Find me a single person that dislikes Slice on Broadway. I dare you. Watch the video above and try and find a severe flaw.
It's impossible. Helmed by Rico Lunardi, Slice on Broadway is a pizza shop that is slowly taking over Pittsburgh pizza. His aggressive and intelligent expansion has earned him a spot in PNC Park, replacing the bland Diamond Pizza shop. A win for all parties involved.
Rico's mission is to build out consistently delicious pizza and, basically, ensure that everyone in Pittsburgh has access to amazing pizza. He shows no signs of slowing down which is a boon for everyone in the area.
I'm a big fan of what Rico has accomplished, heck the guy even got the mayor to declare April 14th as the official Slice on Broadway day in the city! If you haven't eaten a slice of Slice on Broadway, do yourself a favor and go to one of his locations this week.
What I Order
Rico stocks his shops with rare meats for a pizza shop: I always get a pie with soppressata.
Slice on Broadway is well documented for their craft and passion for pizza. Rico, the owner, routinely delivers a delicious pie. Whether he's playing around with artisan ingredients or serving up hundreds of slices to hungry Pirate fans, you can rely on Slice on Broadway's quality. When I saw they serving up sicilian pies at their PNC Park location I knew I had to stop down.
Sicilian Pizza is on the rise. I'm not sure if it's out of boredom, but I'm noticing more pizza makers experimenting with a dough that's ferments a bit longer and rises to the edge of a very deep pan.
Rico is always tinkering around and his latest masterpiece is this Sicilian pizza that's only available on Fridays.
Here's the Tomato Pie waiting to be plucked from it's habitat.This cross-section exposes every aspect of the pizza. The liquid parts of the crushed tomatoes have seeped into the browned crust, leaving behind a tomato laminate. On top of that is a healthy dose of parmesan cheese and oregano.
After one bite of this pizza you'll realize how flavorful a pizza can be without cheese. The sprinkle of parmesan offers a nice bite, but the crushed tomatoes mixed with oregano and savory crust fill your mouth with flavor.
Like any great sicilian, there's a nice crunch followed by a cushion of dough. Now, this isn't as soft in the middle of other sicilians I've had. It's actually quite hearty. It avoids tasting too much like a hunk of sourdough bread, which isn't easy to do. As it turns out sourdough bread and sicilian dough are molecularly quite similar.
I'd highly recommend the tomato pie to anyone that wanders into Slice on Broadway on a Friday. The crushed tomatoes are flesh and flavorful, and there's just enough seasoning to bring out bold flavors.
Kudos to Rico and his team for delivering a delicious and well-rounded sicilian pie. I look forward to making Slice a part of my Friday lunch ritual!
Welcome to the top 9 pizza moments in the Pittsburgh Steel City, Baby. I was looking back at this year through the lens of a pizza journalist and thought to myself, “Wow, this has been an incredibly wonderful year for everyone involved in Pittsburgh pizza.” That’s right! That means you, the pizza consumer, and even you, the pizza maker!
Pizza is glorious. I could stop typing after that and you’d nod your head in agreement. But for real—there is no food that inspires passion and community like pizza does. We gather around it, we sing its praises and it’s something we eat a few times a week no questions asked. The last line Frank Sinatra sings in the song It’s Nice to go Traveling (a song about seeing the very best sights in the world) is “make a pizza.” The dude travels the world and when he comes back all he wants is to kick his shoes off and make a pizza.
That’s the power of pizza.
So. Pittsburgh is a place you can’t go to a bar more than twice without becoming best friends with the bartender. It’s friendly and has more pockets of communities than the roads have potholes. So it goes without saying that Pittsburgh has a strong pizza presence. Especially so in 2015.
I wanted to run down my nine favorite pizza events that happened in Pittsburgh in 2015. So here's 9-7
9: Andrew W.K. Threw a Pizza Party in Pittsburgh
If you’ve eaten at Spak Brothers you’ve seen this photo of Andrew W.K. with a pizza guitar they have hanging by the register. The dude loves to party and he knows the number one ingredient for a party: pizza. In a recent advice column he says, “Pizza is a state of mind. Pizza is way of looking at the world. Pizza is part of a true belief that we as humans can create our own sources of true joy. And the joy that pizza brings is real and tangible. “
Andrew W.K. could easily be the poster child for pizza and the fact that he made it to Pittsburgh to throw a pizza party is incredible. Of all the cities! Wondering how enamored with pizza he is? Read his advice column where he counsels a pizza addled youth.
8: Slice on Broadway gets their own day! April 14
I Love what Rico has done with Slice on Broadway. He went from one shop serving up pizzas with prosciutto and soppressata to multiple shops. He’s passionate, overly friendly and a pizza entrepreneur.
His pizza shops bubble with life and I’ll bet my pizza license that after you have one slice of Rico’s pizza you’ll be a lifetime convert. It’s fresh, exciting and delicious. It takes something classic and adds a modern spin. Something that is very Pittsburgh.
Well, let me just quote the official document stating that April 14th is Slice on Broadway Day in Pittsburgh.
“Whereas, Slice on Broadway, owned and operated by Rico Lunardi, has become a beloved Beechview neighborhood institution, and;
Whereas, Slice’s success has helped contribute to the ongoing renaissance and redevelopment of Broadway Avenue, which has in recent years become a dining destination for people from all over the city, and;
Whereas, Rico and his employees have never deviated from day one from their mission to deliver the “best darn pizza, sandwiches and salads money can buy,” and;
Whereas, Slice makes it a priority to make everything by scratch using the highest quality ingredients and pizza-making methods, including whole tomatoes and dough made fresh daily, and;"
7: Pizza Taglio & Slice Island & Bread & Salt Open
A slice from Pizza Taglio.
