Cuisine: Pizza
NYC is the home of pizza. The home to pizza? No, I guess that would mean that pizza doesn’t exist anywhere else but NYC. NYC is the home of the pizza rat. NYC is the home to the Empire State Building. Got it. But not really. As luck would have it, though, there are many, many joints at which to get slices in this fine city. Including this joint, the very straight-forwardly named Slicehaus. Well, it ain’t the Saladhaus. Or the DimSumHaus. It’s not even the SkiHaus. Sometimes you gotta just name it and serve it.
There are a lot of pizza choices in the West Village. I can walk out of my office and hit some of the most popular and critically acclaimed shops in the city. The ones with tourists lining up outside. The ones with locals lining up outside. And the ones with absolutely nobody lining up anywhere. While I don’t feel like it’s any indication of its quality, SliceHaus was of the third variety. At least on the random Wednesday I slinked in. I like to think of myself as slinky. Not especially on this day, but I took a no-bluster approach when sidling up to the small counter to order my slice. After all, lunch is a big decision and I didn’t exactly know what I was getting myself into. I was taking a chance, people.
My sense of scale since COVID is totally off. Is $5 for a slice of pizza a lot or a little? I mean $36 for a pepperoni pie (as listed on their menu) does seems extreme, but somehow $5 doesn’t feel quite as bad. Even though, last time I checked, 5 x 8 = 40. So, if you bought your pie slice by slice, that’s one expensive pizza pie! But enough about the cost. The pizza itself is like a hybrid of a New York and Neapolitan slice. So, a little crispy, but also a little airy and chewy. And I believe they spritz the slice with some olive oil and lay a basil leaf or three on it after it comes out of the oven. It’s a nice touch, actually. The pepperoni is the cup type, which is really the only type of pepperoni a classy pizza should use. Between the spritz and the oil retention in the cup, it really gives the slice — despite being reheated — a nice, juicy quality. I really hate a dried-out, bready slice more than anything, and this is not at all that. The flavor does have some umami and some nice earthiness from the basil and yeast, but pushes the salt right up to the edge of okay. That seems to be the flavor profile of a lot of these types of pies that are either coal fired, or adopt that style. I’m still stunned by jerks who don’t eat their pizza crust. You’re all terrible people. But, even you heathens will enjoy this crust. It’s got a great texture and chew that finishes off the experience in a great way. All in all, a pretty kick ass piece of pizza. Yes, I was pretty damned hungry, but quality is quality.
30 Carmine St. (bet. Bleecker & Bedford St.)
646/449-8501
slicehauspizzeria.com
