The Pizza Capital of the World might be in Italy, but the Pizza Capital of the United States is obviously New York City. Obviously. We have round pies, square pies, pies that are only corner slices (the best pieces, obviously,) thin crust, thick crust, for a dollar or for $20. And now, we have oblong pizzas. And it's all thanks to Washington D.C. export, &pizza.
Oblong...Pizza?
Yes, oblong pizza. I heard about this place on JustOpenedNYC, another publication that I write for, and I knew I had to check it out. Eater also called it one of the best new pizza spots in NYC, so I wanted to see what the hype was about.
And hype was exactly what I got. I walked into the West 28th street shop to one of Kendrick's new bangers and watched the staff rap and dance along to the music. I later learned that those behind &pizza pride themselves on individuality and letting their freak flag fly, from the customers to the employees running the joint. This was something I could totally get behind.
Not only that, &pizza's menu varies location to location, in every city they're based in. The walls are adorned with art from local NYC artists, the unique soda flavors (like Milk Bar Cereal Milk Cream Soda & Ginger Berry Lemonade mixed with Pear & Fig Soda) are custom-made with mixing suggestions, and all of the pizza toppings are locally sourced.
Each location allows you to DIY your own pie, (no matter which toppings or sauces you choose, the pizza will almost always come out $10,) or you can choose from a variety of tried and true combinations, also for a solid $10.
I tried the American Honey pie, with pepperoni, spicy tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula, red pepper, goat cheese, and hot honey, featuring honey from NYC's own Mike's Hot Honey.
Fortunately for me, I don't have to walk up (or test my luck on the NQRW) to West 28th Street for long...&pizza is opening up on Astor Place this fall. Even if you're not in NYC or D.C., &pizza has a total of 22 locations, so you just might be lucky enough to be near one.