As a self proclaimed pizza connoisseur and birthed in NYC – a city that has the strongest pizza scene, we thought we would scope out the Austin area for a great slice and see how it compares to east coast pizza. First, we share with you the best pizza in NYC for comparison sakes.

NYC holds the title for the best pizza in the country. It’s known for their classic NY slice and a traditional Sicilian pizza. (If you don’t know the difference, stop reading now. *said in a pizza snob tone*) Finding the best pizza places can be difficult even with the internet these days. Yelp cannot be trusted. It’s by word of mouth or food instagram pages that let you know the best pizza spots.

Here are our top 3 pizza places in NYC…

NYC Pizza:

1.) Prince Street Pizza

Prince Street Pizza is a hole in the wall joint with no seating and serves a traditional Sicilian slice. They are simple but great – cheese or pepperoni and that’s it. Prince street is a well know area with tons of stores and restaurants but conveniently located across the street from one of the best bakeries in NYC. So you get to have your pizza and eat your cake too!

2.) John’s of Bleeker Street

Not to be confused with the mediocre Bleeker Street Pizza down the block! John’s is an old school pizza restaurant that does NOT sell slices. Whole pies only. John’s only has a few booths to sit at and there’s always a wait for a table. It’s no Franklin BBQ line so you can handle it and the pizza is worth the wait. A classic cheese pie is the way to go.

3.) Sauce

Sauce is the best NYC slice with their signature sauce – Grandma’s gravy which is so good they serve your slice with a side of it. They have slices and seating is available. They serve local sodas which is a rare thing and unlike every other place on the east coast that has either Pepsi or Coke. The ambiance is an added bonus. It’s NYC vibes meets grandma’s kitchen – old school wallpaper, neon signs and spoon chandeliers.

Now let’s get to our competitors – East coast vs third coast. Did we find a decent slice in Austin that can compare to NYC pizza? Read below to end the suspense…

Austin Pizza:

So how does pizza in Austin compare? What’s a great pizza place in this self proclaimed weird city? No need to let you know all the bad slices or the let downs we had. Let’s get straight to the pizza… After extensive pizza research and mass consumption of cheese, dough and sauce; we have found the best pizza in Austin! It pains me to admit this but it possibly tops NYC pizza. Drum roll please…..

Via313 – a Detroit style pizza holds the title for best pizza. Although, it’s a completely different style and unlike anything we are used to on the east coast. This deep dish, non circular pie is epic.

1.) Via313

Via313 has several locations in Austin as well as food trucks (something we avoid in NYC but food trucks are a way of life in Austin.) This pizza is the correct ratio of cheese to grease, dough to sauce, and chewy to crunch. The best thing about this rectangular pie is that the crunch is all in the cheese. You can tell from just one bite that the ingredients are quality. When back in NYC, we dream of Via313. In fact, Via pies have made it onto Southwest Airlines to bring back to NYC and yes, the leftovers are just as good.

Detroit style has only recently hit the east coast and there are minimal places to get this style of pizza. Two well know places to get this type of pizza in New York City are at Massoni and Lion, Tigers and Squares. Massoni is a trendy restaurant located inside the Arlo NoMad hotel located on 31st street which is pretty good but no Via313. Lion, Tigers and Squares on 23rd street was recommended to us and much more well known but it was a huge disappointment. For those Austinites who are unfamiliar with the epidemic of dollar pizza shops in NYC, 2 Bros Pizza can be found on NYC street corners as frequent as a Starbucks. They sell $1 slices and if you’ve had one, you know why they’re a dollar. I would have to say, Lion, Tigers and Squares is on the same level of $1 slices.

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Massoni (Left) Lions, Tigers & Squares (Right)

2.) Pieous

Another delicious pizza spot in Austin (just in case you’re not a Detroit style kind of person) is Pieous. This is a Neapolitan style pie but this place has more than just great pizza. The bakery is amazing which is always a plus in my book when there’s dessert too. There’s a ton of great Neapolitan pizza in NYC but not many in Texas. Maybe that’s why Pieous sells out daily.

Texas pizza has certainly given New York City a run for their money. Even though they are different styles, Texas can hold their own. I just hope this doesn’t start another pizza debate like the infamous feud of Chicago deep dish vs New York style. Or a more relatable food feud to Texans – the debate of Whataburger vs In N Out (but if you’re from Texas you’re saying to yourself “There is no competition.”) I think we can all agree pizza is amazing no matter what style.

We hope you enjoy our suggestions for NYC and Austin!