Four Slices, Four Bucks
One business that’s booming in this shitty economy is the one dollar pizza place. You can hardly walk more than a couple blocks in Manhattan without walking by one. We did ketchup yesterday, so I thought I’d continue in this saucy post tradition by sampling one dollar slices in four very different locations and report about this experience today. And so, armed with four bucks, here we go. (The pizza ratings go from the worst at one slice to the best at four slices. Please note: this rating system is for one buck pizza places only, not your normal slice outlets or pizzeria’s.)
Armed with four bucks, it's off we go in search of four random dollar slices.
Olympia Finest Deli
The first stop is Olympia Finest Deli. I think it takes some balls to call yourself the "finest" deli in a city where there's a deli on every block, let's go in and see if they live up to this boast.
It's nice and clean in here, but I don't know if it's the finest deli in Manhattan, maybe in Olympia, but I've seen better in Manhattan. Let's go find the one dollar pizza in here.
And there it is, time to sample the first slice.
Playing on the name, I asked this gentleman if this was the finest one buck slice in town, he gave me a thumbs up.
If that truly is the finest deli in town, you'd think there'd be a place to sit, but there's not, but there's some tables not in use at the bar next door, so let's sample this slice over there.
Olympia Finest Deli Rating
The slice: Very scary looking. The sauce and cheese were somewhat congealed and I almost threw up while eating the bite I took, it tasted like pure grease on cardboard. I threw the rest of it in the trash and feel sorry for the poor homeless person that has to make do with it for dinner.
Overall pizza eating experience: There’s nowhere in the deli to eat the slice, which is fine by me, I’m never eating pizza there again.
Pizza Rating—One Slice
Olympia Finest Deli
761 Ave Of The Americas (Between 25th and 26th St.)
212-924-5074
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2 Brothers Pizza
I believe 2 Brothers Pizza are the people that started this whole dollar pizza slice craze a couple of years ago, so I thought we should sample one of their slices.
I"ve never seen this before, usually there's always a line in here, maybe the economy is getting better after all!
Here's an aerial shot of one of their pies. Time to sample slice number two.
2 Brothers Pizza Rating
The slice: The pizza itself isn’t horrible, it really isn’t anything. It has literally no taste to it. It’s like eating a hot slice of nothing. It’s the Seinfeld Slice. The crust is very limp, maybe they should add Viagra into the pizza dough.
Overall pizza eating experience: The ambience in this place is equal parts sweatshop, pizzeria and parking garage. There’s almost always a line in here and when I pass by this song always plays in my mind.
Pizza Rating: Two Seinfelds 
2 Brothers Pizza
601 6th Ave. (Between 17th and 18th St.)
212-206-8656
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Gray’s Papaya
It was a sad day for me when I found out that Gray's Papaya in Greenwich Village had not only caved in to the dollar pizza game, they took it one cent lower and have a 99 cent slice. They should really just stick to what they're good at and that is great hot dogs, but let's go see what they have to offer in the way of cheap pizza.
The signage says that they're strictly hot dogs...
But this sad reflection while gazing at some weiners on the griddle says something else entirely.
And here's the pizzas on display at Gray's Papaya. I'd love to just have a hot dog and get out of here, but I'm a man on a mission.
Wow, this guy looks like he's serving me up my last supper, I don't feel too good about this!
Gray’s Papaya Rating
The slice: Another limp dick slice. It’s got a weird taste, kind of like they melted butter on it and it leaves a bad after taste in your mouth.
Overall pizza eating experience: Eating a one dollar slice at a Gray’s Papaya instead of a hot dog just feels wrong, kind of like making out with your grandmother. If you come here, stick with the dogs, you can’t go wrong with them!
Pizza Rating: One Slice
Gray’s Papaya
402 Sixth Ave. (@8th St.)
212-260-3532
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Percy’s Pizza
Here's Percy's Pizza on Bleecker Street. The NY Post recently ran a feature declaring this the best one buck slice in town, so I had to check it out.
Now this place looks like a pizzeria and there's a decent crowd in here, looks like other people saw that feature, let's go check it out.
