&pizza Is A Picky Eater's (And A Vegan Eater's) Paradise
Aight soooooo... good food is my second best friend (next to music). It makes me ridiculously happy and can turn my whole day around. I used to live in D.C. and there's this genius pizza spot called &pizza that is the best pizza spot I've ever been to. $10 for a whole pizza that you customize and it comes out in like 2 minutes. No lies. You can't get any better than that. Whenever I visit D.C. I HAVE to go and I have missed it so badly since I've moved to NYC. I have been trying to get to D.C. just so I can make a pit stop at &pizza.
Welp that need is no more because *drumroll* they opened an &pizza in NYC!! And they're opening two more in the next few months *leaps for joy*! Can you believe it?? If you haven't had it let me tell me why you need to get your life right! What make this place so special is that everyone gets the pizza that they want with all the toppings that they want for $10.10 And they have a set of standards that you can trust.
-They use local produce and none of their products have artificial flavors or HFC and they are VEGAN FRIENDLY!
-They partner with small businesses and support the community (at the location I stumbled upon, they sell Pintrill pens and Momofuku Milk Bar cookies and Fine + Raw chocolate!).
-They pay a living wage to their employees (which is why they are so nice and friendly and have a good time at work - shoutout to Dennis the closing manager at 28th and Broadway)
-And they're innovative. The concept is already dope but they're always coming up with new pizzas and flavors. Everyone gets what they want for the best price point out there. Win win for all!
Ok so on to the experience. This location is better than the ones I've grown to love in D.C. even. It's a large space for NYC and they have ample seating, tall ceilings and just down right good energy!
So the pizzas are long and can feed two people or even three if you just need a bite to eat. Personally, I get one for my own self because I want the toppings that I want and I always have enough left over for lunch the next day or a late night snack! :) (Usually the latter.)
Now they have eight different "Hits" that you can choose from (Gnarlic, Moonstruck, American Honey, Pineapple Jack, Farmers Daughter, Maverick, Salad Pizza or the classic OG), or you can craft your own, which is what I do (I'm a picky eater so it's perfect that I can customize it!). They even have a dessert pizza called Lori Lane with berries and sweet cream (yum)!
Honestly it's much funner when you customize it. You get in line (similar to a place like chipotle -I hate chipotle BTW- and you start choosing. You start with the dough. They've got traditional, ancient grain (my personal fav) and gluten free (which costs a couple bucks extra but it's worth it if that's what your life requires). It's fresh dough so they put it thru a press and stretch it out nice and long ( think of it as a rounded rectangle). Next up is the sauce, man o man, they have six different choices and I always get two and do half and half - classic tomato, spicy tomato, garlic ricotta, mushroom truffle, basil pesto and roasted vegetable. Like how do they have so many? It's insane and we haven't gotten to the best part yet!
Next up is the cheese - mozzarella, shredded mozzarella and VEGAN mozzarella (more winning, more life!).
Now to the fun part: adding your toppings! They've got everything from veggies and fruits (broccoli, grilled onions, jalapeño, tomato, mushroom, roasted pepper, spinach, pineapple, and spicy chickpea) to all the proteins you want (pepperoni, beef meatballs, chicken, Italian sausage, salami, smoked bacon, shrimp and even egg and VEGAN sausage)! And guess what? The toppings are unlimited! How sway? How!?
Next up they bake it. And it's super quick because the the dough is on the thinner side like a flat bread. The pizza slides into the conveyor belt oven and, about 2 minutes later, voila! The pizza emerges golden brown, bubbly and ready to go. But there's still more fun if you're down for it.
They have finishes, my good people! Top off your already perfectly crafted hot pizza with arugula, basil, Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomato, banana peppers, pickled red onions, lemon, goat cheese, feta cheese or Parmesan. And if you're feeling saucy like me, you go for some drizzled or dipping sauces - cherry bomb BBQ, hot sauce, garlic oil, red pepper chili oil (personal fav), ranch, basil pesto, olive oil, hot honey, fig balsamic (personal fav) and of course red pepper flakes and black pepper. These are all at no extra charge and you can get them on the side. I mean what else could you ask for for $10.10? The whole process is about 10 minutes and you're out the door. They put in this recyclable cardboard box which is awesome or you can eat inside and they put it on a cardboard plate and tray and your good. Since it's customizable, you can share it with your friend and get half this and half that all the way down. It's cut into about 8 squares so its easy to split.
They don't slack on the beverage choices either. The beverage machine has soda that has real sugar and no caffeine - ginger berry lemonade, burdock + anise root beer, mango + passion fruit, dark cherry cola, pear + fig elixir and Momofuku branded cereal milk cream soda. I loved the mango + passion fruit and the pig + fig elixir. They've also got delicious teas - lemongrass white peach, peach ginger and sweet mint not to mention everybody's favorite La Croix sparkling water.
And the icing on the cake is that they also sale Momofuku Milk Cereal Milk Cookies and Fine + Raw Chocolate Bars and you can order ahead and skip the line. What more could you ask for from a pizza spot? I can't tell you guys how excited I was to stumble upon this beloved spot last night. I missed it so much and it was literally like the sky opened up (my instagram story and snapchat were on fire!) when I saw it. Please do yourself a favor and visit this location on 28th and Broadway in Nomad. They will be opening two additional locations in Astor Place and Columbus Circle before the year ends. Pizza in NYC will never be the same!
