New York-style pizza

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Lombardi's Pizza at 32 Spring Street in Little Italy, Manhattan

A slice of New York-style pizza

New York-style pizza is a common style of pizza, originating from New York City. This style is identified by its large, thin and flexible slices. The traditional toppings are tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese or a mix of provolone and white American cheese. It is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce. The slices are sometimes eaten folded in half, as its size and flexibility may otherwise make it unwieldy to eat by hand. New York-style pizza is often sold by the slice, which is typically an 18 inch or larger pizza cut into 8 slices.

This style of pizza tends to dominate the Northeastern states, many shops advertising New York-style pizza. Sometimes also known as "Italian pizza" (as opposed to Greek pizza) since it reflects the variety of pizza made most commonly in Italian-American-owned pizza shops. New York-style pizza is often difficult to find outside of the Northeast, but major pizza chains such as Pizza Hut have at times capitalized on their versions of New York pizza. The large pizza chain Sbarro markets new york style pizza, but cuts it into 6 slices, instead of 8.

The first pizzeria in the United States was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi, at Lombardi's in Little Italy, Manhattan.

Also served in the New York area, square-shaped slices with much thicker dough are called Sicilian slices, though they often differ considerably from the true pizza of Sicily.

The most noticeable difference between New York-style and other American pizzas is its thin and flexible hand-tossed crust, made from a high-gluten bread flour. The flavor of the crust has sometimes been attributed to the minerals present in the New York City tap water used to make the dough. [1] It is said that some out-of-state pizza makers even transport the water cross-country for the sake of authenticity. [2][3]

While New York pizzerias have slices with various toppings on offer, they invariably have cheese slices ready to go, which are typically served with condiments of oregano, dried red chili pepper, garlic salt, and grated Parmesan cheese.