Paying close to $20 for a slice of pizza seems outrageous. But at Bed Stuy’s Cuts & Slices, is it worth the steep price point? I had to investigate.
I’ve had the oxtail slice from Cuts & Slices on my radar for quite some time, so I finally made my way over to their Bedford-Stuyvesant location. The space is small and fairly unassuming, with a sign that reads “Cuts & Slices Avenue” along with some “Simpsons” graffiti just out front.
I was surprised that, for such a small spot, the pizzeria offers a pretty wide range of flavors, each with a Caribbean twist. As for the oxtail slice, what they’re best known for, they offer four types: curry oxtail, brown stew oxtail, sweet chili oxtail and teriyaki oxtail.
Aside from that, they offer a chopped cheese slice, a chicken and waffle slice, a shrimp and lobster black truffle alfredo slice (where the fish can either be sauteed or fried) and a jerk chicken slice. The list goes on and on and on. Immediately, Cuts & Slices gets an A+ in the creativity department – this is not your average pizza joint.
In order to fairly assess the ‘za, I went for three slices: the brown stew oxtail, a jerk chicken slice and a shrimp and lobster black truffle alfredo slice (with the fish sauteed).
You can imagine my jaw dropping when I heard my total was close to 40 bucks … for three slices of pizza. Add a tip, and three slices here will cost you half a Benjamin. While I understand a slice being pricier with toppings such as slow-cooked oxtail and lobster, this still definitely provided some sticker shock.
I started with the oxtail slice. I sat right next to a sign inside the small eatery that warns, since the oxtail is made in house everyday, there’s a chance of bones being mixed in. I appreciated this sign: a note to the public that the folks in the kitchen are doing things right, and therefore, keep your complaints to yourself should it not be entirely “perfect.” The flavor of the meat had the savory and salty depth it should, and the cheese underneath had that stringy pull that let me know, just like the heaps of oxtail on this $12.50 slice, they didn’t shy away from the cheese, either. The crust reminded me of a puff pastry; super crisp yet light and flakey on the outside, and soft and almost steamed on the inside.
Next up was the shrimp and lobster black truffle alfredo slice. Priced at $18.75, I was hoping to have my mind blown — and honestly, I did. There’s should be a photo of this slice next to the word “decadent” in the dictionary, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it won an award for both its flavor and creativity. Like the oxtail, Cuts & Slices does not skimp on shrimp and lobster, though there’s noticeably more shrimp than lobster, and the creamy alfredo against the light dough made it feel like I was eating a shrimp and lobster pot pie. The only thing that was lost was the black truffle, which I did not taste at all. Yet, even as good as it was, I’m torn, because nearly 20 bucks for a single slice of pizza feels impossible to justify.
Finally, I tried the jerk chicken slice, or what I would soon deem as “Jamaica on a pizza.” Cubes of jerk chicken with thick slivers of red onion and green pepper adorned the triangular slice, with a spice that felt warm the way jerk chicken should without being overpowering, the way jerk chicken can be. I added a few dashes of their hot sauce, which was almost like a Caribbean spin on Frank’s Red Hot. I found this third selection to be a near perfect slice of innovative pizza.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed each of my slices. I don’t believe they’re overpriced, because the quality and portion of the ingredients on each slice justified the cost. Nevertheless, paying over $10 for a slice of pizza may be too tough a pill to swallow.
While I did love the decadence of the shrimp and lobster black truffle alfredo slice, the jerk chicken slice (the only one I tried that was under $10), is truly an incredible option, and between flavor and price point, it’s the one I’d specifically return for, but only if I had money to throw around.
- Address: 93 Howard Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11233 (with locations in St. Albans, Queens, at 205-01 Linden Blvd. and Manhattan’s LES at
321 E. Houston) - Phone: (718) 552-2652 (Bed-Stuy)
- Hours: (Bed-Stuy) Monday-Tuesday 12 p.m.-8 p.m., Closed Wednesday, Thursday 12 p.m.-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday 12 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-7 p.m.
- Prices: Slices $3.50-$18.75; Pies $25.50-$120.65; Appetizers & Other Specialties $8.75-$10.50
- Takeout and delivery available; no reservations.
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