John's of Bleecker Street
A 1929 Greenwich Village institution baking blistered coal-oven pies in carved-up wooden booths, famously no slices.
Example
The sign says No Slices and has since 1929, so you take a booth carved with decades of initials and order a whole thin coal oven pie.
Related terms
NYC slang
Pie
New York shorthand for a whole pizza, as in ordering a whole pie instead of a slice.
Pizza
Lombardi's
America's first licensed pizzeria, opened in 1905 in Nolita, still baking coal-oven pies with fresh mozzarella.
Neighborhoods
Greenwich Village
The bohemian heart of Manhattan, crooked tree-lined streets that hosted the folk revival, Stonewall and a century of...
Pizza
Joe's Pizza
The Greenwich Village slice shop operating since 1975, widely cited as the benchmark for the classic New York plain...
Frequently asked questions
Can one person eat a whole pie at John's?
A hungry one, yes. The pies are thin. Two people with an appetite can split a large plus a salad.
When is the line shortest at John's?
Weekday afternoons between lunch and dinner. Friday and Saturday nights are the longest waits.
Is John's a good choice for a solo diner?
It works if you have an appetite, since the pies are thin and one person can finish a small. Weekday afternoons are the easiest time to get a booth alone.
