A Wide Selection of Mid Pizza
Roma Pizza in the west village has a famous storefront, but forgettable pizza
Welcome to Pizza Tasting Chronicles, my take on the pizza review. I eat a lot of pizza. I have a lot of opinions about pizza. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Roma Pizza in the West Village serves up a wide selection of toppings, but there’s nothing special here.
The 6th Avenue shop was once home to the first Famous Ray’s, (not to be confused with Ray’s Pizza or Original Rays or any permutation of Famous and Original that followed), but today its best as a late night stopover for end-of-night snacks.
The regular slice was thick, and to their credit had ample cheese near the middle. It was doughy without being fluffy, and crispy with out being crisp.
The slices also had too many large crust bubbles, those ugly looking domes that grow near the edges. Better dough control can reduce these or keep them small, and short of that, a good pizza maker will pop them with a love tap.
This slice also seemed like it had been reheated once before I ordered it. The edge around the cut was a but crispy, which is typically a sign that a slice has been baked, reheated, cooled, and reheated as second time. There’s not really a reason to abuse pizza like that.
Overall there just wasn’t enough seasoning. The most likely culprit here is under-salting the sauce, which was also a problem with the white slice. On the regular slice, the red sauce itself was a bit flavorless. I’d rather have too much garlic, too much acid, too sweet than simply no flavor at all.
I’m sure one reason this problem doesn’t register is that many of the pies are topped with other condiments like barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and pesto. In this case, the kitchen seems like they are simply taking on too much without mastering the basics.
Perhaps my least favorite was their version of the white slice. Normally I love a good white slice, but this one was dry and too crispy, plus it desperately needed some salt. A great white slice will include parmigiana cheese along with the ricotta and mozzarella, which adds a bit of salt—I would bet there was none of that on this slice, and it showed.
Roma Pizza is a great example of form over substance. The platters of pizza pies on display are an enticing buffet of choices. Something for everyone! (But ideal for nobody!)
Look, there’s nothing wrong with mid pizza at midnight, especially when you’re getting off the PATH train after attending a wedding in New Jersey. But I probably would regret this slice a lot more if I had eaten it while sober in the middle of the day.
Roma Pizza
465 6th Avenue
Manhattan, 10011