.

I liked them, just chunks of mushroom, in some kind of herbs and oil, but, they were tasty enough.  Nice to add in to my salad. 3/5.

I also opted to try the thousand island once I learned they make most dressings in-house.  I also ordered the ranch, but alas, we paid for it, but our order did not include it.  Wah.

It was fine thousand island, creamy, balanced well enough, although a touch on the sweet side. Not to much mayo or anything.  Decent.  It went great with my sister's heirloom tomatoes I had on hand. 3/5.

Cheeseburger Soup (toppings on the side). $4.99.

"A creamy chowder with chunks of beef and onion, topped with crisp lettuce, chopped tomato and a drizzle of ketchup."

I was craving red meat.  Ground beef.  Very clearly.  But I didn't quite want a burger.  But cheeseburger soup?  Chowder with cheeseburger?  Now that sounded fascinating!  I tried to order the Cowgirl version, but alas, they were out of it (which I guess means they just didn't have onion rings?).  Regular version it was.  It came with two more rolls (no dipping sauce).

When you dine in, this comes with "Ziggy's" written across it in ketchup, and garnished with the lettuce and tomato, but I asked for the toppings on the side.  And since I couldn't have the Cowgirl with the bbq sauce and onion rings, I also got a side of the bbq to try mixing in.

The toppings were fine: diced tomato, really, they were classic burger tomatoes, in that they were pretty generic, not quite ripe, etc.  The "crisp lettuce" though was just fine shreds, and not much.  Ketchup was, well, ketchup, and the bbq was fairly decent, tangy and sweet.

But this really was all about the cheeseburger soup, right?

Cheeseburger Chowder: Inside.

So, what was it.  Well, a cheese chowder base.  Very cheesy, basically like, uh, mac and cheese sauce?  It really reminded me of mac and cheese sauce.  But, with chunks of ground beef crumbled up inside.  It was pretty rich, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and it lacked seasoning.

I heated some up, and then got to garnishing.  I added the lettuce provided, plus some from the salad that I chopped up.  My chopped tomatoes.  My crispy fried onions and bacon bits.  Lots of pepper.  The toppings definitely enhanced it, but it was still fairly bland, besides the cheese nature.  I mixed in spoonfuls of ketchup and bbq, and those added more to it, but, yeah, its, uh, cheeseburger chowder.  

Dunking bread into it was good, I could imagine a bread bowl working well.  But I loved the oil too much to "waste" it dunking in here.

I think it would be good to use as a mac and cheese base though - if no one else in my family wanted it, I would have turned it into mac and cheese.  3/5.

Pizza

So, the main attraction, the pizza.  Most of their pizzas as standard hand-tossed style, but they do a legit sounding Chicago deep dish too - "A deep-dish pie stuffed with 6 cups of cheese sealed with a top crust and then covered with sweet and spicy Chicago sauce."  Yup.

My mom almost was going to order the Chicago style, at my urging as it was the one I'd really like to try, but, when she read the bit about it being stuffed with a full 6 cups of cheese, she got scared away.

Ziggy's also has an, um, impressive line up of curated pizzas.  While you can build your own, their speciality line up is ... well, fun to say the least.  Bbq cuicken, philly cheesesteak, greek, thai chicken, those are on there, but child's play compared to the Mandarin Beef and Broccoli pizza, the Mac and Cheese Pizza, the Lasagna Pie, um, the Crab Rangoon Pizza (yes, it has cream cheese, imitation crab, wonton crisps, sweet chili sauce ...).  Most of the crazy pizzas are available as calzones too.

My family though?  Not exactly adventurous.  

Margherita. Medium. (16"). $19.99.

"Garlic oil, tomato, fresh basil oil, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese."

This was my parent's order, as my mom really wanted something different (not regular saucy pizza, as they get pizza basically weekly).  She loves Ziggy's Margherita apparently.

