From Coal to Gas: How the NYC Slice Became a 2026 Revival Phenomenon

I’ve spent the better part of the last decade thinking about pizza. By 2026, that’s not just a hobby—it’s a full-blown lifestyle. Back in 2018, my fellow pizza-obsessed friends Adam Kuban and Scott Wiener and I set out to create a definitive list of the best NYC slices, and along the way we uncovered a history so riddled with half-truths and folklore that we had to set the record straight. What follows is the story of how the New York slice went from coal-fired luxury to reheated dollar-slice misery, and then—gloriously—roared back to life in a second golden age we’re still living through. Buckle up, carb lovers. 🍕

The Age of Coal: Where It All Began (and Why You Couldn’t Buy a Slice)

At the dawn of the 20th century, pizza in New York meant one thing: a whole pie baked in a massive coal-fired masonry oven. Lombardi’s, famously claiming 1905 as its founding date, used one of these beasts. These ovens ran on hard coal because it burned hotter (800–1,000°F!), took up less space, and cost less than wood. The result was a fast-cooked, blistered pizza that had to be eaten immediately—leave it for a few minutes and you’d be chewing on a leathery disc.

That’s why almost nobody sold slices back then. Pizza was a sit-down, whole-pie affair. Sure, Patsy’s in East Harlem claims to have hawked slices since 1933, and old-timers talk about Lombardi’s selling partial pies to broke customers, but by and large, the slice was a pipe dream. The product simply wasn’t built for reheating. Enter Frank Mastro.

The Gas Oven Revolution: When Slices Became Possible

Frank Mastro was an Italian immigrant, a restaurant-supply salesman with a mad-scientist streak. In 1934, he took a used coal oven, ran a gas line into it, and started experimenting. What he created was the first gas-fired pizza oven—the same kind you see in countless slice shops today. Suddenly, temperatures dropped to the 500–550°F range. Pizzas baked slower, dried out more, and—crucially—developed a shelf life. You could reheat a slice without turning it into a cracker. Slice culture was born.

By the 1940s, slice joints started popping up. Nunzio’s on Staten Island sold slices as early as 1943. Louie and Ernie’s opened in Harlem in 1947 before moving to the Bronx. L&B Spumoni Gardens might have fired up its pizza side in 1942. And by the 1950s, the movement was in full swing. J&V Pizzeria in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, not only sold slices but delivered them. Talk about forward-thinking.

The First Golden Age: 1950s–1970s

If you could hop in a time machine and visit the 1960s and ’70s, you’d find what many of us call the First Golden Age of the Slice. The shops that opened during this era defined what we think of as the classic New York slice. Here’s a quick timeline:

All these places had that unmistakable old-school vibe: wood paneling, a counter window selling slices to the street, bright-orange booths, and not a single pineapple in sight. The pies themselves shared DNA: a few discrete puddles of sauce and cheese, a darker crust from the longer bake, crushed tomatoes seasoned with oregano, and a sharp hit of Romano. 🧀

But within that formula, tiny variations made each slice sing. New Park salted the oven floor for a crispier bottom. NY Pizza Suprema’s sauce was oddly sweet (the owner swears no sugar is added). Joe & Pat’s mashed up vodka sauce with a cracker-thin crust. That diversity made the era golden.

The Dark Times: Dollar Slices and the Devolution

Then came the 1980s and ’90s, and things got… sad. Pizza joints multiplied, but differentiation vanished. Pies drowned under cheap, rubbery mozzarella. Sauce came from cans. Crusts turned to cardboard. The craft gave way to cost-cutting.

The dollar-slice craze of the mid-2000s was the nail in the coffin. To keep a slice at a buck, shops used ingredients on the edge of expiration. After the Great Recession of 2008, dollar-slice places exploded—cheap rents met cheap pizza, and for a while that seemed like the future.

The Revival: 2010 Kicks Off a Second Golden Age

Then, in 2010, a little place called Best Pizza opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It wasn’t just another pizzeria—it was a statement. The chef-owner treated pizza as craft again, using quality ingredients and respecting the old ways while adding modern twists. Best Pizza fired the opening shot of the slice revivalist movement.

By 2018, when my friends and I published our list of the best NYC slice shops, we knew we were in a new golden age. Revivalists were remixing the classics: naturally leavened doughs, heritage tomatoes, small-batch mozzarella, and a focus on what made each slice unique. And the stalwarts from the First Golden Age? Many were still going strong, with Dom De Marco slinging his legendary Di Fara slices well into his 80s.

Fast-forward to 2026, and the slice renaissance hasn’t slowed. If anything, it’s deepened. Sourdough starters have become almost de rigueur in new-wave shops. You can find slices topped with soppressata, hot honey, and microgreens alongside perfect renditions of the classic cheese slice. The dollar-slice joints haven’t disappeared, but they’re no longer the default. Today’s slice hunter expects more—and gets it.

Why It Matters Now

I’ll be honest: writing this in 2026 feels like chronicling a living, breathing thing. The NYC slice has been declared dead a dozen times, yet here we are, with more incredible options than ever. The history matters because every great current slice is standing on the shoulders of Frank Mastro’s gas line and the coal ovens of Lombardi’s. The next time you fold a piece of pizza and take that first perfect bite, remember you’re tasting over a century of trial, error, and delicious rebellion.

Now go explore. The slice is waiting. 🗽🍕