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I wouldn’t consider myself an extremely well-traveled man, but I’ve been fortunate to take several trips to The Big Apple —i n fact, being the food-lover I am, my wife and I have probably favored New York more than any other travel destination when considering our options on my far-too-infrequent vacations. When in NYC, there’s simply no end to the number of exciting, tantalizing food options flooding the streets of that city. But I always make it a point to grab a slice of pizza when I’m visiting. It’s simple, quick, inexpensive, and tasty. From John’s of Bleeker Street to Joe’s on Carmine, Lombari’s (who claim to be America’s first pizzeria) to Grimali’s, resting in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s safe to say that I have loved them all, and the “New York-style” pie is undoubtedly at the top of my list when comparing the various genres.

But a good slice of NYC in Little Rock? It may seem like a rather tall order. There’s a certain aura and ambience that unquestionably heightens the pizza-eating experience when walking the streets of New York City—something impossible to reproduce here in Arkansas—but that’s not to say that a decent NY-style pie can’t be had for those interested.

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Enter NYPD Pizza. We recently made our first trip to this West Little Rock establishment — perhaps hoping, just a little, it could remind us of some of the fine times we’d had in The City.

At NYPD, diners can watch the pizza slingers skillfully roll out and toss dough to the appropriate thickness before it heads into the oven. It’s a process that’s always impressed me, and the men running things this night were clearly experienced in this regard. Our large half pepperoni, half mushroom and sausage pie was indeed a spectacle to behold — the pizza was enormous. Each slice was quite literally the size of my head (trust me, I tested this out personally). The dough was thin, and seemed the appropriate thickness to be deemed a respectable NY slice. The crust was chewy, a little floppy if you will, and suffered from a bit too much “tip sag.” A little more crispness would have served this pie well, but with a few bites into the slice, you could easily perform a decent “fold and eat.”

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The cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms were plentiful and added a wonderful flavor to the pie. The cheese, in particular, was lovely — hot, bubbling, stringy, and delicious. I felt the sauce could have played a somewhat stronger role in the overall flavor profile, but this was probably a minor shortcoming.

We enjoyed our slice at NYPD…we enjoyed it a lot. At no point did we exclaim, “this is the best pizza we’ve ever eaten,” nor did we feel it could ever replace a trip to the Big Apple, but in a pinch, NYPD can easily fill that occasional need for a greasy, cheesy slice.

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NYPD Pizza is located at 6015 Chenonceau Blvd, Little Rock. (501) 868-3911

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