Nothing Beats A Slice Of Pizza!
It’s one of the world’s most popular foods: whether you eat it in Italy, or your local pizza joint in any town in the world, what you love is how a slice of pizza looks when loaded up like this:
This is Grandma’s famous pizza, served at New York’s iconic “Famous Original Ray’s Pizza”…
But When Is “Ray’s Pizza” Really “Ray’s Pizza?
If you live in New York, you’d be right to ask this question – because it’s a bit confusing…as stated online:
“Ray’s Pizza, and its many variations such as “Ray’s Original Pizza”, “Famous Ray’s Pizza” and “World-Famous Original Ray’s Pizza”, are the names of dozens of pizzerias in the New York City area that are generally completely independent (a few have multiple locations) but may have similar menus, signs, and logos.”
Yes, it’s easy to be confused!
After the first one opened in 1959, a series of convoluted partnerships, expansions and other business relationships resulted in a number of places that use the name Ray’s in one way or another!
Who owns what name and which location is something I don’t want to dive into, so let’s just go have some pizza!
The entrance to this “Famous Original Ray’s Pizza” is at the top of this picture – near 54th and 7th avenue in New York…as you as you enter the pizza is showcased behind glass for you to choose – the massive pizza ovens you can see on the top right of the picture are ready to heat up whatever you order…here’s my review – a video showing the process, beginning when I enter from outside, order a slice and then bite into it!
I you watched the clip you’ll see me eat this slice of pizza with sausage, pepperoni and mushroom – I folded the crust to get a handle on it and had a big bite:
While there wasn’t a lot of sausage there was plenty of pepperoni and mushroom and it tasted great – just like a slice of pizza should!
The price of a slice varies, but expect to pay $3-$5 a slice based on how many toppings you get.
While there are numerous shops with this name, I didn’t feel the need to taste test them all…but, here’s a bit more history of Rays:
Ralph Cuomo opened the first Ray’s Pizza, at 27 Prince Street in Little Italy, in 1959, named after his nickname “Raffie”.
The first Ray’s Pizza closed its doors on Prince Street in 2011, following a legal dispute over rent and a lease that followed its owner’s death in 2008 – and the space that once housed Ray’s Pizza became Prince Street Pizza – so I headed there to the original location for Ray’s!
Welcome To Prince Street Pizza!
So there I was, standing inside the first ever Ray’s Famous Pizza – now called Prince Street Pizza!
Here’s how they’d describe themselves:
Prince Street Pizza was founded in 2012 by Frank and Dominic Morano, a father-son duo, bringing their family’s Sicilian recipes to the New York pizza scene the family-owned business is known for its rectangular pies, focaccia-style crusts, house-stewed pasta-style sauces and playfully defiant “no ranch” rule of not offering sides of salad dressing, because it would spoil the pizzas’ flavor.
The walls are adorned with many celebrity photos from the place, and just like Ray’s, all of the pies are showcased behind glass – and you realize their philosophy is hard to miss:
They have a large menu to choose from, but I wanted to stay close to what I had at Ray’s, which led me to embrace being a “meat lover”:
Two things to note right away: first, they bake their pizza in a rectangular shape, and serve it that way as well…the second observation is obvious – this one is really packed with sausage and pepperoni!
So, I grabbed my slice and stood against the wall to try it right there, while a steady line down the block waited for their chance to order the prices are similar to Ray’s and in general, New York has fair prices for pizza…and remember, you get what you pay for!
The Verdict On Prince Street Pizza?
Well, the photos gave it away, because this both looks and tastes delicious! The sauce was slightly spicy, the pizza was served piping hot, and the meat was bold and flavorful – a clear delineation between the sausage and pepperoni, both elbowing my taste buds for attention….a delicious slice of pizza!
For those who are new to this blog, I shared the above photo when I had some leftover pizza – click here to see how successfully I turned it into LASAGNA!
Of course pizza is one of the best “leftover foods” to have, so easy to reheat and enjoy, but I wanted to use it in a different way – it tasted good and was a fun experiment to be sure…and you know how I am with experiments in the kitchen:
Remember these “spaghetti-stuffed meatball poppers?”
Well, they are delicious and here is how to make them:
This may be the most unusual food mashup I ever attempted – again using pasta:
Yes, I impales hot dog chunks on dry spaghetti and here’s what happened when I did:
Here is the easy recipe:
And of course, if you REALLY want to impress your friends:
It’s a “Timpano” and it’s incredible!
See the entire recipe here:
If you like what you see, please click on my link and follow this blog as well!
Let me know if you’ve eaten at Famous Ray’s – and if you like the story please share on social media!
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fast Food, Food, Food Pictures, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Wine, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Good sleuthing, John. The photo of the slice says it was well worth the effort.
Thanks Bernadette…it’s funny how many Ray’s pizzas there are, all slightly different but in many ways the same!
A tempting slice I must say, John well worth your investigations into where’s Ray’s Pizzas instead of where’s Wally…
I love the many incarnations of ‘ray’s’ and love that you did the nyc pizza fold
Both of those look superior to any pizza I had in Rome, which was honestly some of the worst pizza I have eaten. I would have had the same toppings as you, and both looked very tasty to me.
Best wishes, Pete.