Last week, Slice: America’s Favorite Pizza Weblog, paid tribute to the way New Yorkers do pizza by celebrating the Official New York Pizza Week. Posts that were tagged included a thorough analysis of the famed “Fold Hold”;what to expect from a typical new york pizza joint; tips for what to look for in a great pizza; an open discussion on whether or not you can tell a pizza will taste good just by looking at it, and much more!

Though each post connected to Slice’s NY Pizza Week was an incredibly fun read, there was a great amount of information to take in. That is why I have taken the liberty of gleaning the very best information from  NY Pizza Week, consolidating it, and sharing it with you.

First thing’s first, Slice identifies three different variations of the New York “Fold Hold”, and on what type of pizza each should be executed. If you don’t already know, the “Fold Hold” is the way a typical New York pizza-eater will consume his slice. At its simplest, this means folding the slice lengthwise and eating it like a taco. This doubles the amount of pizza you can eat in one bite and avoids a mess by trapping the cheese and toppings.

• Full Fold- used for simple slices of pizza with a thin crust and few toppings. This is done by placing your thumb and forefinger just under the crust, supporting with the middle finger and folding completely.
• 1/2 Fold- the most common implementation of the Fold Hold, this is used when the pizza has many toppings and you want a balanced bite without much mess. This can be done by placing your thumb and forefinger on each side of the crust and pinky under the middle, and folding slightly so that all the edges curve in.
• Rare Fold- the least popular of the Folds is one used for very crisp pieces that do not need support at the bottom. It is much like a combination of the first two but without a third finger under the bottom of the piece.

A second subject discussed is how New Yorkers do pizza very differently than anywhere else in the world. A few key points mentioned include:

• New York City is still a “by the slice” kind of town where folks can just grab a piece and go while on the run. Often a slice is purchased at a “hole-in-the-wall” joint, and is given on a paper plate with a big stack of napkins.
• A  typical New York pizza is thin with a crisp yet pliable crust and only one or two toppings.
• wood-oven pizza revolution of the 2000′s left a majority of the city’s pizza joints with wood-fired pizza. NOTE: just because it is a wood-fired pizza does not mean it’s better, it always depends on the skill of the pizza-maker.
• pizza maps: where to find the best pizza in NYC

Lastly, Slice addresses what to look for in a good pizza.

• The crust should be “like a good football defense; it bends but never breaks.’ It should have a few raised bubbles that are slightly burnt and crisp. Inside should NOT be dense, but holey, much like the inside of freshly baked bread.
• The best pizzas are covered in sauces that are made with uncooked, canned tomatoes that have been strained and seasoned with salt and oregano. Sugar should NEVER be added to the sauce because pizza sauce is not supposed to taste like pasta sauce. Fresh tomatoes are rarely used in a good pizza.

One last thing… Slice asked pizza-eaters if they thought they could tell how good a slice of pizza would taste just by looking at it. Many said that the eye is deceiving, and one must rely on the taste buds to know for sure. Tell us what you think!!!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 9:24 am and is filed under City Happenings, Tips and Insights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.