I don't want to be a jerk or anything, but it seems to me that the hype around your pizza is greatly exaggerated. Sure, they're large in size, but they really sucked in quality. Yes, I tried from little family pizza joints, tried from the hot spots in town, and tried them at upmarket restaurants as well. They all failed.

Time to get behind your coffee instead.

Oh wait.... that sucked too.

Worlds Best Cuisine Critic.

sounds like you spent alot of time eating pizza that you can't stand.

I was giving the place a chance to redeem its reputation.

I'm guessing it's a case of the hype skewing your expectations?

I've had some excellent pizzas in NYC. Not the best in the world, mind you, but still very very good.

why don't you try eating some place where the pollution doesn't affect your nose?

a few things to look for in new york if you're looking for good pizza:

1. Is the place kept clean?
2. Is the place crowded?
3. Is the cheese white or yellow?
4. Do they have a brick oven?

New York's main advantage is the water - bread and pizza dough made with NYC water taste better than the same recipes made elsewhere. This may be due to the high lead content (there seems to be a correlation between high lead content and tasty bread).

It sounds to me that while you tried several places, you didn't try the right places. Next time use the internet to research the better places (which are often family places, but usually are not "hot spots" or "upmarket restaurants"). There is a lot of awful pizza, bad pizza, and mediocre pizza in New York, so you have to do a little research first to find the good places.

Dibs: There's a dollar a slice place that I sometimes grab a couple slices at across the street from a bus entrance to port authority. The diesel fumes really add a lot to the flavor of the pizza.