Joe's Pizza

Walking back to our hotel after exiting the Times Square station, we were looking for some food to bring back to our room.  Lo and behold, a long lineup (for the slices) appeared in front of us on Broadway.  The place was Joe's Pizza, which to some, is a NYC favourite.  Is it a tourist trap?  We lined up to see for ourselves.  Of note, be sure to line up for the slices, not the "Pies Only" storefront (unless you wanted a whole pie).

We decided on 5 slices and really, there was only around 7 choices anyways.  Naturally, we got the baseline in the Fresh Mozzarella.  It featured a tangy tomato sauce that wasn't too acidic.  There was a smattering of mozzarella to give it some body.  However, it was the crust that was the best part of it.  In addition to be properly salted, the crust had a nuttiness to it and it was uniformly crispy on the crust and bottom.  It had a classic chewiness that had a good mouth-feel.  We also had the Pepperoni and it ate quite differently as it had a denser cheese and of course had some meaty and pepper slices of pepperoni.

Our favorite of the bunch was the Supreme sporting tomatoes, sausage and red onion.  This was the most robust slice as the combination of cheese and sausage provided heft in terms of each bite.  Lots of saltiness was from the different ingredients.  The addition of tomatoes provided some moisture while the onions afforded some sharpness and bite.

Something much less heavy and devoid of meat was their Caprese Pizza.  As the name suggests, it consisted of fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil.  The combination of ingredients meant things were light and a bit wet.  However, the crust was up to the challenge and held up, staying chewy and dry.

The last slice was the White with Fresh Spinach & Garlic.  With the absence of tomato sauce, we got much more the nuttiness from the crust.  Furthermore, the taste of the spinach and garlic was devoid of competing flavors.  Really simple, but delicious and uncluttered.  All-in-all, we found Joe's Pizza quite solid and definitely quenched our NYC thin-crust pizza cravings.  I'm sure we will find even better on our future NYC travels, but Joe's is a good choice despite its touristy location.

The Good:

- Crispy and chewy crust

- Not too many choices, which makes it easy to order

- Not a crazy amount of sauce, so the crust doesn't get soggy

The Bad:

- Um, the lineup, but it moves