I tried a small piece, and I see why.  It's all about the garlic oil and basil oil!  Really, excellent flavorful oils.  This was much like the rolls and dipping sauce, and, if I wanted cheesy pizza, well, I would actually have more. 3/5.

Margherita. Large. (24"). $25.99.

The next time they got it though ... it wasn't the same. They were not pleased.

The pizza was overdone, too crispy, and dry.  It ... didn't taste like garlic.  This pizza is all about that garlic!  My main said it had way too much cheese. 1/5.

Cheese Pizza. Small 12". (Normally $8.49, free with deal).

We also got a small cheese pizza, because they have an online deal for a free small cheese pizza if you order a medium or large specialty pizza.

I'm glad we did, as it was dramatically better than the margarita.

A classic cheese pizza, marinara sauce, cheese, but, it was good, the style I like. Thin crispy crust, good sauce level with sauce that was not too tangy nor too sweet, and plenty of greasy greasy cheese.

The kind of pizza I'm not normally in the mood for, but when I want a cheesy bomb, this is exactly the style I like. Low 3/5.

Dessert

The desserts are not made in-house, but are locally made.  Or so they said.  As a dessert-lover, I had to add on a dessert to each ord, particularly when I saw the lineup.  A slew of cakes (triple layer chocolate, chocolate mousse, carrot cake), cheesecakes (raspberry or cotton candy (!!!) the day I ordered), cookies, crispy treats, and, whoppie pies.  I kinda wanted them all.

I asked for recommendation and the guy taking our order said the triple chocolate layer cake was his favorite, followed by the chocolate mousse, and said the carrot cake was really good.  Really, he said, they were all good.  And were fresh.  Well, that did it.  I had to order something.  I almost got the cotton candy cheesecake out of curiosity, but really had just had cheesecake for two days in a row, so that didn't seem right.  If it wasn't night time, I would certainly have gotten chocolate mousse, or, a whoopee pie as they had a peanut butter filled one (but with chocolate cookies).  So many great options, and I almost ordered the chocolate based ones for the next day ...

I ordered the carrot cake.  However ... it did not come with our order, and my mom did not notice until she was home, and I asked about it.  Sadness.

The next time we ordered, I was certain to order it again.  I've since tried several others, but have become convinced of something.

These desserts are *not* all made locally.  The cotton candy cheesecake, and the "Grand Slam" pie most certainly come from Sysco.  Their names and uniqueness tipped me off.  Pretty sure most of the chocolate cakes do as well (e.g. the "Ultimate Chocolate Cake").  And yes, the carrot cake.  I do believe the whoopee pies might be made locally.

Gourmet Carrot Cake. $5.49.

"Three layers of moist carrot cake loaded with shredded carrots, pecan pieces, and crushed pineapple, filled and iced with real cream cheese frosting and topped with chopped pecans."

So, about that carrot cake.  Finally.  They told me that people love it, and come there for it explicitly.

It is a 3 layer cake, with nuts.  

It was highly, highly mediocre.  It was moist enough, and the shredded carrot and pineapple were pleasant.  Yay for crunch from pecans (also on the back frosted layer).  It did not have too much spicing.  But ... it really did not shine in any way.

And the frosting?  Didn't taste like cream cheese at all.

Overall, very, very, very generic, and not something I'd get again. Low 3/5, maybe 2.5/5.

The online menu listed a lower price, but I saw we were charged $5.49 per slice, which ... is kinda just crazy for a thin slice of the Sysco product.

Grand Slam Pie (Top). $5.49.

"A Chocolate cookie filled with custard, brownie pieces, peanuts, and chopped Snickers bars. More brownies, caramel, and both white and dark chocolate cover the top."

"Chocolate cookie crust filled with custard & brownies, topped with Snickers bars, more brownies, caramel & peanuts, and then drizzled with dark and white chocolate."

