A slice of New York

It would be an exaggeration to say I dragged my husband all the way to New York for a slice of pizza.

But it wouldn’t be a HUGE exaggeration.   

A trip to Manhattan was already inked into our calendars when I listened to one on my favorite podcasts, Bon Appetit Foodcast, and discovered what that magazine considered to be the best slice of pizza in New York City.  

That publication, which is based in Manhattan, should have a staff full of subject matter experts on pizza slices, right? And it the research was thorough covering 30 slices across all five boroughs. So I was on a pizza mission.

On our last night in New York we took an Uber from Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan to Chinatown and wandered into Scarr’s Pizza, which was exactly as I imagined from the podcast. 

It’s a tiny little space. It has an old hole-in-the-wall vibe. There are only four booths and a half dozen seats at the bar. When we arrived, all were occupied.

We were about to walk to the front to place out to-go order, which we would have nibbled while strolling through the neighborhood, when a pair of gentleman in one of the booths jumped up to offer us the table. 

I recognized Scarr Pimentel, the owner and chef, from the article in the magazine and from his voice on the podcast. He was giving us his table.  

After that kind offer of hospitality from the proprietor, we were anxious to try the pizza.      

Pimentel mills the grain for his pizzas in-house. which makes for the freshest, lightest, most airy dough. The water in NYC is supposed to be a key ingredient that makes a New York slice the best. So add the freshest flour and allow the dough to ferment the way God intended and it ensures the crust is dreamy. 

The taste tester for Bon Appetit sampled only cheese slices to create his pizza database. All pizza should come with mushrooms in my world. Phil is an aficionado of pepperoni slices. So we sampled one of each.

To my Midwestern palate, this pizza was delightful. The crust lived up to the Bon Appetite ravings, light as air but strong in flavor. The mushrooms on my slice were plentiful and fresh. The pepperoni was crispy on the edges. Both slices were glistened and the cheese evenly hugged the surface area of flavorful sauce.

When I had munched my way from the pointy end all the way to what we call at our house the pizza bone -- that rim of outer crust that I typically tear up into bites and toss to my dog -- I had no hesitation about devouring the entire slice.

My dog will never be a fan because if we could get Scarr's Pizza's in Ohio the bones will never be his.

I wish I could wax more poetically about this pizza but I am just not that talented of a wordsmith. It was everything I always loved about a pizza and always imagined a NYC slice to be. And it was the best $4 I've even spent for a meal.

So did we drive 16 hours round trip just to savor a slice? No.

But we could have.