Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.
[Photographs: Michael Berman]
My friend Howard—he's from Staten Island and he knows pizza—expressed delight when I mentioned I was going to write up My Little Pizzeria today. To paraphrase his remarks: "a very solid slice in the neighborhood." I couldn't agree more.
MLP's regular slice ($2.25) boasts good sweet sauce and a respectable blanket of low moisture mozzarella, atop a chewy and pliable New York crust that—I learned today—lacks crackle when not reheated. (This situation arises at many pizzerias and raises the question of, which type of slice is best: one from a pie fresh out of the oven, or one that's acquired a crispier bottom via reheating. Opinions anyone?)
Reheated or not, MLP takes pizza-by-the-slice to the next level by offering self-service basil leaves. I know of no other place that offers it in this fashion (besides MLP's other locations, which—don't be confused—are called Original Pizza). Culinary herb intermingled with New York's favorite cheap lunch food? Universes collide!
My favorite slice at MLP is the one they call "Supreme" ($2.50). It's made with a chunkier, well-heeled tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella, house-made from curd, on top of a crust that, when reheated, crackles and crunches just right. And at just $0.25 more than the regular slice, it's a no-brainer. Fresh mozzarella may not ooze, but it sure feels fancy to eat a NY slice sans rubbery cheese.
(Psst, you can peek an arty video shot at My Little Pizzeria here —scroll down to third image for video.)
My Little Pizzeria
114 Court Street, between Atlantic Ave. and State St. (near the State Courts; map)
718-643-6120
Michael Berman is a photographer and writer based in New York. He publishes multimedia food stories on his blog www.pizzacentric.com; and more frequent, sometimes mundane Twitter observations at @michaelberman.