A superlative slice of pizza can be found in an oven on Long Island at an establishment called Little Vincent’s Pizza. The institution of dough and sauce and cheese and pepperoni cut up into triangles from a round talisman of Italian origin has been tremendously advanced by the Little Vincent’s location in Huntington, NY. Acquiring a slice of their pizza can only be carried out via cash tender. This tells the pizza eater a few things. One thing is that Little Vincent has resisted the urge to cut corners. Great taste is often sold for year over year growth and increased efficiency; bargain tomato sauce, economy pepperonis, shoddy cheese, and other things to fit the pocketbook. As opposed to cutting corners on cutting pizza, Little Vincent has chosen not to incur the cost of the electronic transaction in order to keep up with their high standards of pizza.

The character of the place is top notch. This particular location looks like it was built in the early 80’s, and I’d say not one single penny has been put into updating the look of the place, and that’s right by me. Little Vincent’s gets down to business, and they know as well as I do the taste of the pizza isn’t influenced by wall décor, fancy booth seating, and an updated bathroom with hand driers and automatic soap dispensers. The walls of the joint are wood paneled, which hasn’t been in style since you could buy a DeLorean at a dealership. The color is a lustrous brown that screams middle class, blue collar pizza. A working man’s pie made by the working man. The panels tell you that pizza has been made here for 48 years. Bragging rights. A symbol no different than the Bat Signal that flies over Gotham City, signaling that justice is near. Letting all newcomers, and veterans of the pizza game, know that Little Vincent is pretty damn good at this pizza thing.

The place feels like a family kitchen, and that care and love finds its way into your pie. You can only get a 16-inch pie because your mom wouldn’t make you options. You get what she’s making, you understand? Nothing smaller, nothing bigger. They also have a rope tied around the door to keep it about one-third of the way open because the oven is right there where you order, just like in your mom’s kitchen! Because when she’s cooking, she too has to open the doors and windows to keep it cool and so the smoke alarms don’t go off. There is no ostentatious kitchen. You order right up front and they make it right in front of you. An honest pizza from an honest operation.