Pizza City

Pizza is a $35 billion a year business, and nowhere is it taken more seriously than New York City. Journalist Peter Genovese surveys the citys pizza scenethe food, the business, the cultureby profiling pizza landmarks and personalities and rating pizzerias in all five boroughs. In this funny, fascinating book, Genovese explores the bloggers who write about New York pizza, the obsessive city dwellers who collect and analyze the delivery boxes, Mark Bellos school where students spend a day making pies from scratch, and Scott Wieners pizza bus tours. Along the way, readers learn the history of legendary Totonnos on Coney Island (Zagats number-one pizzeria for 2012), along with behind-the-scenes stories about Johns on Bleecker Street, Joes on Carmine, Lombardis, Paulie Gees, Motorino, and more than a dozen other favorite spots and their owners. Throughout these profiles, Genovese presents a brief history of how pizza came to the city in 1905 and developed into a major attraction in Little Italy, a neighborhood that became a training ground for many of the citys best-loved pizzerias. Enjoyable facts and figures abound. Did you know that Americans put 250 million pounds of pepperoni on their pies every year? Or that Dominos has more outlets per capita in Iceland than in any other country? Beyond the stories and tidbits, Genovese provides detailed, borough-by-borough reviews of 250 pizzerias, from simple slice shops with scant atmosphere to gourmet pizzerias, including shops that use organic ingredients and experiment with new variations of crusts and toppings. Complemented by hundreds of current and never-before-seen archival photos, the book gives the humble slice its proper due and will leave readers overwhelmed by a sudden desire for New York pizza.