After an unplanned stop for a quick slice at Pomodoro on Spring Street, I got back to my mission of a multi-slice night on New York City’s Lower East Side. With plenty of time to kill before it was show time at the way cool Rockwood Music Hall, courtesy of good old Google, my first target was Stanton Street Pizza.
SSP is a tiny little space in a three-tenant corner storefront on you guessed it: Stanton Street, which quietly runs parallel between the more travelled Houston and Delancey streets. Their small room had scant seating and was decorated with Godfather and other assorted mobster things. On this hot late summer day, it was a sticky 82 degrees at 8:30pm. Without any air conditioning, it was so hot inside the place that I was having a major sweat and took my slice to the outside bench to eat.
The counter had several different slice offerings, but I got the usual Snob Special (a plain cheeser which for some reason was hiding below the counter) for a mere $2.00. Their sign said “Always Fresh,” and I must say that it was not only fresh, but it was quite good and tasty.
They served me a good-sized solid slice that came out at a pleasing temperature after about a two-minute reheat. There was some bubbly oil present atop the cheese and the sauce, and it was crisp on the bottom courtesy of a nice light even brown char throughout. I like the way this one folded.
Although it was delicious going down, there was something lingering about the taste that I didn’t like, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Also, as I got near the end, the crust, which did taste a little flat, got a little doughy and was a bit of a workout to finish. And that aftertaste kept bugging me, and all I could come up with was some possibly from the garlic? Still, these minor flaws failed to ruin my pizza experience.
While SSP may not be a required New York City destination for the visiting pizza connoisseur, it’s a place that I would be proud to have as my local neighborhood pizza joint. In fact, they’d probably see me every day!
PIZZA SNOB RATING ****Near Perfection
Stanton Street Pizza
127 Stanton Street (corner of Essex Street)
New York, NY 10002
212-533-4252
www.stantonstreetpizza.com