The Authentic New York Pizza Slice: History, Characteristics, and Childhood Memories in Little Italy

The New York slice

There’s something about a New York slice of pizza that is indomitable. It could be because I grew up with it. An important part my childhood was spent on Arthur Avenue in Little Italy, New York City, where I first encountered the world of Italian cuisine. I was five years old and I knew the local panettiere (baker), pizzaiolo, and butcher by name and they knew me. As soon as I walked up to their shops they were already prepping my order before I even ordered, that’s how close everyone was. Thinking about it now brings a wave of nostalgia, I think there are few places in this day and age where that is still the case. My first experience of the NY slice was there, on Arthur Avenue, in a little corner pizzeria called Full Moon Pizza.

Taking a bite of that New York slice was life transforming. The thin crispy crust, the semi sweet tomato sauce balanced by the melted mozzarella and nutty Pecorino Romano flavor. I remember as a child consistently ordering this traditional NY slice and the Sicilian pizza, a square fluffy pan pizza, completely different than the New York slice but incredibly delicious.

I have tried many pizzas all around the world, and while each has their own unique charm and distinct flavor, my favorite to this day is still the New York pizza. There’s something about biting into that slice and being transported to my childhood, the enticing scent of freshly baked dough, the sights of the locals bustling about, a world of flavors begging to be explored.

So I thought it only proper to learn more about how the NY pizza came to be.

History of NY Pizza

The large surge of Italian immigration in the 1900s introduced Italian food to America. New York was a hotspot for the nearly 400,000 Italian immigrants that arrived in the city and brought with them pizza to the New World. On their journey across the Atlantic, they brought their coal fired ovens which were initially used to bake bread. New York style pizza is actually closely related to Neapolitan style pizza as it was an iteration upon the original.

Full Moon Pizzeria on Arthur Avenue, Little Italy

By 1934 coal ovens had later turned into gas-fired pizza oven due to Frank Mastro who ran a restaurant equipment business in the Bowery. This was the beginning of the slice culture and pizza ovens. Gas ovens did two things: promoted scalability and increased efficiency. They allowed pizzerias to bake multiple pizzas at once and necessitated less time and attention. Coal-fired ovens required lots of time to heat up to baking temperatures and the pizzas has to be baked individually since every second at such high heat can have a significant effect. The pizzas from gas-fired ovens became crispier on the outside and tender on the inside due to the lower temperatures and the longer baking time required. The outer crispiness is important as it allows the pizza to be reheated when a customer orders a slice. Neapolitan style on the other hand is not meant to be reheated, it’s meant to be eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven. Because Neapolitan style pizza traditionally uses coal ovens they are baked at higher temperatures (800°F - 1000°F) whereas New York style pizzas are baked at 500°F - 650°F relatively speaking.

This paved the way for pizzerias to invest in smaller gas ovens all around the city and sell by the slice. Since most people didn’t have the means to afford an entire pizza, selling by the slice became a convenient way to retain and attract new customers.

Key characteristics of a New York pizza

Some key characteristics of the New York style pizza include:

• traditionally made with commercial yeast and high gluten bread flour

• the inclusion of New York city tap water which gives it a unique flavor

• simple tomato sauce and low moisture cheese (mozzarella and Pecorino Romano)

• sold by the slice

• thin crusted with a charred foundation

Italian restaurant in Downtown Manhattan

Wherever you live I invite you to try out a New York style pizza slice, it’s not only extremely delicious, it is also very memorable. I highly recommend you try Full Moon Pizza on Arthur Avenue in Little Italy, New York City, I’ve yet to try a pizza as delicious as theirs.

Have you ever had a NY slice? What did you like about it? Let me know in the comments below!