Welcome party pizza - this involves math!

CharmedPam

And math is hard.

I called up the pizza place, we're having pizza/salad/pop/snacks for a welcome party the night before. It's in NY, and a lot of my friends/family have not had real NY style pizza (ok, ok, it's in the suburbs but the reviews say it's pretty damn close to city pizza)

The lady told me each pizza feeds 8.   Including us, we have 41 people who rsvp'd to the night before welcome party.  I ordered 8 boxes and got off the phone with her, asking her probably twice if 8 pies would feed 40ish people.  FI said it was probably 8 slices in a pie.  So was she thinking it was a slice per person?  I know full well some people will have 2+....

I'm in the camp of "more" vs "less" and I'd rather have leftovers (our hotel has fridges) instead of ANYone thinking "man, I wish I could have had one more slice....".  A pie is 13" she said, I should probably add on 2 more and have leftovers, right?  

~signed, someone from Chicago - who has squares and not slices

ILoveBeachMusic

Yes I would add on a few extra pies.

climbingsingle

Where in the 'burbs are you ordering from? I'm in the burbs, and there are some fantastic pizza places that are very much the same as Manhattan pizza. 

Absolutely add on a few pies. I know people who can easily eat 3 slices. It's always better to have too much than not enough! 

JaxInBlue

If you really want left overs, I'd add 3 pies.  Two might still be cutting it too close.  A true NY style slice could be bigger than usual to some people - you've got to be able to fold it! - and you've got salad so that might predispose people to eat less pizza but I'm always up for erring on the side of more.  Have fun!

CharmedPam

LOL! I was just going to say, I'll have 2 myself.  And if no one is counting, possibly 3.  And NY pizza is really not my favorite thing in the world.  Plus, Im sure people will like the leftovers at midnight or 1 when the hunger monster strikes again.

So we're going with Migliozzi's Pizza in Highland Falls.  You'd be surprised how hard it was to find a pizza place with good reviews who delivered in that area.   It's a fairly new place, opened up in March but so far the reviews for such a new place are fantastic.  Let me know if you know otherwise....

CharmedPam

and no, no one's going to eat salad.  Whenever I order it people are like "what's that green stuff?" but I wanted the illusion that there was a healthier option  

climbingsingle

CharmedPam said:

LOL! I was just going to say, I'll have 2 myself.  And if no one is counting, possibly 3.  And NY pizza is really not my favorite thing in the world.  Plus, Im sure people will like the leftovers at midnight or 1 when the hunger monster strikes again.

So we're going with Migliozzi's Pizza in Highland Falls.  You'd be surprised how hard it was to find a pizza place with good reviews who delivered in that area.   It's a fairly new place, opened up in March but so far the reviews for such a new place are fantastic.  Let me know if you know otherwise....

I haven't heard of it, but I'm further downstate. I do have a friend that lives in Fort Montgomery - I'll be he knows it. The reviews look good! 

SaintPaulGal

Ok, maybe I am off base but I think you are going to be WAY, WAY short on pizza.  13 inches is a pretty small pie.  There is no way a small pizza is going to be dinner for 8 adults.  I would expect it to serve 2 hungry people or 3 standard appetites--probably safe to say 3 servings per pizza since you also have salad. That means your crew would need just shy of 14 pizzas.  I say this as someone who is around groups of people eating pizza quite a lot (office lunches plus a friend who always wants to get pizza at parties.)

SaintPaulGal

Oops, double post.

CharmedPam

No, I agree, I asked her twice if 8 pizza's would feed 40 people and she was pretty confident it would.  We are adding more today. 

kahluakoala

@Charmedpam also please take into consideration that if you're getting multiple toppings, you may also need to up the amount even more. Like, if you have 10 pizzas * 8 slices that's 80 pieces of pizza, but if one topping ends up being more popular than another you will need to have extra so people can get a variety and not be in a situation where you have a few vegetarians and only peperroni left. 

