Pizza City – A Slice of New York in the Upstate

If you've been following my jaunts around town for a while, you may have heard me mention that Greenville is my adopted hometown. I am originally from New York City. And as much as there is to love about this little corner of the Palmetto State, one of the things I found myself constantly craving after relocating to the Upstate was a slice.

For the uninitiated, I mean a slice of pizza, not the entire pie. The difference is crucial. 

When I first moved here over a decade ago, it was nearly impossible to find a Greenville pizza joint that would heat and serve just one slice. The hunt began with an urgent pregnancy craving that sent my husband out into the night searching for said slice (with pepperoni and mushrooms). The place he landed was a chain, with a buffet-style pizza bar whose waitstaff looked at him in disbelief when he made the request. Just. One. Slice.

Perusing their offerings, he could see why – the slices were tiny, half the size of a normal NYC slab. Nevertheless, the hostess took pity (and it was after 10:30pm) and allowed him to take whatever he wanted.

I can't recall how it tasted, but I can say that from that day forward I was on a mission to find a close approximation of the New York style of pizza. If I found it, I promised myself I'd buy the whole pie, even if they sold it by the slice.

For a while though, to quote Tony Soprano, I could just "fuggedaboudit." National chain restaurants – and their counterparts, brick-oven regional chains – ruled. Then, slowly, as Greenville grew and more transplants moved in, a shift occurred. Independent eateries opened, but mostly, those that billed their offerings as "NY-style" were not really even close.

The situation became more urgent as my daughters grew older and experienced "real pizza" on trips back to NYC to visit family and friends. Taking them to Captain's, the Bronx pizzeria that was the hangout for the kids in my neighborhood, was both a blessing and a curse.

They came back clamoring to try every pizza in town until we found one that would duplicate their New York experience. (Lest you think that experience is too strong a word for it, I will remind you that until you have been handed a slice of pizza on a fan of two paper plates – because it cannot be contained on one – that is at once crisp and chewy, with just the right amount of melted mozzarella and requisite pools of olive oil glistening on top, you have not lived).

Then a dear friend (originally from urban New Jersey) suggested Pizza City. I went with her for an initial trial but could tell almost immediately this would be as close to the real thing as one could get this far from NYC. I wasn't disappointed. They had the right ovens for starters. The flavor and texture were right too.

But just to be absolutely certain, I took my children for a Saturday afternoon lunch. There again: big slices reheated to crisp perfection, with oily tops, not too much cheese, and the appropriate foil of tart (not sweet) marinara sauce. It made me feel – as my dearly departed mother used to say in her heavily-accented gravelly voice – "just like I was in da Bronx." And for the length of time it took me to settle back into the curved orange bench seat and inhale two slices, I was.

Oh, and did I mention they have a daily lunch special? Two slices and a drink for less than a five-spot. Bring the kids. Even the finicky ones. I know there are some who don't appreciate pizza, and for them there are subs, spaghetti, and salads. Beer and wine served too.

Pizza City, 1547 North Pleasantburg Drive, 864-292-0485.