The Restaurantour: Pizza Suprema

I know I am perhaps guilty of leaning too strongly towards Boston and Cambridge, my home away from home, when giving critiques of the local eateries. Part of that is because I lived there for four years and part of it is because despite my 10 months (wow! I didn't realize it was that long!) in New York, I am too poor/cheap/lazy to eat out, and part of it is is because my favorite dining partner, who will eat my untouched salads and switch with me when I foolishly pick terrible foods (remember that lamb shank?), is a Cantab. But, whether by accident, device, or word of mouth, I have managed to discover a few gems in the great sandy mine of New York City. I've already discussed the much-touted and yuppie-beloved Shake Shack. Today: the greatest pizza in New York.

In a city with more than 20,000 places to eat, you run into "the greatest" a lot (or, of course, that other favorite, "world's best"). Everywhere is "the original," the "world-famous," the "best." While presumably this is meant to be a lure for cautious eaters, I've always been turned off by stuff like that. In my experience, the "best," "famous," and "original" are usually too busy hawking t-shirts and working up a shtick to pay attention to the food. My favorite restaurants are usually unsung heroes--tiny places with unassuming fronts that serve incredibly amazing food. Welcome, Pizza Suprema.

Pizza Suprema is a little place across the street from Madison Square Garden and the Post Office. It's also just across the street from the Megabus bus stop, which is how I discovered it in the first place. Rushing from work every Friday afternoon, I don't really have time for anything fancy--just a sandwich or a slice of pizza will do--and one day, missing my local sandwich place, I stopped in. Most pizza in New York is fairly predictable: large, thin crust slices with drippy cheese. It's hot, cheesy, and pretty cheap--fine, but nothing great. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Pizza Suprema serves slices that are hot, cheesy, pretty cheap, and absolutely delicious.

It's hard to pinpoint what's so great about the slices. The sauce, which most pizzerias foolishly ignore, is sweet and light--I could eat a slice with nothing on it but the sauce. The crust is the perfect thin crust, crispy, straight out of oven. I love their fresh ingredients, especially the tomato-basil slice, with large basil leaves that taste right from the garden. I've tried their pepperoni and sausage as well--delicious, with the delicate saltiness of the meat mixing brilliantly with the smooth cheese and sweet sauce. There's simply not a better slice of pizza to be had in New York--or at least not one that you could get for their incredibly decent prices.

What's more, the place looks like any other pizza joint in New York. You walk in, pick out your slice from behind plexiglass, they pop it in the oven, and you take a seat at one of their many booths. No "famous" nothing, although they do proudly display their intimidatingly positive reviews on Yelp. The guys that work there are friendly, fast, and efficient--and devoted to good food. When I had to run to my bus and told them not to worry about heating up the slice, the guy moved fast to stick it in the oven anyway while he rung me up, assuring me, "It'll taste better, and you'll catch your bus." Check and check.