Is Artichoke the best Pizza in NYC?

A while back I had to get my fried oreo and funnel cake fix at Led Zeppole. So I dragged Omer out to East Village for my sweet treat when we noticed a long line protruding from Artichoke on 14^th street. Being a sucker for long lines, I had to stand there even though I wasn’t hungry . Omer said we’d come back another day for the pizza that so many stood in line for late night. Instantly when I got home I had to look up artichoke and read the reviews.

I found that Artichoke and its 3 locations, in East Village, Greenwich, and Chelsea, have rave reviews. Here are some that I found:
Listed number 1 on Gayot.com top 10 best NYC pizza’s.

Number 9 slice.seriouseats.com top 10 NYC Pizza list

Made the top 10 best pizza list for the CBS New York

Honored as number 13 on complex.com slideshow of 25 best pizzas in NYC

83% of people liked it on Zagat.com

4 out of 5 stars on Yelp.com

A large slice of thin crust cheese pizza is a NYC staple and favorite. But Artichoke has reinvented the pizza and offer limited flavors, Artichoke, Crab, Sicilian, Margherita and Meatball in some locations.  The Chelsea location offers more pizza types and non-pizza items on their menu, Greenwich location includes calzones, and the East Village Artichoke only sells slices or whole pies.

I finally got a chance to try this highly recommended and rated pizza at the Greenwich location when my brothers came to visit on MLK weekend. We all tried what the place is named for- Artichoke. 

The artichoke pizza is heavy, cheesy, and slightly greasy, but hey who said pizza is supposed to be healthy anyway. You can imagine the pizza as spinach and artichoke dip on a slice of bread with extra cheese. Yum! The artichokes are creamy, the standard tomato base is replaced with a white cream sauce, and the mozzarella and pecorino romano cheese is generously piled on. I couldn’t finish the slice on my own and ended up eating the top layer and throwing away the crust once I was halfway through. Slices are massive and can be easily shared with someone if you don’t own a large appetite. I’m not complaining but it could use a bit of an acidic base to cut through some of the rich sauce and blend of cheese.  

The slices are only $4.50 and are well worth it for the flavor and size. I would also recommend ordering it extra crispy to ensure there is a sturdy layer to withstand the heavy topping, otherwise it will get soggy on you.

The greenwich and east village locations are small and barely have space for enjoyment inside. Kind of a let down since this pizza was the only time I wish I could sit down with utensils to comfortably indulge the slice. Definitely worth trying, especially if you like artichoke and spinach dip.  Next time will try out the crab.