Midtown Lunch

You don’t think you can get anything for a dollar? How about a decent slice of pizza? Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, which opened about a month ago, can feed you a slice for a single George Washington bill. Located on 11th Street between Market and Chestnut, Rosa’s has a simple formula: serve pizza (and only pizza) fresh and inexpensively.

Establishments selling slices for a dollar (or less) are commonplace in New York City (my personal favorite is 2 Bros. Pizza). In fact, Mason, the owner of Rosa’s, used to work on Wall Street and was influenced by the dollar pizza places he saw in the Big Apple before opening up his own shop here. At Rosa’s, you order pizza from the counter and can take it out or eat in the rather spacious dining area (though high top chairs are somewhat limited). Mason is active at Rosa’s in working behind the counter as well as meeting customers in the dining area to garner feedback.

A dollar gets you a slice of plain pizza. If you want pepperoni, it’s fifty cents extra. A full pie sets you back a whole $8 (if plain) or $10 (if there’s a topping). In addition to pepperoni, Rosa’s offers both a white as well as Margherita whole pies. What sets Rosa’s apart from other pizza places is that it makes its pies only as needed. Pizza is not left out to be reheated an hour later. So while it may take a couple of minutes to get your pizza order, the pizza comes out fresh.

The slices are served with a crispy crust that’s darkened on the bottom. They’re not enormous, so you don’t fold them over like a New York-style pie. Though the pizza is a tad greasy, it’s tasty and well worth a buck. The pepperoni slice comes completely covered with the topping, so go ahead and “splurge” on the topping. I only wish that there was just a bit more sauce, as the pizza is heavy on the cheese.

Three is good number of slices to order. If you happen to be in the Center City East neighborhood, give it a go. You can’t go wrong for a dollar.