Aka the best day ever (well for food consumption at least). There is no better way to commemorate the end of summer than a look into the best pizza and cookies enjoyed during this summer, and really any one of them, that I have lived in the city.
John’s Pizza is an NYC institution, just check out the testimonials page of their website. Established in the 1920’s by founder Giovanni “John” Sasso who immigrated from Italy, this is what you call the New York slice. Perfectly thin, wood fired, and topped with ingredients that are meant to go together. No substitutions please, don’t mess with perfection.
I’ll start with my mom’s half- the Veggie Special. Mushrooms, olives, onions and peppers mount this thin, wood-fired slice. I say mount because a mountain of vegetables come on top of this pizza. You can hardly see the cheese but fret not as you taste plenty of it. The veggies are fresh, sliced thin, and baked as finely as the pizza is, giving the whole thing a smoky hint. Still, all of the different nodes of each vegetable come through. You get the earthy hint from mushroom with the bitter sweetness of the olives and everything in between. I would argue that this combination of vegetables is the perfect one to have for a vegetarian pizza- everything goes together so right that even meat lovers would rejoice. Add this on top of the dough John’s is known for and you stand to fall in love with eating your vegetables all over again (or perhaps for the first time).
And then there’s my go to order every time, the John’s Bianca. Aged mozzarella, ricotta, garlic and basil with no tomato sauce blend into one cheesy, perfect pie. They do not skimp on the garlic so you get a mouthful in every bite, something us garlic lovers can appreciate. The basil is fresh and more than a garnish, it is a part of the flavorful pizza as opposed to an afterthought. What keeps me coming back to ordering this specialty is how simple it is, and yet you can taste how extraordinary John’s makes their pizza. Since beginning almost a century ago, they have been coal firing their pizza until the exact right moment. The dough is only just fully baked and sturdy enough to hold any toppings but allows the appropriate flop to get in your mouth and fold over to eat like a true New Yorker would. When you only have the basics, it’s easy to see why John’s is unbeatable.
Where do I even begin with my love for Chip NYC? I have documented it before when I first tried these a few years ago. Somehow, since then, my love has only grown. When I said I was looking forward to it opening again (throwback to the COVID pandemic), I really meant it. Now that shutdowns are a thing of the past, I am proud to say I was certainly in several lines.
Chocolate Chip will always be my favorite and these are done without a single flaw. Levain tends to get the infamy with cookies here but theirs contain walnuts. Immediately that is a disqualifier to me. Chip NYC chocolate chip cookies are nothing but the chocolate chips and some sort of secret sauce that makes these thick, gooey, and borderline unbaked rounds of heaven. White chocolate macadamia still remains a strong runner up but the S’mores is a new delight. Similar to the chocolate chip cookie but adding marshmallows that are just slightly crisped to melt perfectly, they practically transport you to a campfire. Offering a buy 5, get 1 free special at all times, you simply must go get a box with each flavor on offer that day.
Will you just look at the details of this Smores Cookie close-up? You can practically taste that bad boy with how big and plentiful the marshmallows and chocolate are:
It almost doesn’t seem right to claim Chip stands the test of time as it has only been around for a short period relatively speaking to some of the cities greats, but I just don’t see a cookie ever beating these. If you know of one, please let this sweet tooth girl know. Until then, looking forward to the fall flavors.
