Iconic Food #3: New York City Pizza Slice

Some say it's the water, others our New York know-how. But despite Chicago's protestations, nothing can beat a slice of New York City pizza. Here's why it's so good and how it got that way.

⇒ Complete 1010 WINS Iconic New York Series ⇐

A Slice of Heaven Comes to New York

The very first license issued by the United States government to sell pizza went to New York resident and Naples expat Gennaro Lombardi in 1905. An enterprising young man, Lombardi worked in a Brooklyn bakery by night and a Spring Street grocery store by day. A baker by trade, he started baking pizzas at the bakery that were then sold at the grocery store the next morning. Eventually, he came to own the Spring Street store, built a coal-fired oven and fine-tuned his specialty — tomato mozzarella pizza. In keeping with the Naples tradition of eating pizza for breakfast, he kept his store -- which now had seating for the regulars -- open from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. Beloved by those in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood, Lombardi came to be known as Don Gennaro.
 
Now considered the first American pizzaiolo, Lombardi went on to train other famous pizza makers including Totonno Pero, who brought the delectable speciality to Coney Island in Brooklyn in 1924, and John Sasso, founder of legendary pizza restaurant John's of Bleecker Street. Patsy Lanceri, founder of East Harlem's Patsy's Pizza, which opened in 1933, is also said to have cut his milk teeth at Lombardi's shop. Patsy's was the first pizzeria in the city where people could order by the slice. The original Neapolitan-style pizzas were smaller than what we now consider to be typical pie size and fed one person. Sooty-crusted on the outside but soft in the middle, they were eaten with a knife and fork.

The Pizza Phenomenon Continues

Lombardi's legacy lives on. Each of his protégés shops remain in business to this day. Totonno's is still family owned and operated. It is thriving despite two major fires and Hurricane Sandy's wrath. John's is a West Village staple, enjoyed by natives and tourists alike all of whom are welcome to carve their initials in the original wooden booths. Patsy's was sold to long-time employees in 1991 which started a family feud of sorts between Lanceri's widow Carmela, and her nephew who renamed his Brooklyn establishment Grimaldi's as a result. The Grimaldi's chain now features different menus in different locations, but all concentrate on coal-fired oven pizza.

A Pizzeria on Every Corner

Coal-fired ovens can no longer be built in New York City due to fire laws and most pizza cooked here today comes from gas fired ovens. However, stores with grandfathered coal-fired ovens are still typically able to operate them. Despite the lack of sooty flavor from gas ovens, crunchy crusts and doughy, delicious pies still abound in every borough.
 
Old-world style, family owned pizzerias and New York are practically synonymous. In a world rife with formulaic pizza chains, New York offers the best, most unique slices available anywhere on the planet. The original, thin-crusted Neapolitan-style pie still reigns supreme, but today's pizza options have morphed, often including all-white and Cajun options and toppings as diverse as olives, capers and sun-dried tomatoes. Everybody has their favorite neighborhood haunt where work-weary families congregate at day's end and friends can spend hours in worn, red vinyl booths.
 
Food trucks are the latest entry into New York's can't get enough pizza mantra, but local slice joints still lead the pack in satisfying New Yorkers' taste for thin-crusted slices of tomatoey, cheese heaven in every borough.

⇒ Complete 1010 WINS Iconic New York Series ⇐

Corey Whelan is a freelance writer in New York. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.