Um, yeah.  This is what tipped me off to the desserts being from Sysco.  A pie called "Grand Slam" and Snickers as an ingredient.  The "Grand Slam" it turns out all revolves around the Snicker's concepts: peanuts, chocolate, caramel.  The two descriptions I pulled from the Sysco site differ slightly, is the custard filled with peanuts and chopped Snickers or not?  Is it topped with Snickers and peanuts or not? Maybe the product changed at some point?

Also, um, how crazy did this sound?!  A chocolate cookie (crust).  Brownies (inside and on top).  Snickers (inside ... and on top?).  Caramel.  Chocolate sauce. Dark chocolate.  White chocolate.  Peanuts.  Custard.  It also had whipped cream.  WAT.

I approached this with slight fear, to be honest.  I assumed that at least some component would be tasty, but kinda doubted that they'd come together all that well.

It actually turned out to be pretty tasty, although, yes, there was a lot going on.

Starting at the top.

The whipped cream on top was fluffy, sweet, and tasty enough.  The chunks of brownie, perched on top and falling off the side were rich, thick, chocolately, smoist chunk of brownie, but ... I'm not really a brownie girl.  They were a bit lost in all the very sweet, very gooey caramel sauce drowning the whole thing. The caramel sauce poured over it was perhaps a bit too generous (ok, pretty sure Ziggy's added to that part). The chocolate elements on top were also fairly lost, just, sweet caramel it was.

Grand Slam Pie: Base.

Ok, moving to the base, the chocolate cookie crust. It was fine.  Not to hard, which I appreciated.  Intensely chocolately.

Above that was a layer I couldn't quite understand.  It looked like cookie dough ... but studded with. peanuts.  It almost even tasted like cookie dough.  The description really didn't help here, but it actually was pretty good.  Maybe it was supposed to be like the nougat in a Snickers? And the peanuts?  There were TONS of peanuts.  Very, very, very peanut forward.

Above that is the ... custard, not as thick as a cheesecake.  I liked the custard, it was smooth and creamy, and the peanuts in particular were really nice integrated into it.  I didn't find actual Snicker's bars inside my piece, but that was fine with me.

So add up a chocolate cookie crust, tons of peanuts, a creamy custard, way too much caramel, brownie bits, chocolate sauce, and some kind of cookie dough like layer ... and you get a complete overload.  Overload of sweet, overload of textures, overload of SNICKERS, ZOMG SNICKERS.  Why is this not called Snicker's Pie?

So overall, this really wasn't bad.  I quite enjoyed bites of creamy sweet custard, with crunchy nuts, and a *little* sweet caramel.  But it was an overload, and you definitely need to like Snicker's flavors.  And, well, not have a peanut allergy.  Higher 3/5.

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Slicehaus Pizzeria

Does New York City need more pizza?  Um, obviously not.  But do we still get excited when there is a hot new pizza place opening up?  Yep!

"Slicehaus Pizzeria brings authentic New York attitude to every slice. It’s bold, creative, and made for people who love real food and real energy. Come for the good vibes, stay for the crunch, and feel what the city’s all about."

Slicehaus caught my eye as soon as it opened this fall (2025), partially due to all the comparisons to L’Industrie, which I tried for the first time this summer, and found their burrata slice just as exceptional, flawless really, as everyone says it is. 

"Every slice at Slicehaus carries a story — slow-fermented dough, crisped to perfection, and layered with care. It’s not just food, it’s a vibe: fresh, fearless, and made with the kind of passion that keeps you coming back for more. Think street-style cool meets handmade heart."

Slicehaus is a similar style (New York style, but with Italian basis) and is the product of L'Industrie alums, so it is no surprise people compare the two.  The dough is the focus, with 48 hour fermentation.  They offer some basic pies (pepperoni, margherita, meatball & ricotta, etc, but also some nicely curated ones like sausage & shishito or porcini & truffle).  One size only (large, 20"), the most expensive of which is $57.50.  You can also just get slices at the shop.

