2023 in NYC Pizza Slices

I gathered a lot less data this year but the average price is still trending up

You can tell this place is good because there’s no area code in the sign

In 2023 I said I was done with NYC Slice. I was tired of eating bad pizza, and the average price of a slice had hit an even three bucks. But a few months into the year I found myself at Napoli’s Best Pizza on E Tremont Ave. in the Bronx enjoying a classic NYC Slice for $3.50, so I added it to the map.

While I only visited 30 new slice shops last year (compared to about 50 in 2022) I found the average price of a plain slice went up again from $3 to $3.24. The median price held at $3, but most of the slices I ate were in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, so I’d argue that the median price is around $3.50 if you were to survey every slice joint in the city. Manhattan is expensive.

I left out the lone $1 slice I ate last year. I excluded those from the original dataset anyway, and they are a lot harder to find.

Five slice shops raised their prices since my last visit:

• Joe’s Pizza went from $3 in 2021 to $4 in 2023 (I think they’re flying too close to the sun)

• L&B Spumoni went from $2.50 in 2014 to $4 in 2023 (The pizza here is just fine. People confuse the good vibes for great pizza)

• Margherita Pizza on Jamaica Ave. went from $3.50 in 2021 to $3.75 in 2023 (a reasonable and well-deserved price hike considering how much slice they give you)

• Family Pizza on Flatbush Ave. went from $2.75 in 2020 to $3.00 in 2023 (no comment)

• Gianni’s on Myrtle Ave. went from $2.25 in 2014 to $3.00 in 2023 (This is a no-frills classic slice place so them hitting the $3 mark makes sense)

I spent $99.36 on slices in 2023. This figure excludes whole pies and Domino’s Pizza. The most expensive slice was a pepperoni at Di Fara’s for $6, which was not nearly as good as I remembered. That price still beats the insulting $6.53 pepperoni slice I had at Artichoke in Midtown in 2021.

Napoli’s Best on Tremont closed sometime last year after 60 years in business, but I have a new favorite place in the Bronx: Tommy’s Pizza in Throgg’s Neck. It’s an amazing classic slice, and it’s still $3.

Damn this slice at Tommy’s in Throggs Neck was really good and it was $3

You can help me buy my next slice by subscribing to this newsletter or throwing me a couple bucks on Patreon. You can browse all the data on NYC Slice.