On 5/20/2023 at 8:11 AM, weinoo said:EaterNY has run a piece entitled: The Future of Classic New York Slice Shops Hangs in the Balance.
I devoted about 15 years of my life towards trying to preserve the slices of my youth. For the most part, it's been a lost cause. The classic slice has been on the brink of extinction for decades. With the recent explosion in the popularity of pizza, I think the slice is a little better off than it used to be, but, it's still on life support. If you know where to look, it can be found, but, it can take a tremendous investment of time and energy to stay up on what's current. Since most folks aren't a position to do that, the classic slice is now only for a very small number of people. And, no, it's not DiFara's and, I'm sorry, but Joe's is good, but it's not what the classic slice can be.
I'm not saying that there isn't a lot of great pizza to be had. But unpretentious old school fare achieving it's full potential... good luck. So, from that perspective I can share in Wiener's lament. The saddest part of the near death of the classic slice is that practically no one is going to be able to experience that bliss.
Out of everything, though, closures are the most insignificant threat. Novelty (Let's grind wheat berries in the basement! Let's add polydextrose and lecithin to the dough!), evolving equipment (our new oven is 20% more energy efficient than the old one!), paranoia (bromate causes cancer!), corning cutting by ingredient manufacturers ,apathy, ego, and ignorance- those are what's had the greatest impact on the slice's demise. Closures are more of a symptom than the root cause.
