Impossible is a typoRunning my pants off and loving myself along the way

I grew up on Long Island where you can’t drive a mile without passing at least 3 pizza shops. And we’re talking good pizza. The pizza all other pizza in the world wish they could be. Crisp yet chewy crust. Cheese that oozes all melty in your mouth. Sauce that bursts with sweet-tart tomatoey goodness. Whew, I need to sit down just at the thought. Mike’s was our local pizza shop growing up. I can close my eyes and remember the rich yummy smell of my dad walking in the house with a pie, half pepperoni, half sausage, with soda. Pizza night was one of the few times we were allowed soda growing up.

Pizza for me is the most perfect food on earth, and yeah, I’ll own it, I’m a total pizza snob and super righteous about it, which is completely justified as I had to suffer three years of pizza in Japan where “normal” ingredients were corn, potato and squid ink. Just sayin’ you don’t mess with pizza. I won’t eat pizza outside of a 50 mile radius of New York City anymore because what other people do to dough, sauce and cheese in the name of pizza can be a monstrosity.  Seriously, stop putting pineapple on your pizza, people! You want to go all crazy and put truffle and duck confit on dough? Great, call it “flatbread”, stop calling it “pizza” for god sakes! It’s just wrong and goes against all the laws of nature. No, worse than that, it breaks the Laws of Pizza Physics.

So when I got an invite to the preview of “SkinnyPizza” at Roosevelt Field Mall, I was concerned and dubious. “Skinny” and “Pizza” shouldn’t really be in the same sentence together unless of course you’re saying “Look at those skinny girls, someone should get them a slice of pizza”. I was more than pleasantly surprised by SkinnyPizza, shocked actually as it was really really good.

The shop is sleek and modern. Airy, with really clean lines, not sterile at all but also not a place you’re going to sit for a few hours with friends. This is a pizza joint after all, not a diner. They have an outdoor table area which is nice and not very common on Long Island.

SkinnyPizza Counter Service

“Shut up and tell me about the pizza!!!”

OK OK.

Sheesh.

SkinnyPizza is obviously thin crust pizza. So you’re not going to get that bready, doughy, crispy, chewy mouthful of my beloved Mike’s. Now, I’ve had a lot of “low cal” and thin crust pizza in my day, and with the first bite, it crumbles to dust, leaving your toppings to slide down your front, and you get home and find a random mushroom in your purse. Thin crust crispy pizza can be like having Saltines with pizza toppings – a serious transgression against the Laws of Pizza Physics. This is NOT the crust you’ll find at SkinnyPizza. The crust is crisp but still has the chew you expect when you bite into pizza and totally stands up to the classic New York Fold. What? You don’t fold your pizza in half? What is wrong with you? You have to fold your pizza in half or else you get sauce and cheese all over your face. Sheesh, that’s the First Law of Pizza Physics – Fold Thy Pizza. The Second Law, in case you’re interested is “If you have to eat it with a knife and fork, it’s not pizza”.

SkinnyPizza Classic - Big Flavor

The SkinnyClassic delivers on taste. The sauce is bright and bold (and that’s because they make it in-house with organic tomatoes), it comes THIS close to being overpowering but doesn’t cross the line. The cheese doesn’t do that scary non-melting thing you sometimes find with low fat cheese that makes you wonder if it’s a dairy product or a plastic. The flavor profile (I know, snobby foodie term) was exactly what you want from a classic cheese pizza just with out the calorie count. Yup, you read the card right. It says “253 Calories” and that’s for a whole slice. And not a shabby micro slice, but a real normal human sized slice.

SkinnyArugula from SkinnyPizza - BIG taste

The SkinnyArugula was the first slice I tried. HUGE flavor, the arugula adds something-something to the normal pizza experience. While it was super tasty, it was a bit hard to eat. I kept losing greens and those tasty little cherry tomatoes kept popping off and shooting across the store. Classy. Maybe salad on my pizza is beyond my hand-eye coordination skills. And salad pizza does break the first two Laws of Pizza Physics. Tasty, but hard to eat.

SkinnyBuffalo - I could eat this every day

OK, I won’t lie. I had a second slice and seriously considered a third slice of the SkinnyBuffalo. Yeah, I know, this breaks like 47 Laws of Pizza Physics but Holy Handbags Batman, this was crazy delicious. It was like eating a plate of the best buffalo wings you’ve ever had without the messy fingers and the morning-after regret. The chicken chunks were chunks. I mean CHUNKS. Look at it, those little chicken jewels, they’re moist and dipped in some crazy sauce that comes close to being too spicy but is just perfect with the blue cheese sprinkled on top. I know this was not a classic pizza but man, I seriously could eat this every day.

Pasta at SkinnyPizza

Just so you know, SkinnyPizza also does pasta, which I did not try. I mean, seriously, after two slices, OK FINE, three slices, I was getting the food woozies and couldn’t contemplate the choices. SkinnyPizza offers whole wheat and gluten free pasta options with their house-made sauces. Which is really good news as gluten-free anything is hard to come by locally. And topped with SkinnyPizza’s bold sauce, I know I’ll be back to try some. Check out their menu for salad, wraps and soups!

There was a secret hidden surprise at SkinnyPizza which, by itself will have me back at SkinnyPizza again and again…

Boylan Soda at SkinnyPizza - Best soda ever

Boylan Soda. I am not a huge soda fan but if I had a Boylan soda fountain in my house, I would never leave, I’d bathe in it, put it in my coffee and morning cereal. I discovered Boylan years ago and it’s hard to find and I’ve never seen it in anything but glass bottles. Boylan uses actual sugar, not corn syrup, in their beverages which gives them this crisp sweetness that is remarkable and distinctive. The diet black cherry is like a sparkling dessert. It’s that good.

Tasty and calorie conscious food should be enough to get you in the door but what the company stands for will keep you coming back. The owners and creators of SkinnyPizza are childhood friends and grew up in and around the restaurant industry. When they started having families, they started getting really interested in what ingredients were going into the food their families were eating. SkinnyPizza uses organic and all natural ingredients where ever possible and source suppliers that are hormone and antibiotic free. And they want you to know what you’re eating too and “we want you to have a second slice!” one of the owners said to me. Scanning their menu you’ll see calorie counts, notes as to what’s organic and hormone-free and even the fiber count of the pasta. Who does that? Apparently, SkinnyPizza does. OH and they do have Weight Watcher’s Points Plus values for most menu items if you ask.

Green SkinnyPizza

SkinnyPizza also uses as much recycled and green products as possible. I wish I grabbed a shot of the beverage cups, as they looked just like regular plastic cups but were made from plant based materials. The menus are printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper.

So, you’ve read this far and now I want you to do something. Here’s the problem. There are only 2 SkinnyPizza locations - Roslyn Heights and Garden City (Roosevelt Field Mall). Go to the SkinnyPizza Facebook Page, tell them you want a SkinnyPizza in YOUR neighborhood. Trust me, you’re skinny jeans will thank you.