Slicehaus, at least this early on in its life, is far more accessible than L'Industrie: no crazy lines AND they are available for delivery.  However, I cannot say I recommend the delivery experience, and have quite a side tale to tell here ...

===

I ordered 7 pizzas for delivery on DoorDash for a group work event.  My order was quickly confirmed, and although I was given a far out delivery slot, I knew to expect this, and planned my summit schedule around it.  I was pleased when I saw that our order was ready quite quickly, despite the long time estimate given, although had to slightly scramble to wind down the formal content of our event.  I got everything set up for our pizza party.  Ended the sessions.  Folks were waiting.

A Dasher got assigned quickly.  Things were looking great.  But .. after they arrived at the shop, suddenly, I had no Dasher.  Huh.  Another got assigned. They went to the shop.  And then they vanished.  A third.  At this point, Slicehaus actually called me to say that bike Dashers kept showing up and refusing the delivery as 7 large pizzas couldn't fit on their bikes.  They suggested I contact Doordash.

So I did.  Or, I tried. Got an AI chatbot.  Kept escalating.  Got a human who ran through a generic playbook, "Don't worry, we're still working on finding a Dasher for you!", etc, etc.  Another Dasher assigned.  Another reject.  Time kept on ticking.  I *finally* got a real human on Doordash support, and explained the issue.  I asked them to send a car Dasher, not a bike Dasher.  They assured me they had assigned me, manually, a car Dasher.  They said it would take longer, as the nearest one was further away, but rest assured, a car Dasher was on their way to the store.

That Dasher arrived, and ... refused the order.  Back into the queue I went.  Another bike Dasher I got (you can see the type of Dasher by their icon on the map).  Sigh.  I tried to get back in touch with support, and this time, was never able to get a useful human.  5 more Dashers assigned, showed up, refused, left.

I called the restaurant back.  They said even the "car" turned out to be a bike.  No bike could take the order.  I asked if maybe they could at least send half the order?  They said I really needed to get in touch with Doordash.  I tried again to contact support.  Finally got a human who told me Doordash cannot split the order.  But I could cancel and order 2 orders if I wanted.  I said sure, thinking I could call the restaurant to tell them what was up.  But ... Doordash also said they couldn't actually refund my order if I cancelled, since the restaurant had already made the pizzas (!).  The best they could do is refund my service fee (!!).  

This situation went on for 2 hours.  Nearly 20 different Dashers assigned.  Pizza obviously cold and old.  My group of 25 people getting quite restless.

So what did I do?  I finally called the restaurant, and told them I was putting someone in an Uber to come pick up the pizzas.  So that is what we did.  2.5 hours after ordering, we ate our pizza.  This was a complete failure of Doordash's platform and large orders, absolutely not the fault of the restaurant in any way.  I also learned that you can order from their website directly, as they have a car service they use instead.  For next time.  Sigh.

===

The pizza came many hours after ordering, so I cannot give this a fair evaluation (and also failed to get photos of the 5 other kinds we had).  What I can say is that the crust was perfectly cooked, crisp but not too crispy, just the right level of flop, no charred bits.  The toppings were evenly applied and well distributed, the sauce and cheese to the edges as you'd want.  Really well made pizza, but, alas, I had it cold much later.

Porcini & Tartufu (half with shisitos). $55.20.

"Savory pie with porcini mushrooms, truffle, fresh basil, and melted cheese."

I quite liked the juicy, meaty mushrooms on this one, although I didn't really taste any truffle.  I added shisitos to one half since many people in the group indicated liking some spice.

Sausage & Shishito. $48.30.

"Savory sausage and shishito peppers atop a classic New York-style pizza, garnished with fresh basil leaves and a rich tomato sauce."

I also snagged a slice of the top most requested pizza for my group: sausage & shishito.  A very well made pizza, sauce right up to the edges, fully covered in cheese, good amount of both, nothing dominating.  I really quite liked the flavorful sausage.

