Benny Blanco’s: slice of heaven

Benny Blanco’s Slice of the Bronx is a literal hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

The establishment only holds about four to five customers at a time, yet there’s a reason night after night Benny Blanco’s has a line stretching far out their door: They have great food, great service, and a great price.

Even with its inconspicuous signage and limited shop space, every evening Benny Blanco’s serves a steady line, likely due to its prime location next door to Beauty Bar.

Immediately after walking in to Benny Blanco’s, the cramped space and industrial feel of an East coast pizzeria are apparent. There’s no fancy checkered floors, or glossy décor. Random band and bumper stickers cover and layer the ventilation system like an odd form of public art. The entire kitchen is constructed of metal paneling and a large pizza oven.

To match the restaurant’s gritty environment is a group of blue-collar, run-of-the-mill nice guys. Benny Blanco’s wait staff and chefs are conversational with all customers and provide valuable topping pairing suggestions.

Massive $2 slices are tough to beat. Any given slice from Benny Blanco’s easily takes up two paper plates. Additional toppings are 50 cents, including mushrooms, black olives, fresh basil, and many more.

The crust is thin and crunchy with just the right amount of char on the edges. Their pies naturally have little sauce, a fact you’ll appreciate once you get adventurous with the toppings.

The pineapple and green peppers make a surprisingly delicious, savory and sweet pairing. Benny Blanco’s chops its vegetables fresh for every slice and piles them on with no hesitation.

The actual pizza pies were baked before topping them with the pineapple bits and peppers, which left them crunchy and sweet, as opposed to sopping up the pizza grease.

Next up was a classic meat-eaters delight: pepperoni and bacon. As opposed to layering thin slices of pepperoni to crisp up in the oven, Benny Blanco’s layers on thick slices so that every bite will have something worth sinking your teeth into.

While known for their pizza-by-the-slice policy, Benny Blanco’s offers full-sized pies at 14, 18, and 20 inches and an array of house specialty pies.

The downside to Benny Blanco’s is that it’s not for the health nuts. But that’s what you should expect from a New York style pizza joint.