J L.
Yelp
Having heard about this place being outstanding by some, while others thought of it as trying to be novel but perhaps coming short, I had to give it a try. First off, the line was incredibly long. Talking to people on it, it was everyone's first time trying it and nobody left despite the wait being over 25 minutes. It shocked me how slowly the line moved. There are just two people working here. The guy at the register was stalling the process by using his hands to rip pieces of pizza apart. Why this establishment cannot afford a sharp slicer, we may never know but these antics will surely not last for more than two years before it gets shut down when people get over the fad of this overpriced pizza shop.
A pizza shop, sure, it definitely is, but it not a pizzeria. The slices are "cheese", tomato, white and there's one with sausage. As others have commented, they weren't sure if it's worth paying up to $63 for a pie. But if it's a life changing slice, or even top 5, even if it were similar to L'Industry, Grimaldi's, or Original L&B, but with a slightly different take, like a sprig of basil, I'd say it deserves at least three stars for effort while they work to improve and become more efficient. Basically, I really gave this place a shot, and didn't let the long wait deter me, despite "$5 Coke" shamelessly flaunted on their menu.
As I got closer to the checkout counter, the cashier and pizza handler was mumbling loudly as he continued teasing apart slices with his hands, resorting to ripping them apart, bending his knees saying "not good enough, needs to be better." Meanwhile, one of the business partners, who had two pizzas in his hand, came over to request two more, lauding the men for the free dinner.
Fortunately, the pizza maker, the second employee working there, clearly knew how to make pizza. He worked relatively expeditiously, added toppings without OCD antics, and even used sourdough starter. It was my turn to order.
I ordered the mushroom and "cheese" slices. The mushroom was clearly inspired by the artichoke slice at artichoke, with their creme fraiche, which tasted more like what you'd find on top of a subpar burrito to mask old meat than anything else. The mushrooms were not canned, which would have been acceptable, but they were also shriveled and not fresh. Part of the slice tasted watered down- yes, there was water added to the mushroom topping. The other slice was topped with parmesan reggiano cheese. While these slices have more breadth than $1 pizza, they are in no way remotely special or worth their price tag with or without washing one down with a $5 pepsi or $5 water.
The cost to take a cardboard box with you is $1.50. Unfortunately these boxes will not even keep the pizza warm in cool weather, as there are holes in them with the letters "NYC" carved out. You can get a slice of pizza for the cost of a lousy box here.
The atmosphere is dull for a restaurant and superficially spry for a pizza place. Quality speakers play subpar music. Faux wood features line the sidings.
Overall, expect not to taste any hints of sourdough, any remotely entertaining ingredients, notable cheese or sauce, or fresh ingredients. If you are entertained by long lines formed by to food that looks better than it tastes and antics that slow down the food ordering process, this is the place where you'd go.