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Mama's Too!, NYC

I grew up eating a lot of pizza.  Generic, homemade pizza, with the crust made from one of those packages you add water to, jarred sauce, basic mozzarella, a sprinkle of oregano, maybe some kind of topping.  It was one of the very few things my dad could prepare, and he was responsible for feeding us several nights a week while my mom worked nights.  We had it at least once a week.  I never particularly liked it, but, it was what it was.

Like most kids, I got excited about pizza parties for birthdays, although my town had only Papa Ginos (which I remember liking?) and Pizza Hut (which I never liked), plus your classic New England "Village Pizza"/"House of Pizza" Greek style pizza place.  We never had frozen pizzas really, so it was a treat when I was at a friend's house and we got Ellios.  I remember really liking that.  Or one particular friend had a mom that made what I thought were amazing English muffin pizzas.  So I had my share of not great pizza, for many years, and then, post college, just really didn't have pizza again (besides a few trips to Little Star for deep dish) for many, many years.

2023 or so woke up the pizza enjoyer in me.  Not sure what changed, but my basically 15-20 year pizza hiatus was over.  So of course when I'm in New York, the pizza capital of the US, I seek out pizza.  Yes, I had L'Industrie and had my mind kinda blown by just how good a NY slice could be.  But I've even enjoyed no frills places like NY Pizza Suprema.  One place I was well aware of, as people talk about it quite a bit on "best pizza in Manhattan" lists, is Mama's Too! (excitement, theirs!).

Mama's Too! is known for their square pizzas (more rare in NY) and their sandwiches too, in addition to traditional round pies.  Square pizzas obviously aren't classic NY style, so it is curious that they wind up so well regarded by the locals.  I became a huge fan of square, Detroit style, pizza the past few years at Square Pies Guys in SF, so I was quite curious to see how this would measure up, even though I know Mama's Too is a Sicilian style square, not Detroit.  They have two locations in the city, one in the West Village, the other Upper West Side.  I didn't visit in person, but rather, got delivery at my office.  I had some "fresh" then, and also heated some up later at home for better results.

Ooooh!

I was delighted when I walked into the microkitchen to see someone had extra pizza, and the boxes were from Mama's Too!  I got to cross another place off my list that I'd been wanting to try!

We had a variety of pizzas, all the square style.

And ... well, I think in this case, the square pie style, I'm going to say that SF wins.  NY definitely wins at the pizza scene overall, but actually, for this style, SF has a number of great contenders, and ones I actually enjoyed considerably more than this (Square Pies Guys is my #1).

Overall, I found the focaccia bases to be too greasy, too spongy, and just too heavy.  Don't get me wrong, Square Pies Guys, my gold standard, is a very indulgent heavy pizza with a crispy cheese crust and all, but these just felt greasier and off putting.  Yes, these are a different style, SPG is Detroit style and these are Sicilian focaccia style, but somehow, even though Detroit style has the crispy cheesy edge, this was significantly heavier.

The square pies here are double the size as those from similar places in the Bay Area.  Cut into only 8 slices, so each kinda huge.  I can't imagine eating two slices of this.  I wished I had tried their round slices for comparison.

Cacio e Pepe. $38.

"Whipped marscapone, aged mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, parmigianno reggiano, cracked black pepper."

I didn't know what kind this was, nor that it was one of their famous slices, when I grabbed a piece.  There was just a lot of it left over (several pizzas) and it looked unique, so, why not?

The toppings were decent, obviously very cheese heavy, but it was flavorful.  Not really what I'd normally pick, but, certainly interesting and different.  But ... I just didn't care for the base at all, which made it hard to enjoy. 2/5.

Poached Pear ($36) & Upside Down ($34)

"Aged Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, Grated Pecorino Romano, Extra Virgin Olive Oil"

I also grabbed what I thought was the regular House Slice, but turned out to be the upside down (which I learned once I went to write this up).  The House Slice would have fresh basil on top, and big gobs of motz on top too.  

