Jay's Pizza, authentic New York slice pizza

Jay's Pizza opened its doors a stone's throw from the Grands Boulevards and Strasbourg Saint-Denis , with the ambition of introducing Parisians to real pizza slices, those slices of pizza topped with melted cheese that Ninja Turtles and Joey Tribbiani eat by the dozen.

And there's nothing like an authentic Yankee, often in Paris, or a Parisian with Brooklyn roots, to sign off on thisiconic NYC street-food ! Behind Jay's Pizza are two friends, Jayan Fazal-Karim and Simo Khalifa, who are passionate about good food and inspired by the countless Italian-American discoveries they've made over the years in the Big Apple.

Head to this retro-futuristic restaurant, designed by Hypnos and Studio Zyva, to live American-style and sample the 3 recipes on the menu, all prepared with carefully sourced ingredients: homemade tomato sauce made from Roman tomatoes, delicately fruity olive oil from Jay's family's Italian estate, flour produced near Vesuvius, top-quality fior di latte mozzarella, freshly grated Parmesan and pizza dough made according to the rules of the art.

Because if you had in mind a slice that doesn't hold together, or even drips outright, know that this isn't supposed to be the case. In New York restaurants, the slices wait a long time in the window before being reheated in the microwave, giving them an appearance that's flagada, to say the least.

At Jay's Pizza, the pizzas come out of the oven continuously, and the thin dough retains its crisp texture, even crunchy by the time you reach sidewalk level. So, are you more of a Classic Cheese pizza (the US name for margherita), with PDO parmesan and fresh basil; a Pepperoni pizza generously topped with slices of pepperoni from a Parisian butcher and extra spicy honey; or a Rubi pizza inspired by the Italian-American recipe for penne alla vodka, with a creamy sauce combining tomato, cream, fior di latte and extra pesto?

The hardest part is choosing! But on arrival, all are crisp, very tasty and priced between €3.90 and €4.5 a slice. While this is a far cry from New York prices (around a dollar a slice for the cheapest counters), the quality of the products is much higher, which justifies the prices. Pizzas can also be taken away whole (€29-33) for evenings out with friends at home.