Instead of trendy Neapolitan pies, this decades-old spot dishes a recipe that is pure NYC circa 1966. That means a crisp, blonde, gas-oven crust, slippery strings of mozzarella and sweet red sauce. The sweetness of their sauce is their claim to fame. It might be an acquired taste for purists, but it’s hedonistically satisfying. If you find it too sweet, their pesto slice is the city’s best. A fact known to the locals, so there is often a bit of a wait for the green stuff.

Off Hillside Avenue, this Jamaica address has a loyal and diverse following for their classic pies. Customers belly up to the counter, choose their slice in the glass display case, then wait for it to be heated up. Favorites include meatball, peppers and onion, and gyro meat. The pizza ovens behind the counter do double duty, baking pan dulce and other Guatemalan specialties. Fitting for Queens’ multicutluralism, the pizzeria has a back dining room that serves homey Guatemalan cuisine.

With Dave Acocella’s impressive pizza pedigree, it’s no surprise his dough is one of the most delicious in town. “It is not just a carrier of the ingredient, but an ingredient itself,” he touts. Thanks to his multi-day fermentation process, Philomena’s dough has complex flavor, terrific texture, and is easier to digest. Choose from round Neapolitan pizzas and square Roman-style pies. The latter, the star of the show, has the toppings added after for the crispiest of crusts.

Normally, Sicilian slices made in the U.S. have a bready, inch thick base. This Astoria pizzeria’s longtime claim to fame is its thin-crust Sicilian. A mere quarter-inch thick, the pizza has a wonderfully crisp texture that sets the tangy tomato-based sauce – a secret recipe - into high relief. Opened in 1959, Rizzo’s is one of the neighborhood’s last 50-year-old pizzerias left standing. And, still family run in the hands of the original owner’s son, David, and his best pal, Tony.

Line up at this deli counter for one of Astoria’s best slices. “We start from good ingredients,” shares Rosario, the jovial Italian owner. “If it’s not good enough for me, it’s not good enough for you.” That means hand-pulled mozzarella made fresh that morning. House-simmered tomato sauce. Italian sausage, provolone, and one of our favorite white garlic pies. Though he bakes pizzas all day, Rosario’s slices never last long. His brick oven is too small for his big following.