It had the same focaccia base that I just didn't love, although it wasn't quite as greasy in this one, and I tolerated it more.  It was nicely crispy, light char, and did seem to have a bit of a crust. It had a nice malty taste too, that verged on sourdough territory for me (that I don't like) but, it was decent.

The sauce wasn't too sweet nor too acidic, was pretty good, and I liked the amount of it applied, it added a lot of moisture to the slice.  The cheese was good, I greatly preferred just the aged mozz here to the Parm and others on the previous slice.  The upside down style was different, I didn't have particularly strong feelings about it either way.

Overall, this was a slice I was happy enough to eat, but I still prefer my Square Pies Guys.  High 3.5/5 though, maybe 4/5, as it really was a nice slice.  I'd like to try more of their red sauce pies in the future.

Also pictured here is the poached pear with gorgonzola and hot honey. Definitely a unique, signature offering as well, but I passed that up.

Bufalina. $50.

"Beer-battered fried chicken, red devil sauce, gorgonzola crema, roasted chili powder, chopped scallion."

What a wild looking pizza.  I could tell it had chicken though, I didn't take any.

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L'Industrie Pizzeria, NYC

When you tell someone you'll be spending time in New York, the inevitably start telling you all the places you *have* to go.  The best bagels/pizza/burger/pastrami/drinks/etc of their lives, yadda yadda.  Even locals get quite passionate about some of these categories, and pizza of course is a common one to debate.  Once you get past the variations like square pizza (generally frowned upon), places only by the slice or only by the pie, etc, you are still met with intense debate.  But there are a handful of places that nearly everyone has heard of, and at least agree are in the top.

L'Industrie is one of these places.  It is also one of those places where people line up and wait for quite a while for their slices.  Those who want a whole pie can at least order those in advance for pickup (but, no delivery, and they have 6 pie order maximums).  But most people seem to line up and wait, as part of the overall experience.  They do not take reservations.

L'Industrie has two locations, the original is in Williamsburg, opened in 2017.  They followed their success by opening a second location in Manhattan in late 2023.  Both locations are open daily, 12pm-10pm.  Both are equally busy, all the time.  

"From the City of Pistoia and the streets of NYC. We’ve come together to bring you L'industrie Pizzeria. With the artful techniques and passions of Italy blended with the flavors and characteristics of a classic New York slice. We work daily to bridge the gap between these worlds, while putting quality and passion above all."

They serve classic NY slices, but, more upscale versions of them.  The menu has 12 different curated pies on it.  No gluten-free options.  They also have a daily sandwich, soft serve gelato, and some Italian desserts (tiramisu, pistachio tres leches, cookies, olive oil cake, bombolone, etc).  No salads, no appetizers.  Just pizza and great desserts.  I like their style.

OMG, pizza.

I was thrilled, overjoyed really, when I arrived at an event to see the L'industrie boxes.  OMG.  Our hosts really brought it, with plenty to go around, a lineup of 6 different varieties (so half the menu), all of which they had to go fetch and transport to the venue, as they do not do delivery.  Dedication to serving us the some of the best pies in NY!  I was a bit sad they didn't get the fig jam and bacon one, but otherwise, happy to see the host's selections.

I tried to have restraint, and tried only 3 of the 6 kinds we had.  I'm glad I got to try 3, but my experience of each slice was fairly different.  One was ... exceptional, life-changing nearly, the others, forgettable.  That said, the great one was so great, I'll go back in a heartbeat.

L'Industrie Pie. $47.

"Prosciutto di parma and burrata."

I nearly started with their namesake pie, topped with burrata and prosciutto because, well, you kinda have to right?  And clearly many other people were going for it as their first slice.  But the prosciutto just wasn't calling out to me.  

