Following the lead of the Slice Harvester, I set out to taste the pie at NY Pizza Suprema in Midtown Manhattan across from Madison Square Garden. Harvester is the Brooklyn dude who visited and blogged about eating at every pizza joint in the City. He gave Suprema his only perfect score. On their website you will find a link to a video of Harvester savoring Suprema slices with his hosts on a local TV show.
Making the quick journey from Penn Station over to Suprema, I opened the front door to find a short line ordering at the counter. Displayed behind me was a wall full of Slice Harvester pizza fanzines. While I waited, I eagerly viewed behind the glass four decks of assorted slices ranging from the weird (chicken and broccoli) to the not-so-weird (cheese, “pep,” sausage, and a mouth-watering Sicilian). This joint is pizza-only except for the “pizza cousins” (calzones and rolls). They deliver up until midnight, and there is a $10 minimum for credit cards. No booze.
I ordered up a plain cheese for $3.00 which after a quick reheat I took to a booth in the rather spacious back room. At my table was a reprint of the New York Daily News story (January 3, 2012) on Harvester for me to read while I ate. The slice was good and hot and certainly looked great in all respects—a case of perfect execution. As soon as I took a bite, it was obvious what I didn’t like about it—the sauce. It was unusually sweet and not at all to my liking. It’s a shame that such an otherwise beautiful slice would so boldly stray from taste tradition. I also found it to be a little cheese heavy—so much so that it slipped off the crust while I ate it.
Flaws aside, I finished it off admiring both the fresh, delicious cheese and the crunchy and chewy crust. But Suprema’s sweet sauce left me with no desire whatsoever to have another slice. Sorry Harvester, but you and the Snob just don’t agree on this one. The best classic pizza in the City is still Joe’s Pizza with Bleecker Street Pizza running a close second.
PIZZA SNOB RATING **** Near Perfection
NY Pizza Suprema
413 8th Avenue
[Between 30th and 31st Streets]
New York, NY 10121
(212) 594-8939
www.nypizzasuprema.com
