Review: Prince Street Pizza ★★★★★
New York City has no shortage of pizzerias. Walk around the city and it feels like there’s on every street corner. It’s not even that much of an exaggeration in some neighborhoods.
The fact is, NY loves pizza. NYers adore it so much that it’s become part of their food identity. It’s in the DNA of all us NYers. Thusly, it is no understatement that there is a lot of local pride in the NY style, and sometime with some zeal as well. While I will defend the NY style as the best out there, the sad truth is there are a lot of weak imitations out there that give the NY style a bad name. I’m looking right at you, Famous Ray’s (ironically enough, Prince Street Pizza is operating at the original location for Famous Ray’s). If you don’t your uptown from your mid-town, it’s all too easy to end in a subpar pizzeria that only exists to bilk the out-of-towners.
How Good Is It?
With that said, how does Prince Street Pizza stack up to the hype? Pretty damn good, just in case you missed the five starts at the top. On a trip back to NYC a few years ago I organized a pizza tour around the city. I did a fair amount of research in order to pick pizzerias that were considered to be the cream of the crop. Long story short, after a day of crisscrossing the city and sampling pizza all over, the entire group unanimously agreed that Prince Street Pizza had the best slice of the day.
You are either going to love or hate what Prince Street Pizza does. They are a no frills pizzeria we super long lines. Forget about getting a table and leisurely eating a slice. You’re going to be standing in line for a good while wonder if it’s all worth it. After you get your pizza you’ll probably being eating it outside, standing up. I think this adds to the charm of the place, but this isn’t going to fly if it’s raining.
The owner seems entirely uninterested with doing what’s in vogue. For that, I admire him. Chasing trends can create an end product that is lacking in real character. In short, you’re not going to find reduced fat pizza, or dessert pizza here. You’re going to get a greasy, belly-filling slice. Seriously, one will do it for most people. Further, there’s not that much on the menu. In fact, don’t even look at menu.
How Things Work at Prince Street Pizza
Save yourself the time and energy; order the Sicilian pepperoni. This is what Prince Street Pizza is famous for. One bite and you’ll see why. It is simply the best. The crust is amazing. It’s crunch, yet yielding to the bite. The sauce is sweet, but it blends well with the salty and spicy notes of the pepperoni. While we’re on the topic of the pepperoni, it’s definetly not something they are stingy with. Good luck seeing the cheese under the mountain of pepperoni. With all that pepperoni, one would think it would over power the taste, but it actually all comes together to create something magical.
As already stated, there are no tables to sit at. Prince Street Pizza is a tiny place, which is overly popular. There is a constant flow of people entering and leaving. The joint is always buzzing, thus the staff is always hustling and will probably be curt. Don’t take the lack of pleasantries personally. If the environment seem a little less than friendly, it’s only because they are always super busy. Besides, you’re not coming for a congenial atmosphere, you’re there for the awesome pizza.
Act Like a Local
If you want to avoid the ire of the staff, act like a local. Go in knowing what you want, order, pay, and then get out of the way. When your pizza come out, they will let you know. After you get your pizza, get out of the way quickly, as you will be blocking the next customer from ordering. Don’t try to add any toppings at the cash registrar. This is what seems to annoys the staff the most.
So, is Prince Street Pizza the best pizzeria in NYC? Well, that’s impossible to say. It’s top tier for sure and it is my personal favorite. It’s where I take people when I’m showing them around the city. We can leave it at that.
While you’re here, why not check out some of other REVIEWS or TRAVEL WRITE UPS from around the world.
Contact & General Information
Price: Cheap
Hours: Sun-Thur 10am-11pm/Fri-Sat 10am-12am
Website: Prince Street Pizza (Official Website)
Location: Google