Note that this pizza, when you get it fresh, it topped with the burrata and prosciutto after it is cooked, so those are cold toppings on the pizza.  You can see the burrata had partially melted here from being boxed up with the hot pizza, when first served, they are fresh gooey gobs.

Spicy Salami Pie. $37.

"Spicy Italian Sopressata."

I briefly considered the spicy salami too, but quickly moved on, as there were other meat toppings I was more drawn to.

Margherita Pie. $31.

"Tomato sauce, mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano, basil."

The basic margherita was easy for me to look past, although I did hesitate for just a second thinking it might be good to try just a simple classic one as a good base point.

Burrata Pie. $37.
(Signature).

"Tomato sauce, mozzarella, burrata."

I moved on because I saw the burrata pie, and that was clearly the answer for me, for my first slice.  A notch above the margherita, and in the direction of their namesake pie, just, sans the pork product.  And *this* is the one that turns out to be their signature pie.  I immediately understood why.  My goodness, this was an exceptional pizza.

It came with the expected big gobs of burrata well distributed on top, along with some less well distributed basil.  Again, when you get it in person, the burrata is applied after cooking, so not as melted in as it was here, the heat from the pizza had melted it a bit (which was fine with me!).

Burrata Pie (slice).

I selected a slice, and dug in.

My goodness.  I was blown away on all levels, even with extremely high expectations.  It lived up, surpassed even.

The crust was perfectly crisped, dusted with a tiny bit of flour, lightly chewy.  It was the right thickness to hold its shape well but not overwhelm, the back crust was puffy and had a slight char. Very good crust.  I'm not a crust person usually, but I wanted this crust.

The sauce is what blew me away, just the right level of tang and sweetness, and applied in the proper amount so that I tasted it in every bite, but it too did not overwhelm. And then of course the cheese and burrata on top, perfectly melted, and just dreamy.  The ratios here were right too.

Every element about this was done well, just really exceptional all together. I don't think I've had a better pizza of this style before.  5/5.  Nothing I'd change.

Pesto Hello Pie. $38.

"Crumbled Spicy Pork Sausage, Nut Free Pesto."

Next, I went for the Pesto Hello, an odd choice for me as I'm not a huge fan of pesto, but the spicy crumbled pork sausage really did call out to me.  It also had (not on the menu description) gobs of ricotta dotted on top.  This one was ... fine.

It actually had no sauce (I was expecting pesto spread under the cheese), but instead was a white pie with the pesto zig-zagged on top only.  The pesto was fairly standard, classic pesto taste, but there wasn't a lot of it.  

The sausage was as excellent as I hoped it would be, super flavorful.  I wanted even more hunks of it, or bigger hunks, as I loved it so much, and it was fairly minimal.  4/5 sausage though.

The ricotta was standard, slightly herby.  Same great crust.  But I found the slice a bit boring, besides the sausage.  Kinda dry.  It was excellent sausage but the rest of the slice wasn't compelling enough for me. 3.5/5 overall, although the sausage really was a 4/5 itself.  I wouldn't get this again, but I could imagine getting the sausage on another pie (they do allow customizations).

Tartufo Pie. $37.

"Mozzarella, braised cremini mushrooms, ricotta and truffle oil."

And for my final slice, I went for the tartufo, sorta because I had been really loving mushrooms on that trip. It too was one of their white pies, no red sauce, and it came with the same dots of ricotta on top.  The truffle (oil) aroma was strong as I picked it up.

It let me down.  The truffle oil is definitely the first thing I tasted with this one.  It was fine, but definitely dominant, so, be prepared for that.  But that is really all I tasted, no other flavors really came through.  It was fairly oily from both the truffle oil and the cheese.  It did have a good distribution of mushrooms on top as well, but I found myself really wishing it had some kind of sauce, and that the truffle oil was tamped down.  It did still have their great crust though.  The ricotta again made it eat a bit dry (besides all the oil).

But really all I tasted was truffle oil. 3/5, my least favorite.  I wouldn't get this one again.

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