Midtown Lunch

I’m not quite sure why the stretch of Broadway bordering Tribeca is getting all of the $1 slice love, but those of us working elsewhere downtown are jealous. Roll and Go opened a location at Broadway & Franklin trafficking in pizza, gyro and breakfast sandwiches and last week Joey’s Pepperoni Pizza opened a block up the street at Broadway & White selling only slices and the odd Jamaican patty. I decided that cheap pizza was just what I needed for lunch and staged an impromptu matchup between the two places. One of them came out the clear winner, but you’ll have to click through to see what $2 worth of pizza looks and tastes like.

Joey’s was the less-crowded of the two places and the offerings were pretty sparse. The spaces for pepperoni and sausage pizza were empty so I was unable to try the namesake and just went for a cheese slice which, like Roll and Go, is $1 with no tax. It got to spend a while in the oven which I appreciated since all too often at these cheap places it barely gets acquainted with heat. The verdict: This was a good piece of pizza, and when you add in the $1 price tag it’s kind of amazing. The crust was really crisp and the cheese plentiful and slightly browned in spots. That’s all I can really ask.

Next up was Roll and Go which was absolutely packed with people and the pizza wasn’t looking so great behind the glass. My heart sank even further when I was given a slice straight from the pan, without even a glance at the oven. It wasn’t cold, but the crust was pale and doughy and the first thing I noticed when I bit in was that the crust was too thick. The other thing I immediately thought when I bit into the slice was that the sauce was really sweet and the cheese was applied pretty sparingly.

If you’re in the neighborhood and need a cheap lunch, I would highly recommend walking that extra block and spending your $1 at Joey’s Pepperoni. I didn’t feel like I was eating a cheap slice here, just a decent piece of pizza.

Joey’s Pepperoni Pizza, 381 Broadway (at White)

Roll and Go, 357 Broadway (at Franklin)