On the right is Percy's pizza chef, Giacomo Lattaruli, with the gentleman who was working the counter. It's a friendly place in here.
They had sold out of the plain slices when I got there and Giacomo told me it would be a few minutes till more were ready from the oven. I decided to splurge and spent $1.50 for the pepperoni slice. It looks really good!
Percy’s PIzza Rating
The slice: I like it better than the usual slices found at Ray’s type pizza joints. The dough is crisp and the cheese and sauce are spicy and tasty. The NY Post rated this as the best one dollar slice in New York and I wholeheartedly agree. I will come back for more!
Overall pizza eating experience: It’s a narrow space, but the faux brick wall and polished wooden tables make it feel like a real pizzeria. Giacomo is a friendly guy and he puts the other one dollar pizza makers to shame!
Pizza Rating: Four Slices
Percy’s
190 Bleecker St. (near MacDougal)
Further Reading: NY Times, Serious Eats—Slice and Slice Harvester.
A Cheesy Post, Dough Re Mi, One Buck Pizza Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 9:35AM
Reader Comments (30)
Ever have a white pizza? With all mozzarella cheese, no red sauce at all, sometimes with broccoli but it's better without. White cheese is now the only pizza I now prefer, get it in Niew Joisey, so there ;)
For a dollar,,,you get what you pay for,,,,a pizza made for the masses with little flavor and no heart. Yet people buy the stuff. Ever been to Di Fara in Brooklyn? I have and it's worth the trip,,,always been the best pizza anywhere, just my opinion.
That last one looks the best, by far. I remember having one of the worst pizza slices of my entire life at a Ray's on the UES, across 2nd and up a ways from Reif's. Thank goodness there was beer and vodka after to soothe my aching tummy. When I was at Ohio U., there was a pizza place called Late Night that featured a mashed potato pie, with taters, cheese, bacon, and green onions. It was delicious, but weighed approximately 15 pounds. That's Ohio for you.
that slice from grays papaya looks really gross! did you eat all four slices? the last one definitely looks like the best! as al said you get what you pay for! i've had a dollar slice at 7-eleven and that almost made me hurl!
@Mykola Mick Dementiuk: I've had white pizza and it's great. You won't find it at a dollar pizza place, that's for sure!
@Al: I've never been to Di Fara. I'll definitely check it out, thanks for the tip!
@Biff: The last slice was great, hard to believe it was a dollar slice! That mashed potato pie sounds like something that would taste great after a night of drinking but you'd regret it the next morning!
@Bobby D: I didn't eat all four slices. I pretty much took one bite out of the first three to sample them and then tossed the slice in the garbage. I did eat the last slice though and it was delicious!
You should have dipped all of those slices in some Hidden Valley Ranch ! Should have bought those "to-go" containers yesterday !
Here in Harrisburg suburbia, those heinous slices of pizza would cost you $3 a piece and taste just as bad.
(I had a pithy "on-the-go" cups of ranch dressing comment locked and loaded but Gene beat me to the punch)
It appears that Buck and his buddy raided Porter Wagoner's closet for that number :)
I remember the old days in Joisey when i'd get a whole pie for 4 bucks near my grandmas...
I like floppy and big.. fold in half.. real olive oil,
not the veggie or canola crap.
not prepackaged cheese and definitely no yellow cheese..
It had to be so thin that the cheese itself was the same level as the crust.
and the flavor melted in your mouth...
marty you are freakin hysterical. thanks for the laughs!!
@GENE: Ha ha ha! Good one!
@roadsidewonders: You've got to be quick on the draw to beat Gene! That does sound like a Porter song! I think of it every time I walk by there!
@Gidget: Four bucks for a whole pie? That's a sweet deal! I like thin crust pizza best too!
@glamma: Thanks! Glad you got a chuckle out of this!
Well, you know what they say: Pizza is like sex. Even when it's bad, it's good. You have just DISPROVED that adage!
Thanks Marty for tracking the hidden economic indicators which the Wall Street Journal doesn't calculate in its metrics.
That and finding the silver lining in rather dark clouds.
@Katrink: Ha ha ha! How true! It's hard to ruin pizza, but here's three real good examples of how to do it!
