Pizza Facts

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Numbers, trivia, and things worth knowing about the greatest food in the world.

9,000+

Pizzerias in NYC

New York City has more pizzerias per capita than any other city in the United States. There's never more than a few blocks between you and a slice.

The Dollar Slice

For decades, a plain slice in NYC cost $1 — and famously tracked the subway fare almost exactly. Today it's closer to $3–4, but the "dollar slice" remains part of the city's cultural identity.

1905

America's First Pizzeria

Lombardi's on Spring Street in Manhattan opened in 1905, making it the first pizzeria in the United States. They're still open today, still using a coal oven.

1924

Totonno's Opens

Totonno's in Coney Island has been making coal-fired pies since 1924. One of the oldest continuously operating pizzerias in the country — cash only, whole pies only, no exceptions.

350°F

Coal Oven Temperature

Coal ovens in the great old-school NYC pizzerias burn at 800–900°F. That extreme heat produces the blistered, leopard-spotted crust you can't replicate in a home oven.

13"

The Standard NYC Slice

A classic New York pie is typically 18 inches in diameter, cut into 8 slices. The result is a large, thin, foldable triangle — designed to eat on the go, standing up, in under a minute.

The NYC Pizza Styles

Classic Slice — The baseline. Thin, foldable, one hand, eaten standing. Sauce, mozzarella, a little grease on the bottom of the crust. Judged by the fold test: it should hold without cracking or flopping.

Neapolitan — Brought from Naples, cooked in a wood or coal oven at extreme heat. Soft, wet center, charred and puffy at the edges. Always served as a whole pie, never by the slice. San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, fresh basil.

Sicilian — A thick, rectangular slab with a focaccia-like dough. Crunchy on the bottom, chewy inside. The New York version typically puts sauce on top of the cheese — the opposite of Neapolitan. L&B Spumoni Gardens in Gravesend is the gold standard.

Grandma — The home cook's version of Sicilian. Baked in an oiled square pan, thinner than a Sicilian but thicker than a round pie. Crispy, lacy bottom, sauce often drizzled on top after baking. Best Pizza in Williamsburg made this style famous citywide.

Bar Pie — The Staten Island and outer borough staple. Thin, crispy, cracker-like crust baked in a small round pan. Designed for taverns — cheap, fast, pairs well with a beer. Denino's in Port Richmond is the classic.

Things Only New Yorkers Know

The correct way to eat a New York slice is folded in half lengthwise, eaten from the point. Anyone who uses a fork is immediately identifiable as a tourist.

Fresh mozzarella is not always better. For a classic NY slice, low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella in a block — shredded yourself — gives the right browning and stretch. Fresh mozzarella releases too much water.

"Well done" is a valid — and often superior — order at a slice shop. Asking for your slice to go back in the oven for another minute gives you a crispier bottom and slightly caramelized cheese.

The water myth is real but overstated. New York City tap water does have a specific mineral content that affects dough — but the real difference is technique, fermentation time, and oven temperature, not magic water.

A pie and a pizza are the same thing. In New York, you order a "pie." Saying "I'd like a pizza" in a pizzeria is technically redundant.