"The idea of a cold cheese slice isn't anything new," says Stephen D'Angelo, General Manager Community Table in Boca Raton. "But it's something that's increasingly hard to find this far south of New York. So when we put it on the menu, we decided it would be our way of bringing a little taste of Long Island south to Florida."
The New York Tri-State area is blessed with literally hundreds — if not thousands — of amazing pizzerias. But in a place where each pie is considered "the best," a pizza shop owner needs to do some creative tinkering to make his slice stand out from all the rest, even if that means creating new recipes and different styles to keep customers coming back for more.
One such trend born of ingenuity is the cold cheese slice. Today, Long Island natives will tell you Huntington's Little Vincent's is one of their favorite spots to find this creation, where owner Dan Rossi has been churning out the popular pick for close to three decades.
But this isn't New York; it's South Florida. Luckily, Community Table — home to the $1 slice, $10 pie, and $3 pints of beer — does a killer cold slice pie. It's one of the many reasons WorstPizza.com creator Craig Agranoff loves the 1-year-old restaurant, also known for serving some of the best thin-crust square pies around.
The slice isn't much different from the basic oven-cooked plain you order for lunch or late-night noshing, but it offers one key difference: a mountain of cold,
What you get is a slice full of contrast all in one bite: fluffy, fresh mozzarella against a sheet of bubbly melted cheese and layers of cold mozzarella atop a hot crust. Order it on Thursday, when you can get the cold cheese slice for $1 all day long (rather than paying the $1 topping fee for extra cheese).
"The trick is to eat your slice as soon as you get it," says Agranoff. "Don't let it sit. After a few minutes, the added mozzarella topping warms and melts — and just like that, the magic is lost."
Visit communitytbl.com.
Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.
