Pizza's regional variations can divide the nation. New York City's thin-crust pizza is said to be the best in the nation. When Pizza Hut reintroduced its Big New Yorker Pizza, I had to see if it could match the real thing.
The Big New Yorker Pizza, introduced in 1999, was popular but short-lived. Customers have petitioned Change.org and Reddit for its return for over a decade. Could it beat two real New York City slices?
Joe's Pizza and a local $1 slice were compared to Pizza Hut's The Big New York. To remain impartial, I chose two New York-style pizza shops I had never tried. I rated each slice on presentation, taste, and price. From worst to best:
Manhattan has hundreds of $1 slice pizza shops. Locals and tourists looking for a cheap, jumbo slice of authentic NY-style pizza frequent them. I bought a $2 pepperoni slice to compare it to the other two pizzas in this taste test (due to the additional topping).
This slice of pizza looks like what you pay for. The pepperoni slices were huge, which I love, but they didn't look right. They weren't crisp after baking. The crust was too thin and burned at the top. As I took a picture, bubbly cheese made my mouth water.
Taste: I've had some great $1 pepperoni pizza slices, but I wouldn't go back to this pizza shop. Pepperoni slices tasted as unappealing as they looked. They were dry and rubbery.
Cheese outnumbered sauce nearly 2:1. The pizza crust was too doughy and tasted like paper underneath. This pizza might be good after a few drinks for a carb fix.