Grab a Slice of Big Apple at Tony's Pizza

Ok, haven't been to New York City so we can't testify to this joint's authenticity. But after all the hype about this pizzeria being the first on the island to offer classic (aka imported ingredients) hand-tossed pizzas from the Big Apple, the lions headed down to check what the fuss was all about. Tony's Pizza is opened by Tony Varvara of Elegante Pizzeria in Brooklyn and helmed by executive chef Elvin Chew and his young pizza artists.

It was packed on a Saturday night. Well, we guess they've
officially broken the spell of bad fengshui here with previous
tenants usually seeing empty tables at this rather awkward
location at the cross junction

They do delivery on ahem... ...bicycles, Wah so old school
hah but how far can you ride?

This place attracts a good number of expats.

Don't mean to be mountain turtles but the lions were kinda shocked by the
size of the pizza pies. Check out those mega huge ass pizza boxes that are
used to contain them as well. Eye-poppingly enormous. Is everything
super-sized in the land of the free?

Groan! The lions were warned that waiting time would be around half an hour
that weekend evening. And if they wanted a taste of the signature cheese slice,
that would involve more waiting.

Watching the faces of patrons to detect any symptoms of ecstasy.
Boh leh so far. But they seem to be enjoying themselves.

Watching the pizza artist at work. Just like making local prata -
press press press knead knead knead... ...

So cute, the dough soon stretches enormously thin.
But yeah no real 'tossing' in the air action observed like what those haolian
Italian pizza chefs on TV usually do. 

Ok there's still time to learn how to eat a slice like a real
New Yorker.

Gosh, the lemonade's kinda ex at $4.50.
We're so used to reading about humble $1 lemonade stands
in American comics when young, this is almost like a travesty.
Whole 18" pies are priced around $45 and upwards but
you can order pizzas by the slice here and add toppings
of your choice at $1 per topping.

Garlic powder, black pepper and oregano on top of the usual
crushed red peppers.

After, thankfully, a whittled down waiting time of ten minutes,
their two slices - Hawaiian and Meat Lover's - arrived smelling
heavenly from the (no wood-fired lah) oven.

Not too impressed by the sadly lacking ingredients but
let's taste it... ...

The lion manages to devour his slice with finesse,
folding it masterfully into two.

The lioness' failed attempt.
Hoho the slice broke into two instead. Sob!

Hmm... ... the lions are honestly none too impressed by this joint. The crust was better than the average ones at mediocre pizza chains - it was crispy and chewy at the same time. But the pizza slices overall were sadly lacking in tomato sauce, cheese and toppings at around $16 bucks for two slices. It was also pretty costly. Is this the closest to what homesick New Yorkers would get back home? We can't tell for sure.

Tony's Pizza
397A River Valley Road
Singapore 248292