Chasing the Best New York Pizza

The past couple of weeks have been a blur of family time—catching up, saying our goodbyes, and bouncing between Alberta and just outside of New York. In the middle of all the hugs, late-night chats, and road trips, we carved out a little adventure for ourselves: a day trip into New York City with one very serious mission—find the best New York style pizza.

Now, this wasn’t just a casual “let’s grab a bite” situation. My husband has carried around a dream of opening his own New York–style pizzeria (in a place where the closest thing to authentic pizza lives in the frozen food aisle). Naturally, research was required. And by “research,” I mean eating our body weight in pizza. When in Rome…er, New York.

We wandered through neighborhoods, ducked into tiny shops with neon “Pizza” signs, and ordered slices like we were auditioning to be the next great pizza critics. Thin crust, foldable, slightly greasy—check, check, check. At one point, I swear my husband had tears in his eyes. Not because of the onions, but because he experienced what can only be described as a spiritual moment between man and slice.

By the end of the day, we couldn’t say for sure if we found the best New York pizza (I’m pretty sure that’s an impossible task), but we definitely found what makes it special. It’s not just about the crust or the sauce—it’s about standing on a sidewalk in the middle of the city, slice in hand, trying not to drip cheese down your shirt while taxis whiz by.

Of course, we couldn’t resist a little sightseeing along the way. We squeezed in views of the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, and even the Statue of Liberty from afar. But make no mistake: this trip wasn’t really about the landmarks. It was about pizza.

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The Mission: Dave Portnoy’s Best Pizza List

To make things official, we followed Dave Portnoy’s famous “One Bite” list and picked four of his best New York style pizza spots—two in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn. Our plan was simple: order only cheese and pepperoni slices at each place to keep the comparisons fair.

Stop 1: Bleecker Street Pizza (By Mistake)

Our first stop was supposed to be John’s of Bleecker Street, a true New York institution. But in our excitement, we ended up at Bleecker Street Pizza instead—the wrong place entirely. Oops. Thankfully, it turned out to be a happy mistake. Their thin crust had a nice undercarriage, the sauce was bright and flavorful, and overall, it was a solid slice. Still, I’d be lying if I said we weren’t disappointed to miss out on John’s legendary pies.

Stop 2: Joe’s Pizza (Spider-Man Famous)

Next up was Joe’s Pizza, which has earned international fame (and a cameo in a Spider-Man movie). This slice was everything you want from the best New York style pizza: super thin, perfectly foldable, chewy in all the right ways, and again, very sauce-forward. For us, this was the standout pizza of the day.

Stop 3: Best Pizza (But Not Our Best)

Over in Brooklyn, we tried Best Pizza, which—ironically—wasn’t the best for us. The crust was fine, but the sauce lacked flavor compared to the others. It wasn’t bad by any stretch (I wouldn’t complain if it was in my neighborhood), but it just didn’t hit the same high notes.

Stop 4: L’Industrie (The Wild Card)

Our final stop was L’Industrie, also in Brooklyn. This spot has an inspiring backstory: the owner, a French pizza obsessive, moved to New York with a dream of mastering the city’s iconic slice, blending Italian tradition with New York edge. They’re famous for creative toppings like burrata or fig jam, but for fairness we stuck to cheese and pepperoni. Both slices were excellent—our second favorite of the day.

The Pizza Guru We Didn’t Expect to Meet

The highlight of the day (beyond all the carbs) was running into Scott Wiener, founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours and arguably the world’s biggest New York pizza expert. Scott has dedicated his life to studying, tasting, and teaching people about pizza. He runs tours across the city, has written books, and even holds a Guinness World Record for the largest collection of pizza boxes. He’s basically pizza royalty.

Scott was unbelievably friendly and, after gently pointing out our “Bleecker Street mishap,” he gave my husband tons of advice about opening his own pizzeria—a dream that’s been simmering in the background for years. Honestly, chatting with him was almost as satisfying as the slices themselves.

Our Very Unofficial Verdict

In the end, all of the pizzas were amazing, and I wouldn’t complain if any of them were down the street from me. But for us, the clear winner for the hunt for the best New York style pizza was Joe’s Pizza in Manhattan. Thin, chewy, flavorful, iconic—it ticked all the boxes and left us wanting another slice.

Sure, maybe we should have booked an official pizza tour to make sure we didn’t miss any big names… or went to the correct location. But honestly? For a last-minute, slightly chaotic “research” mission, it was perfect.

So, is a New York pizzeria in our future? Hard to say. But after this trip, I can tell you one thing: if it happens, we’ll already have done some very delicious “market research.”

Syps Family New York Pizza Survival Tip Box 🍕 Go hungry. Seriously, don’t snack beforehand—you’ll regret it. 🍕 Bring napkins (or a bib). New York pizza has a way of dripping in all the wrong places. 🍕 Cash is king. Some of the best slices are sold in hole-in-the-wall shops that don’t even know what a card reader is. 🍕 Pace yourself. There will always be another slice calling your name.

The Syps Survival Summary

Did we survive New York pizza research? Absolutely.

My husband lived his best pizza-loving life, we managed to balance family bonding with some serious carb-loading, and—miracle of miracles—no shirts were permanently ruined by grease stains. Our only real hiccup was accidentally ending up at Bleecker Street Pizza instead of John’s of Bleecker Street. Thankfully, the slice was still delicious, but it was a big miss on our original plan. We couldn’t crown a single “best New York Style pizza” slice this round, but Joe’s came out on top—and next time, we’re determined to make it to the right place on Bleecker Street.