@csp: Maybe a job with the WSJ is in the future as the pizza economics analyst. And that lining isn't really silver, more the color of a tomato!
Marty i was a kid then i'm sure its not more than ten now though...
i'm still getting used to square slices here.. but i really fucking hate deep dish.
that shit grosses me out..
Auditioning one dollar slices, you are a far braver man than me.
There used to be a place in the Bronx, don't remember the name, that would make rediculously oversized pizzas and their slices were more like two and a half slices. It wasn't half bad and cost the same as a regular slice.
My current favorite spot for pizza is Giuseppiena's in Park Slope in Brooklyn. They only make pizzas and calzones, a bit pricey but well worth it.
In France there is no Dollar Pizza, in fact there is no Dollar ( which would be 75.8 Cents ) & there is no slice, you have to buy a whole pie. They do have small pies & put all sorts of stuff on it, not like New York. I once got one with a sunny side egg on it, & it actually was very good being I like sunny side eggs. The Pizza here I like allot is the one with Duck, but I always prefer the Veggie Pizza . I looked every where there is no slice you can buy.
Hotdogs here too are on bread not a bun & no sauerkraut or onions, but I did find street meat sausages on bread with peppers & onions for 3 euros at The Arab Flea Market. The French do eat French Fries with Mayo & even put it on sausages. You can buy a Beer at Mc Donalds & there seating is much more comfortable then New York, they also have Fresh Croissants.
Supermarkets also don't have ammonia, but other chemicals which New York don't have, & I can't find Heinz & I know they sell it, but where.
Oh I forgot, they do have Pizza Hut !
When I lived in Jersey City like ten years ago there were two pizza places next door to each other. You know what that means, right? Yep, pizza wars! Well only one of them was actually fighting -- they sold one slice for a buck, but the slice was half a medium pizza, so it was really like three slices for a buck. The other place had normal prices. Guess which one had the shittier pizza? Right! The cheaper one. But I was young and poor and often a little tipsy, so I usually went for the $1 one.
This seems relevant to the discussion. Dig in!
Pizza at Gray's - tragic. This has been my go-to hot dog place for 28 years ... Pizza in England was always fairly horrible (tuna, sweetcorn, pineapple toppings!) though it's improved over the years.
@Gidget: I hate deep dish too and I really hate Chicago deep dish, that shit is like a casserole!
@DaveW: I'll have to check out Giuseppiena's, thanks for the tip! I was in Park Slope tonight and you can read about that tomorrow!
@JHwang: Cool that McDonald's has beer there and funny that there's Pizza Huts in France, there's no escape!
@Spike: When you're young and tipsy the buck slice always wins. In fact, sometimes it wins when you're old and drunk! I've eaten more buck slices than I care to admit!
@csp: Ha ha ha! Love that it's made by Pfizer!
@onemorefoldedsunset: In total agreement about Gray's, maybe they need the money, but how much can you make off 99 cent slices? Tuna on pizza? Aaaahhh!
Marty, I've had that dollar pizza at 3am after a shitload of Rum & Beer, only then does it sorta taste good.
My favorites are Waldy's Wood Fired pizza , 800 6th Ave & 3 of Cups in New York,NY
They even have Basil plants & clippers so you can put what you want on your mini pie.
@Danny the Freelancer: I've had the Waldy's pizza and it's really good, some of NYC's best pizza for sure!
Good investigative report today Jimmy!
Percy, I mean Perry White will be proud of you!
We'll tag up soon. Been a hectic week.
Great post today Daddio!
Neapolitan style pizza has been making some noise in NYC lately. I find them to be way overpriced and not that great. I like the old skool NYC pizza best.
Ogh, bad pizza is the worst. I guess you get what you pay for. Hooray for Percy’s for not totally sucking!
@"Boris:" Thanks, Daddio! Let's try and yak over the weekend.
@Marco: I've never had a Neapolitan slice and I like the old school slices best too.
@meleah: Hooray to Percy's indeed for saving this pizza day!
Bring back the $1.00 hot dog!
@roscoe george: To the dollar dog!
What a great experiment. Even from the photographs I could tell that Percy’s wins hands down.
Looks delish!