It’s 2:07am on a Wednesday night. You and your friends just left the jug and you can hear Frank Sinatra’s silky voice still singing “New York, New York” from last call ringing in your ears. Where to? Slices. You and your friends all look at each other like you’re really only asking as a formality. Should we or shouldn’t we? There are always the skeptics. The ones that will hold you back from finding your true happiness. Your friend pleads to go home. “No it’s not worth the calories!” She whines.
“But it is just so delicious, so worth it!” Your other friend says as she swings her arm around the skeptic and they throw their heads back in laughter, and at this moment, you know she is convinced. Soon enough you will taste the warm cheese and sauce dipped into ranch (my preferred dipping sauce). Zagat rated Slices one of the 10 Destination Pizzas: Ten Pies Worth a Trip. They described this mouth-watering taste as well. They imagined, “the pies come out of the oven with a pillowy, bubbly upper crust (the lower part is thin) covered with the most satisfying ratio of sweet tomato sauce to salty mozzarella cheese.” At this point, it’s obvious that your friends and you have come to a unanimous decision.
**Sitting Down with the Man who Throws the Dough**
HC: How much ranch do you guys sell?
Slices: In the first few weeks of school we sell 16-20 gallons. It goes down to 10-15 in October. It only became popular about five years ago. It used to be blue cheese.
HC: How many calories are in one cup of ranch?
S: 250.
HC: What is the most popular topping for full pizzas?
S: Pepperoni, or Pepperoni and mushroom.
HC: What is behind the ideology of “slices come plain only”?
S: Speed. It’s all about speed. In and out as fast as you can, especially late at night. Technology has been helping with you kids. The cell phone is like a baby-sitter.
HC: How is it dealing with a lot of drunk kids every night?
S: Pretty easy. Patience goes first. It’s like 12 minutes for wings seems like an hour and a half. That’s part of the reason why slices come plain only. People can’t decide!
HC: Why is there no lunch?
S: That would just be too long a of a day…
New York Pizzeria, or more famously known as Slices, is good at any hour due to their simple recipe that they have perfected over the years, but you can never go wrong with a post-jug slices pit-stop. New York Pizzeria opened in 1977. At the time, it was the third oldest in the family chain, but now it’s the oldest one around. Everett, the current owner, joined the team in 1980. Everett says that “there are very few old businesses left,” that only slices and the jug stand in their original condition.
When you step up and into 39 Lebanon Street, the atmosphere is like walking into a bubble, in the best of ways. It hasn’t changed much since its inception and Everett says that’s because it truly works, like a well-oiled machine. Everett also mentioned that an endearing part of his work is watching alumni come back to visit, possibly with their children, to the same place they once cherished as students. One could argue it is the lasting sense of culture and simplicity that has allowed Slices to thrive year after year. An online review, Myles Coen, calls Slices “A local legend. Must try” (Zomato), and this is true. It is a staple in both the Colgate and Hamilton communities, so stop by Slices anytime after 4pm to taste the legendary dough.