It was on a cold January night that a bright star shined above Pittsburgh. It was the start of 2015 and all was well in Pittsburgh. Things were popping along and the city was poised to grace many a top-10 list.
Like the three kings of legend wandering towards a bright light—three Pittsburgh pizza makers were inspired to set up pizza shops underneath the Pittsburgh umbrella. Yes, in 2015 we saw the opening of three of the most innovative, progressive, delicious and outstanding pizza shops.
Bread & Salt was first, opening on January 30th. I stopped in February after they opened hoping to get some pizza. Unfortunately, their system wasn’t what it was now and they didn’t have any! They've come a long way since then (which we'll get to later!). They are one of the first places to serve pizza al taglio in Pittsburgh.
Pizza Taglio is headed up by Tony, who I think might sacrifice his own life in order to get the finest / freshest ingredients into his shop. When I first met him he talked to me for 15 minutes about the nuance of the cheese he purchased.
Slice Island, a pizzeria in the Spirit Lodge, is run by the folks behind the fan-favorite Pizza Boat. They docked their ship to open up a traditional shop. They serve boxes of pizza that are so simple and complex it’s like eating a paradox.
Slice Island Peppers and Sausage
These three pizza makers are cutting edge. They’re making pizza that you could only get in the depths of New York years ago. It’s some of the best pizza Pittsburgh will ever see and it all happened in 2015.
Alright! That's part one of my three part review of Pittsburgh pizza. I'll be posting parts 2 & 3 tomorrow. Honestly, there was a lot of pizza happenings and it took some strategy to get the list down to 9. There has never been a better time to be eating pizza in Pittsburgh.
Hey! You’re reading the second week of the Pittsburgh Pizza Update! This is great news because it means Pittsburgh is bursting with pizza news. The Pittsburgh Pizza scene is rising faster than dough overloaded with yeast and set in a humid, warm room.
I think we owe a lot of this growth to the recent changes in Pittsburgh and influx of adventurous young people. I don’t know the best way to describe it, but Tony from Pizza Taglio does. He believes the reason we have such an insurgence in great pizzerias is due to the idea of “the hipster.” Which is in no way derogatory here. It’s a way to say people care about trying new things.
Which is why Tony can serve a pizza drizzled with honey, or a square pizza fused with cauliflower. Or why Bread & Salt can open up blocks back from Liberty Ave—Pittsburgh folks are seeking out new experiences which means these rad new places can thrive.
Just thinking about it gets me really hyped up. Let’s get to some updates.
One of Many “Best Pizza in Pittsburgh” Discussions
I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. And I found a Pittsburgh Podcast called “Is That Your Kid?” where they discuss pizza. I don’t think they always discuss pizza (or it’d be called “Is That Your Pizza?”), but in this episode the cast eats and argues about Fiori’s, Pizza Milano, Bet’s, Slice on Broadway and Giovanni’s.
You can listen to that here. Being able to hear these discussions is important. It’s such a hot topic and there is no right answer, but being able to discuss the pros and cons for something as “simple” and “basic” as pizza helps you appreciate pizza on a whole other level. You’ll begin to notice the crust in unusual ways. And the cheese will seem different. And soon you’ll understand that sometimes it’s not about the quantity of pizza, but love and passion poured into each and every slice.
Portable Pizza Sure is All the Rage
This summer the concrete seas of Pittsburgh may be without our precious Pizza Boat, but it looks like there will be other portable pizzas around town.
Urban Pie is the newest addition to the fleet. They may be setting sail this May and they’re available for all your events that are in desperate needs of a pizza oven (which are all events).
Will they hit some choppy seas? Either way, it’s awesome to have more mobile pizza in the city. I’ll keep an eye on Urban Pie and update the site with any updates.
Slice on Broadway Recognized by the Pittsburgh City Council
Last week, Slice on Broadway was given their own day in Pittsburgh. For now on, every April 14 will be “Slice on Broadway Day” in Pittsburgh. And they deserve this and every award they receive. I spoke with Rico a few months back and he cares so deeply for his community. Plus, his pizza is out of this world.
Here’s a video I put together on Slice on Broadway.
Some Pizza Photos
I visited Pizza Taglio and Carhop’s pizza last week. Expect a full write-up later this week. In the mean time, here’s some photos to tide you over.
Alright! That’s the second Pittsburgh Pizza Update. I’m working on some interviews, videos, and more which I’ll sprinkle into the website in the coming days. If you like what you read tell your friend! Tell your favorite message board! Tell a pizza shop! Or sign up for my pizza newsletter!
Slice on Broadway sits along the train line in Beechview. Rico, one of the founders of Slice on Broadway, brings fresh toppings, meats and cheeses to your traditional New York style pizza.
Slice on Broadway is unassuming. At first glance you’d think it was just another shop trying to compete with Fiori’s. But it’s more than that, it’s delicious, fresh and friendly. Rico spares no expense when it comes to pizza. Every bite and crunch of a crust emits a “thank you.” It’s like Rico and his team make every pie especially for you, their valued customer.
How do you get to the pizza equivalent of Broadway? Train hard, stay focused, eat pizza and don’t spill any pizza sauce on your nice clothing.
My pizza pals and I have decided to venture outside of our pizza comfort zone and experience pizza that has grown up on the edge of town. Maybe it’s a little less civilized, rough around the edges, but despite its environment it has turned into a beautiful pie ready to be eaten.
Our first stop is Slice on Broadway. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this place. I’ve heard it’s run by passionate young dudes. I heard that it is located on Broadway Ave in Beechview. I heard they sell pizza.
We’ll find out tonight. We’ll be shooting some video, taking some photos and doing some in-depth pizza investigation.
