An Ode to the Dollar Slice
In a city oversaturated with gimmicky gastronomy and nefarious pricing, the dollar slice offers much-needed stability. A New York iconoclast is not much different than a bagel, both are formed from the flowing water of the Hudson, and the dollar slice is a symbol of the city’s grittiness and love for a bargain.
A cheaper alternative to the $15 build-your-own salad, the dollar slice is New York’s favorite because it doesn’t pull any punches. It knows exactly what it is, not fancy by any means but hard-hitting and worth its weight in gold. One of the cheapest meals one can buy in the city, two slices and a can of soda for $3 is a small price to pay for bold flavor and New York hospitality. The best dollar slices come out of the seediest looking places, holes in the wall with cracked white tiles but nonstop lines of hungry customers wrapped around the corner. Despite the lack of external glamour these “pizzerias” display, there is an innate sense of beauty that lies in people sharing a food they love in a city many would kill to spend a day in.
One of the best parts of the dollar slice experience is the option for customization after your cheese slice comes out of the oven. Between hot sauce, garlic powder, red pepper, and of course more cheese, decorating your slice is a rite of passage New Yorkers happily oblige in. An ordinary cheese slice becomes a colorful work of art, no two slices being exactly the same. The same can be said about the pizzas’ consumers, superseding demographics by attracting long lines of Wall Street tycoons and financially up-and-coming fashion students alike. Space is happily shared between tourists and locals among the tall, thin, and round metal tables placed outside.
There have been many claims that the dollar slice as we know it is “dead.” Though some of these established and sacred institutions have changed their prices from $1 to $1.50 for a cheese slice, the sentiment has never wavered. If pop-ups for beauty brands have taught me anything, it's that our beloved city adores a bargain, even if there’s a line. With dedicated chefs who take the next customer’s order while the previous one is paying, the lines move much faster than last year’s infamous YSL lipstick popup. Though the slice is anything but gourmet, it will never truly go away, because New Yorkers will always show up for their slices. It offers a much-needed respite from expensive rent, $20 cocktails, and the artisan lavender oat milk latte. Cheers to you, dollar slice, for keeping our humble city nourished without breaking the bank. New York adores you.
