The problem with the "fresh pie theory" is that it's nearly impossible to get a fresh pie, especially on a busy night, because they make so many pies in advance and just toss them back into the oven whole to get a nice re-heat. You have to be very lucky or know exactly when the pies are first made and request a fresh slice to actually get one.

This looks incredible. Benares got written up by Time Out last week too in a Times Square/Hell's Kitchen roundup, and there's a nice photograph of an okra dish that I can't seem to identify. Maybe its the achari bhindi?

Here's the Time Out story:
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/food-drink/the-ultimate-times-square-eating-and-drinking-guide

There's not much left to be said at this point since no one is going to say something everyone agrees on - it's NY, after all - but one thing I can say as an Artichoke fan (Margherita, Artichoke and Sicilian) is that while their pizza is wildly inconsistent from pie to pie, from location to location, the one on 17th street and 10th avenue is BY FAR the worst in quality and consistency. I've eaten there once and walked out the other two times because the pies just looked awful; burnt and with oversized end crust.

Whichever location you do go to, everyone's right, the crust is the worst part of the pizza - except on the buttery Sicilian - but you're really going for the sinful gloppiness of the pizza. It's a great late night slice. When else can you feel like you're making the best decision for your diet and New York pizza conscience? I've never sought it out before midnight.

Finally made it here the other day and while the Grandma is delicious - thinner than most but still springy and crisp - all the other slices were pretty excellent, especially the non-purist carbonara covered with parmesan cream sauce and crispy bits of bacon. I like that John, the pizzaiola and owner, uses cubes of mozz on his pizzas instead of shredded. It melts nicely and doesn't over take his thin slices which somehow, as I mentioned before, remain springy, light and crisp all at once. A modern marvel.

@Jester99 Could not agree more, this burger was just bad. The patty was grey and lifeless, the pastrami decent. What I don't understand is why would you want to replace the thin, fatty, crisp edged strips of pastrami for this one-note concoction?

How does it work with your reviews if you have all these behind the scenes photos? Do you come in first unannounced and eat the burger and then call after to come in and do an interview? This burger looks awesome and I'm not taking anything away from the chef and the restaurant or your review, but unless that's the way you do things, there's almost no way we can be guaranteed we're getting our $17 worth the way you did. Did you even have to pay for the burger?

Weakest part about this place is that there's no fries. Best part are the Australian beers. I liked the burger with the Sweet Chili Sauce better than the classic with egg and beets. But if I'm going for Australian food in Nolita I'm going to Eight Mile Creek for some serious grub.

Trainwreck Cheese Fries at Virgil's Real BBQ may be my favorite. Bacon and jalapeno cheese fries, order the Ranch dressing on the side and you're in the money. Here's a great round up of some of my other favorite fries:

http://nycfoodguy.com/2008/03/28/nyc-food-guy-recommends-french-fries/

I'm confused.

How do you define the list that we're reading today? As an avid reader of the Serious Eats family of sites for at least six years, and as someone who has seen consistent love for the majority of the places on this list, I would call this list "Serious Eats NYC Pizza Bucket List: NYC Pizza You Must Try Before You Die."

When you say "best pizza" to a serious NYC pizza lover, it's a pretty open ended statement.

You could be talking about:

- best pie (DiFara, Totonno's)
- best classic NYC style slice (Sal & Carmine's)
- best specialty slice (Patsy's Harlem, Artichoke, Best Pizza)
- best specialty pie (Paulie G's, LB, Motorino, Pier 76)

With the amount of edit you guys pump out everyday (and the level of detail you typically achieve), it would absolutely be worth breaking things down to these categories because it will allow you to give a lot more places their due and also allow you to have more fun, which in the end, is what this is all about.

Ed, Kenji, Kuban, thoughts?

Lawrence
NYCFoodGuy.com

The burger is fine. Not bad, not great. I was honestly expecting more.

It looks a lot better than it tastes in my opinion.

The special sauce and the onions doesn't really add much flavor and the tall construction coupled with the slightly rigid bun induces a lot of sliding around and forced re-arranging of ingredients.

Personally, I think a bun that's a little more squish-able and crave-worthy, as well as the addition of bacon, would really add a lot to this burger.

The fries, mind you, are delicious. Crisp, thin and melt-in-your mouth wafery.

Honestly, the best thing I had last time was ordered off-menu, it was a side of honey biscuits which usually comes with the fried chicken.

Does the best slice have to be only a Neapolitan? I think we can all agree that NY Pizza Suprema is the best slice on this corner but the best slice AT NY Pizza Suprema is definitely the upside down Sicilian. Seems like you may be missing out on the real "best corner slices" by only evaluating Neapolitans. It also seems like you'll just be making a lot more work for yourselves if you limit yourself to the plain isosceles because then you'll have to do a "Best Sicilian Corner Slice" column and a "Best Specialty Corner Slice" column. Then again, all we really have is time...

That being said, I would love to see a round-up of the best, classic Sicilian slices in New York City. This doesn't mean places like Adrienne's Pizza Bar or slices like Maffei's Grandma, which is more airy than most Grandma slices I've encountered.

There aren't many places left where pizzaiola seem to be taking the time to make dough specifically for Sicilian pies, giving them the proper time to rise and become the light, airy, buttery pieces of pizza perfection we truly desire. Most are just doughy bricks which can only be enjoyed when fresh out of the oven before the sauce and cheese become a little hat that all comes off in one re-heated bite.

Right now, my top three CLASSIC Sicilian slices are (not just 5 boroughs):
1) Umberto's Pizza - New Hyde Park, Long Island
2) Gino's VillaMonte (Richmond Avenue Location) - Staten Island
3) Vinny Vincenz - East Village, Manhattan (especially when fresh. If you order a Sicilian pie for delivery, make sure to ask for well done)

Any other thoughts?

Best thing to do is go with a friend and get:

Two Chalah Egg & Cheese Sandwiches and one order of crispy potato pancakes (two per order). Proceed to place the potato pancake inside the sandwich and enjoy. Heaven.