I’ve made it a thing to wander out from my office to peer through the windows of pizza places. Not in a pervy way, of course. I’m just checking out that sweet, sweet dough and that hot, hot cheese. Wow, maybe I am a pie perv. Whatever the case, I’m mostly a lookie-loo and not a consumer of said pizza. Mostly because I’m an indecisive person and a little obsessive about my food intake during the day. Don’t want to be the sleepy guy at my desk all hepped up on carbs and dairy.
Traditas was one of my first walk-byes. It looked… fun and busy. I put it on my list and then, one day, decided this was going to be the day. My mistake was coming by the second time right after The Knicks won the NBA championship. I’d say the shop was more of a party than a shop that day. I actually walked in and was confounded how and where to order, as the dudes behind the counter high-fived cops and customers and each other. And generally seemed to have no interest in selling slices that day. The whole thing just seemed insane and like something to which I wasn’t invited. I don’t care about The Knicks, but I felt good for these dudes; they were very excited. And I couldn’t blame them for putting business on hold for a day to celebrate.
I gave it a couple weeks for basketball mania to calm down and strolled into a much calmer atmosphere. The guys working there were super friendly and the atmosphere definitely felt very NYC pizza joint. I just grabbed myself a cheese slice and a Coke Zero and sat at one of the tables to imbibe. And, look, I know everyone has their own feelings about what pizza should be. There are people who like that stupid grandma pie. And Chicago deep dish. And, god forbid, Detroit style. There’s Neopolitan, which is a specific thing. And coal fired. And brick oven. But Traditas does a pretty standard NYC slice. The cheese is nice and chewy. Not grainy. Not gooey. Not overly cheesed. Just a slight chew to it. And the crust is light and relatively crisp without being too light or too crisp. Let’s call it the Goldilocks crust. The sauce is not too saucy and not overly herbed. I feel like the uninitiated feel like lots of herbs equals quality. But, if you’ve ever had one of those 99-cent slices, they are often too heavy on the green. Probably to cover the subpar sauce and other ingredients. All in all it’s a really balanced slice. Nothing fancy, but definitely has all the makings of an easy-eating, satisfying triangle of the good stuff.
1165 Broadway (bet. 27th & 28th St.)
929/274-0000
traditaspizza.com