I recommend 15 pizzas - 8 plain and 7 with a few different toppings (half meat and half veggie)

ei34

A 13" pie is usually called the small or mini pie...we typically order an 18" (that standard size you see in pizzerias in the city and 'burbs) and I need two slices if it's dinner (though one is fine if it's a snack/there's other food).  Very smart to order more.  I'm not familiar with the place/area but I've had a lot of phenomenal pizza in the NYC 'burbs.

lyndausvi

DH said those are small pizzas and he would order at least 12, ore like 14 or 15.

STARMOON44

I would order 20. 3 plain, 5 veggie, 8 meat, 3 other veggie or meat, 2 white. 

climbingsingle

A large NY pie is typically 18". So yes, a 13" inch pie would be a small pie. If they're still cutting that into 8 slices, the slices will be small. I could probably eat 4 slices easy of the smaller ones. 

CharmedPam

right, well I googled dominoes dimensions since I'm so familiar with their sizes.  Dominoes med is 12" and large is 14" so it's right in between.  I'll add more. 

Thanks, ladies, for your input!

ernursej

What the heck is a plain pizza?

lyndausvi

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

ernursej

lyndausvi said:

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

That is a thing? I would never order just a plain cheese/sauce pizza. Toppings are essential!

lyndausvi

ernursej said:

lyndausvi said:

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

That is a thing? I would never order just a plain cheese/sauce pizza. Toppings are essential!

Not only is it  a thing, it's often the popular choice where I come from. Popping in to a pizza place and grabbing just a slice of plain pizza is the norm.  

Both DH and I pretty much only eat pizza that way.   Sometimes I add toppings, but DH never does.

STARMOON44

ernursej said:

lyndausvi said:

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

That is a thing? I would never order just a plain cheese/sauce pizza. Toppings are essential!

Yeah it's a thing. It's a standard option in NYC, very popular.  Some people think toppings sully the perfection of a pizza. I'm not that extreme but when I first went to the Midwest and saw buffalo chicken fingers and baked ziti as toppings I was appalled. 

ernursej

lyndausvi said:

Not only is it  a thing, it's often the popular choice where I come from. Popping in to a pizza place and grabbing just a slice of plain pizza is the norm.  

Both DH and I pretty much only eat pizza that way.   Sometimes I add toppings, but DH never does.

STARMOON44 said:

Yeah it's a thing. It's a standard option in NYC, very popular.  Some people think toppings sully the perfection of a pizza. I'm not that extreme but when I first went to the Midwest and saw buffalo chicken fingers and baked ziti as toppings I was appalled. 

Wow. I have never ordered or seen plain pizza ordered for adults. My eyes have been opened. Still don't think I could eat plain pizza, at minimum, pepperoni is required.

MesmrEwe

ernursej said:

lyndausvi said:

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

That is a thing? I would never order just a plain cheese/sauce pizza. Toppings are essential!

I'm highly intolerant to pepperoni and peppers, that are the most common pizza toppings, if I accidentally ingest either one, it's NOT pretty...  Plain pizza or "Cheese pizza" is popular because it's something everyone who has any form of sensitivity to toppings can eat (unless they've got a gluten, tomato, or cheese issue)...  

ernursej

MesmrEwe said:

ernursej said:

lyndausvi said:

ernursej said:

What the heck is a plain pizza?

Just cheese and sauce.

That is a thing? I would never order just a plain cheese/sauce pizza. Toppings are essential!

I'm highly intolerant to pepperoni and peppers, that are the most common pizza toppings, if I accidentally ingest either one, it's NOT pretty...  Plain pizza or "Cheese pizza" is popular because it's something everyone who has any form of sensitivity to toppings can eat (unless they've got a gluten, tomato, or cheese issue)...  

I'll eat all your pepperoni/pepper pizzas. You can have all my plain pizzas. We can share a Hawaiian?

In my circle of friends, nuts and shellfish are the only allergies/intolerances. We have a few veggie friends but they eat milk/egg products so will happily have a veggie pizza.

sparklepants41

ernursej said:

lyndausvi said:

Not only is it  a thing, it's often the popular choice where I come from. Popping in to a pizza place and grabbing just a slice of plain pizza is the norm.  

Both DH and I pretty much only eat pizza that way.   Sometimes I add toppings, but DH never does.

