About 80 people waited outside L’Industrie Pizzeria’s West Village location before the shop even opened on a recent weekday morning.
The doors opened at noon, and the aroma of fresh-baked pizza wafted out onto the street. The line moved quickly. Before eating, many people snapped pictures of their slices, which featured big, cold scoops of burrata melting onto the hot pizza like thick ice cream.
At $5.75 apiece, the shop’s famous burrata slices are a far cry from the dollar slices of old.
“It’s good s---,” said Carsen Durham, who came from Williamsburg. “The cost, it doesn't even bother me because this pizza is so good that it's worth it.”
L’Industrie, which opened in 2017 and now has three locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, is a pioneer in the city’s fancy pizza slice movement. You can now get gourmet slices basically anywhere in the city, with each shop offering all kinds of unusual toppings: vodka sauce and crunchy garlic chili oil in SoHo; prosciutto and truffle in Hudson Square; or lobster and shrimp in Bed Stuy.
These slices cost from $6 to $8 apiece — or nearly $20 for the lobster. They are lavish creations made for the Instagram age.
“Places are looking for newer and more novel topping combinations that are still delicious, but that grab people's attention,” said Adam Kuban, a New York City pizza historian who for years ran the blog Slice.
New York City’s climbing pizza prices match its skyrocketing rents and living costs. Like the newfangled high rise with sweeping views, these fancy slices may look good — but is their price justified?
Fermento “upside down” vodka slice and truffle prosciutto slice with whipped ricotta
At Fermento, which opened on Varick Street in SoHo last year, you can try a complex prosciutto slice, which has dollops of fresh ricotta and a truffle oil drizzle.
Owner Mike Vendome said the pizzeria’s name comes from its 72-hour “double bulk” dough fermentation process.
“You wind up getting a dough that has great crumb, great texture, nice elasticity, a little bit of flavor development,” he said. The base is thin and crispy but sturdy enough to support the weight of its luxurious toppings. A single slice costs over $6.
“We're using all top-quality ingredients,” Vendome said. “To be honest with you, for the stuff I'm using compared to the other pizzerias, my slice I think is very fair priced.”
LTD Pizza and Bar's pepperoni slice.
A few blocks away is LTD Pizza and Bar, which makes a Sicilian slice topped with vodka sauce and charred pepperoni cups. They recommend topping it with their house “smokey crunchy garlic chili oil.” For $8 a slice, it’s a filling workday lunch — maybe a bit too filling.
But there are still plenty of places where the old school survives.
Luigi’s Pizza in Park Slope has been run by the same family with the same recipes since 1973. Owner Gio Lanzo said he’s had a hard time teaching other people to make his dough — he doesn’t measure the ingredients out, he listens to the sound of the machine and adjusts.
Luigi’s Pizza Owner Gio Lanzo.
“The dough talks to you,” Lanzo said. “I was born in this.”
Lanzo said he’s well aware of the new kinds of slice shops opening across the city.
“Everybody's familiar with them. You know what? God bless them,” he said. “Let them do what they want. I'll do what I want.”
A regular slice at Luigi’s is $3.50. Lanzo said his philosophy is very simple: “ Dough, sauce, and cheese. The best combination on Earth.”
Lanzo said he doesn’t plan to change to keep up with the competition.
It’s worked for his family for over 50 years, he said. “Let's see how long they last.”
