Our pizza quest has been stalled due to some lackluster pizza that we’ve had recently. When our last craving hit, we ended up coming full circle by ordering from the first place on our quest, 9th Avenue Pizzeria. We got our usual order of a cheese pizza and a chicken parm hero, plus we decided to mix things up a bit by getting a pepperoni calzone.
Extra large cheese pizza
The pizza was exactly as I remembered, with a super thin crust that was a bit uneven on the edges. There was a good cheese to sauce ratio, and I liked that the cheese covered the whole pie, right up to the crust.
Thin crust, good cheese to sauce ratio
The crust was decently crispy with a nicely browned bottom, though it got a bit soggy towards the middle. Flavor-wise it’s a bit on the bland side but I thought it was still a solid pie overall.
Underside shot
The pepperoni calzone was filled with mozzarella, ricotta, and tons of pepperoni.
Pepperoni calzone
It had a nice crispy crust and was actually quite good, except they didn’t give us any sauce to eat it with, which I found a bit weird. As a result, all the heavy cheese and salty pepperoni got a bit too much to handle, and really needed the sweet tangy tomato sauce to help cut through the richness. Next time I’ll be sure to ask for some sauce on the side.
Calzone innards
Everything was great until we got to the chicken parm hero, which looked a bit deflated when we unwrapped the package. I guess the reason is because they make their own bread, but it ended up being a bit dense and flat, kind of like a soggy, heavy, pizza dough.
Flat and limp chicken parm hero
There also isn’t a whole lot of chicken and cheese inside, which make the dense bread even more noticeable. It wasn’t terrible, but I’ve definitely had much better chicken parm heroes elsewhere. I think it’s only $5 though for a decently long sandwich, which isn’t too bad, but you kind of get what you pay for.
Chicken parm autopsy shot
Chicken parm hero aside, we were pretty pleased with our order from 9th Avenue Pizzeria so we decided to order from there again the next time I had another irresistible urge for pizza. This time, instead of getting a pepperoni calzone, we opted for a pepperoni pizza. It arrived looking slightly disheveled but they definitely did not skimp on the pepperoni.
Extra large pepperoni pizza
The pizza was definitely greasier thanks to the pepperoni but the crust was surprisingly crispier, even in the center. I loved the saltiness that the pepperoni added, and really, who doesn’t love pepperoni grease? When it really gets to be too much though I just blot it off with a paper towel, but the flavor remains.
Lots of tasty pepperoni (and grease)
I wanted to give the homemade bread another shot so we got a meatball parm hero. Big mistake. The bread was still dense and flat, the cheese was unmelted, there was hardly any sauce, and the meatballs were pretty awful. They tasted old and stale, were super dense, and not the least bit appealing.
Sad, sad meatball parm hero
Overall I still have pretty mixed feelings about 9th Avenue Pizzeria. The pizza is pretty good, but not amazing. Josh and I disagree on the crust, which he prefers to be thinner, but I think when it’s too thin it becomes too brittle, especially around the edges. The crust also lacks depth of flavor, though the cheese and sauce are both tasty. I liked the calzone but I hated the heroes, especially the meatball parm. The bread definitely makes the sandwich suffer, and the fillings aren’t so great either. Since we typically order a hero whenever we get pizza, this really poses a problem. I’m not ready to quit on our pizza quest, especially since we just renewed our lease so I have plenty more time to find our go-to place. But who knows, maybe we’ll end up right back where we started once again.
9th Avenue Pizzeria
791 9th Ave. between 52nd and 53rd St.
New York, NY
Tags: Delivery, Midtown West, Pizza, Sandwiches