Dining ~ Nice Slice Pizzeria ~ Providence

Nice Slice
267 Thayer St.
Providence, Rhode Island

image: serious eats

Before I became a Rhode Islander, no matter where I lived, I considered myself a New Yorker. For those who don't know, New Yorkers are pizza snobs, and with good reason.

While walking down Thayer street, we stopped into Nice Slice on a whim. Their sign said "NY Style Pizza" on the awning, and I was willing to take a chance.

The inside is tailored to the college crowd, with hard rock music, bright colors and street art. Particularly featured is former RISD student Shepard Fairey's "Obey Giant."

The pies are laid out like you'd expect in a NY pizza place, ready to go. Just toss slices in the oven for a couple of minutes, and serve hot on a paper plate. Or they'll make a whole pie fresh. They had an interesting and varied array of toppings, too.

Bear, for some inexplicable reason, wasn't in the mood for pizza, her boyfriend, D, and I were.

He ordered a couple of plain cheese slices:

He pronounced them "okay," (D is not one to show a lot of enthusiasm). He did say the crust was too crispy. I thought it looked like it could use more cheese.

I tried the Cranberry Picnic (dried cranberries, baby spinach, mozzarella/cheddar blend):

It was very good. I'd definitely order it again.

I also tried the white pizza, and had them add meatballs.

Holy monsters it was good! One of the things I really appreciated was that they had sliced meatball to put on the pie. Oftentimes you'll find a pizzeria will either use ground beef, seasoned ground beef, or very small meatballs. I really prefer these well-spiced and thin-sliced ones, spread on the slice like pepperoni. The white pizza itself had the right combination of stringy mozzarella and creamy ricotta and a bit of garlic.

I had to agree with D, though, about the crust. It's a whole wheat/white combination (gluten-free available), that's as flat as a New York pizza, but is crisp rather than chewy. It's foldable without the flop, and a bit smaller than your average New York slice. The edges are as flat as the rest of the crust, where with a true New York style, the edges will rise without the weight of the toppings. So it's not quite New York pizza, but it's still very good.

It's obviously a popular place. We weren't there very long, and still saw some college girls come in and ask to take their picture with the pizza maker as part of a scavenger hunt, and then another couple came in to hang a flyer on the community board.

Obviously used to these kinds of requests, the employees didn't bat an eyelash, and were good-natured about having their pictures taken.

Although I wouldn't call Nice Slice authentic New York style pizza, it's still quite good, and definitely worth going back. The service is good and the atmosphere is friendly. Just don't take your New York pizza-snob friends. :)