The History of Pizza By-The-Slice
There’s nothing like that first slice of pizza when you get to New York City. New York pizza is truly its own classification. Learn the New York pizza history and how it’s also the history of pizza-by-the-slice.
What is New York Pizza?
A classic pizza from New York is about 18 to 24 inches as a whole pie which is cut into exactly 8 wide slices. The dough is hand-tossed, thin but not cracker-thin, topped with the right amount of tomato sauce so that it’s not drowning, baked in a coal-fired oven, and has a chewy crust that’s easy to fold.
New York Pizza History
The most famous claim to serve the first slices of New York pizza is by Gennaro Lombardi who owned a grocery on Spring Street in Little Italy. Along with his employee, Antonio Totonno Pero (who later opened the famous Totonno’s in Coney Island), they were certified to sell pizza by the slice in 1905 in their pizzeria called Lombardi’s.
Prior to this, pizza was sold whole as it was best enjoyed straight out of the oven. Lombardi’s sold his huge slices of pizza for 5 cents each. This attracted nearby workers to buy a slice in the morning and enjoy it for lunch. It was easy to take, easy to eat, and affordable.
Peter Regas, a pizza historian (side note: what a great job title), dug deeper in New York’s pizza history and found that Filippino Milone an Italian immigrant from Naples was a pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, who was the one who actually started the pizzerias in the 1890s, including the same location Lombardi later took over.
Today Lombardi’s is still open, still iconic, and still the place to get a classic slice. Other famous pizzerias include Totonno’s, John’s, and Grimaldi’s.
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