New York-Style Pizza

New York-style pizza is a large, thin-crusted pizza that evolved from the classic Neapolitan-style pizza, brought to New York City by Italian immigrants during the early 1900s. The dish began with the opening of America's first pizzeria, called Lombardi's, where the owner Gennaro Lombardi served unusually large and wide pizza pies. When sliced, the pieces are also very large and wide, while the crust is crispy, yet foldable for easier consumption. Some claim that the unique texture of the crust owes much to the minerals that are only found in New York City's tap water. Traditionally, the pizza is topped with mozzarella and heavily-seasoned tomato sauce (olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, oregano, crushed red pepper, basil), while the additional ingredients such as vegetables or sausage come on top of the cheese. Typical condiments for additionally topping the pizza include garlic powder, red chili pepper flakes, and oregano.