A staple of the American diet imported long ago from Italy, and revered by legions of kids across generations, a hot slice of perfect pizza is a thing to behold, to appreciate, to devour.
And like most other things on the South Fork, there is a wealth of excellent pizza options here. The staff of The Star volunteered to taste some of the local offerings; twist our arm, whydontcha?
Here's what we came up with after an afternoon of pizza delight, courtesy of American Pie (Bridgehampton Commons), Springs Pizza (841 Springs-Fireplace Road, Springs), Fierro's (104 Park Place, East Hampton, and 54 South Erie Avenue, Montauk), and La Capannina (364 Montauk Highway, Wainscott).
The Bee Sting, a specialty slice by Springs Pizza, was the overall winner of the afternoon. With its fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, pepperoni cups, and chili honey drizzle, eight hungry adults universally agreed they'd eat it again.
"Love, love, love it!" said Zach Zunis, advertising sales manager. Durell Godfrey, photographer, commented: "Pretty to look at. Interesting combo, slight Asian flavor." Bess Rattray, co-editor of The Star's East magazine, liked the sweet heat and called it "a fun specialty slice." Carissa Katz, managing editor, put it this way: "The combination of a light, airy crust -- not thin but not guilt-inducing -- chunky marinara with a bit of a spicy kick, quality pepperoni, and the sweet finish of hot honey makes this slice a standout I'd go out of my way for."
The Star also tried a Hawaiian slice from American Pie, topped with ham and pineapple. Having never had this kind of slice before, here was my own reaction: "My virgin tongue was pleasantly surprised by this flavor combo. Where have you been all my life!"
Irene Silverman, editor at large, enjoyed a vegetable slice by Fierro's. "If your kids won't eat veggies, feed them this! They'll love it," she said. Denis Hartnett, a reporter and the newest addition to The Star's team, had this to say: "Good array of veggies. The cheese ties it all together. Bit of a good kick." Ms. Godfrey noted that "it will collapse on your lap if you eat it with a paper plate."
An "always good and predictable" (also Ms. Godfrey's words) pepperoni slice came courtesy of La Capannina. "It tasted like I'm 14 years old spoiling my dinner after riding bikes with my friends all afternoon. Classic."
And now for the classic cheese slices.
Fierro's tickled our taste buds the best, much as we imagine it also does for the hordes of middle schoolers who come in seeking slices. Mr. Hartnett described it as having "good cheese consistency" and "well-seasoned sauce." Ms. Rattray said it was "a bit saltier than the others, which I actually like." Russell Bennett, our classified manager, called it "the best of the regular pies."
Of American Pie's cheese slice, Mr. Hartnett described it as having "good sauce" and "a herbaceous" taste. Ms. Silverman liked its after-taste.
Ms. Rattray suspected La Capannina is "using a different cheese blend than the others." She enjoyed its "very thin crust, very melty cheese."
And the Springs slice "is how classic pizza should taste," Ms. Silverman said, having enjoyed its "good cheese" and "nice, airy, crunchy crust."
The Star also tasted a white slice from each pizzeria, favoring American Pie's. At a place where specialty slice options are plentiful, to have a staple like a white slice stand out this much is a real feather in the cap. I liked this one best and imagine my ricotta-obsessed mother would love it, too. Ms. Rattray described it as "more flavorful, saltier, tastier."
Fierro's white slice was also a hit. "Yum! I don't usually like white pizza, but this was good," Ms. Silverman said. Mr. Hartnett said it had a good consistency and Ms. Rattray called it "very creamy."
The La Capannina slice was the white pizza that made me like white pizza for the first time. Mr. Bennett said it had "good flavor and plenty of topping." Ms. Godfrey thought it tasted like "a mozzarella grilled-cheese sandwich."
The Springs slice was enjoyable for its well-rounded flavor and nice peppery kick, in my opinion. Mr. Zunis also enjoyed the red-pepper flakes.
In conclusion, here's where we add a big disclaimer -- it was impossible to try a slice from every pizza joint around in a single afternoon, so it wouldn't be right to crown just one winning pie, per se. But suffice it to say, fans of New York pizza will find favorite flavors in abundance on the South Fork.
Do you have a favorite slice we didn't try? Email us at [email protected] with a photo of the slice, the name of the pizzeria, and a sentence or two telling us why you love it. We'll publish a select list of reader favorites online next week.