STARMOON44 said:

Yeah it's a thing. It's a standard option in NYC, very popular.  Some people think toppings sully the perfection of a pizza. I'm not that extreme but when I first went to the Midwest and saw buffalo chicken fingers and baked ziti as toppings I was appalled. 

Wow. I have never ordered or seen plain pizza ordered for adults. My eyes have been opened. Still don't think I could eat plain pizza, at minimum, pepperoni is required.

My husband will order a plain pizza - especially if he is not familiar with a particular pizza place. 

Personally, I think it's the vanilla ice cream of the pizza world, but hey - to each their own. 

SaintPaulGal

I'm intrigued by both sides of this discussion.  I have never once in my life heard it called "plain" pizza (although that's how I feel about it.)  It's called cheese pizza around here, and it is tragically popular with all age groups.

lyndausvi

SaintPaulGal said:

I'm intrigued by both sides of this discussion.  I have never once in my life heard it called "plain" pizza (although that's how I feel about it.)  It's called cheese pizza around here, and it is tragically popular with all age groups.

Can I ask why it's tragic?

DH is a fine dining chef.   Has worked with and is friends with some celebrity, some 3 Michelin star chefs.    They all go out for plain/cheese pizza when they are together in NYC.  

Like a good steak doesn't need a lot of toppings, a good pizza (good cheese, sauce and dough) doesn't need toppings.  

STARMOON44

If a restaurant's plain pizza isn't so mouthwateringly good it makes you want to go back for more, they don't know how to make good pizza. If that's the case, def order all the toppings because they are essentially treating pizza as an edible plate. 

climbingsingle

Born and raised in NY, where we have the best pizza hands down - sorry, it's true. A slice - just a regular slice with no toppings, is and always will be the most popular and delicious way to eat pizza. Yes, toppings are good too. But a regular slice of pizza with nothing on it is the best way to enjoy. And like Starmoon said, if you're eating pizza that requires toppings to make it taste good, you're eating shitty pizza. 

Signed, 
a pizza snob

lyndausvi

climbingwife said:

Born and raised in NY, where we have the best pizza hands down - sorry, it's true. A slice - just a regular slice with no toppings, is and always will be the most popular and delicious way to eat pizza. Yes, toppings are good too. But a regular slice of pizza with nothing on it is the best way to enjoy. And like Starmoon said, if you're eating pizza that requires toppings to make it taste you, you're eating shitty pizza. 

Signed, 
a pizza snob

I grew up near Philly and our pizza is very similar if not the same as NY's.    You can tell a good pizza if their plain pizza is good.     I think that is why I can't stand chain pizza places.  You are almost required to put on toppings in order to eat it.

Whenever we moved DH (from Long Island) goes on a pizza tour to find the best plain pizza.  There are 2 around here that are pretty good.   Not surprising both places are owned by guys from the NYC area.  Plain pies are their most popular items.

SaintPaulGal

lyndausvi said:

SaintPaulGal said:

I'm intrigued by both sides of this discussion.  I have never once in my life heard it called "plain" pizza (although that's how I feel about it.)  It's called cheese pizza around here, and it is tragically popular with all age groups.

Can I ask why it's tragic?

DH is a fine dining chef.   Has worked with and is friends with some celebrity, some 3 Michelin star chefs.    They all go out for plain/cheese pizza when they are together in NYC.  

Like a good steak doesn't need a lot of toppings, a good pizza (good cheese, sauce and dough) doesn't need toppings.  

Totally a matter of individual preference.  I just personally think it's a boring choice.  Sort of like how there is nothing wrong with vanilla--as the seed pod from a tropical orchid it's actually a very exotic product when you think about it.  But (imitation) vanilla is sort of the default absence-of-flavor option.  And with pizza, plain cheese is the thing that you wind up forced to get when surrounded by picky eaters.

I can appreciate minimalist toppings.  My favorite pizza is a wood fired Neapolitan style with a couple of slices of prosciutto, a few leaves of arugula, and a bit of sliced garlic.  I can also appreciate an American-style pizza loaded down with a dozen different toppings.  But I can't get on board with cheese pizza.  If I want to eat plain bread and cheese I'd rather have a baguette and some brie.