New York Pizza and Pasta in Anderson, SC

The Facts:

Pizza: New York Pizza and Pasta

Business Category: Locally-owned

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Pizza-and-Pasta/106642760880

Location: 194 Civic Center Blvd. in Anderson, SC (in a small strip mall between Tractor Supply and AmStar Cinema)

Date of Review Visit: July 25, 2015

What I Ordered: Large (16”) pizza with sausage and pepperoni

Price: $16.88 (includes tax but not drink)

The Micro:

Crust: True to the New York in its name, the crust offered by New York Pizza and Pasta is thick on the edge but thin underneath.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, but the crust’s texture on my pizza was problematic because my pizza was slightly overbaked.  Thus, the crust had a tough cardboard-like texture (not a cardboard taste, mind you).  This crust is not bad, but I’ve had better.  Score: 5/10.

Sauce: Again true to its New York billing, this pizza does not have much sauce.  What sauce does exist has a thick consistency with a fresh tomato-y taste.  Score: 8/10.

Cheese: While the cheese appears in great quantity, it also produces above average grease.  Thus, while this cheese blend has a tasty flavor, the grease is a red flag and a mandatory deduction.  Score: 8/10.

Toppings: I actually didn’t like the taste of the toppings much at first, but the more I ate the more I liked them.  The pepperoni has nice thickness and some but not overwhelming spiciness.  The sausage has just the right balance between spice and pork taste.  The toppings appear in good quantity except for 1 slice that had no sausage.  Score: 9/10.

The Macro:

Appearance/Atmosphere/Service: The New York style crust and crumbled sausage give the pizza a typical New York style appearance.  The picture on the box appears very low resolution and grainy.  I don’t usually comment on the box, but the picture quality was especially awful in this case.  The dining room seemed to be small and functional with some nice large TV’s.  Communication with my server was a little awkward (odd greeting and seldom takes carryout orders it seemed), but the service was not bad all things considered.  Score: 7/10.

Value: The price is higher than average, but this is a 16” pizza, not the usual 14” pizza the national chains call a large.  The quality is also pretty good, so the price/quality value ratio grades out better than you might initially think.  Giant and super-giant pizza sizes of 20” and 28” respectively potentially help on the price side too.  Score: 7/10.

Taste: The toppings greatly improve what is otherwise a slightly above average tasting pizza.  Score: 16/20.

The Final Judgment:

New York Pizza and Pasta is not quite the best pizza in Anderson (see DiVinci’s or Mellow Mushroom for that), but it is pretty good.  This restaurant deserves a spot in your pizza rotation.  Score: 60/80.