jumbo slice
{{Short description|Very large slice of pizza}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
File:Adams Morgan Jumbo Slice.jpg
A jumbo slice is an oversized New York–style pizza sold by the slice to go, especially popular in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and Morningside Heights, a neighborhood of New York City. A circular pizza pie from which jumbo slices are cut may be up to {{convert|36|in|cm|-1}} in diameter, and individual slices can be more than {{convert|1|ft|cm|-1}} long. As a phenomenon, the jumbo slice has been covered by local and national media for their unusually large size, the late-night crowd they tend to attract, and the ongoing rivalry among pizza proprietors claiming ownership of the term and of the largest slices.
Ingredients
Typically, jumbo slices are offered in only two varieties: cheese and pepperoni.{{cite web |url=http://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2015/02/jumbo-slice-marathon |title=The ultimate endurance test: a Jumbo Slice marathon |author=Ana Srikanth |date=February 26, 2015 |work=The Eagle |access-date=December 17, 2016 |archive-date=March 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301235932/http://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2015/02/jumbo-slice-marathon |url-status=live }} Individual slices can measure more than {{convert|1|ft|cm|-1}} in length, weigh approximately {{convert|1|lb|kg|1}}, and are typically folded to eat.{{cite news |title=The Big Cheese |last1=Jamieson |first1=Dave |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/29582/the-big-cheese |newspaper=Washington City Paper |date=November 5, 2004 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306055939/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/29582/the-big-cheese |url-status=live }} Dough balls for jumbo slice pies can weigh more than {{convert|4|lb}}.{{cite web |url=http://dc.eater.com/2016/12/14/13883596/jumbo-slice-crawl-dc-pizza-mart-bolis-rankings#jumbo-slice-at-pizza-mart |title=Taking a Jumbo Slice Pizza Crawl in Adams Morgan — While Sober |author=Tim Ebner |date=December 14, 2016 |work=Eater DC |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=December 17, 2016}} Prior to application, sauce is held in a large receptacle sometimes nicknamed a "garbage can", and the mozzarella-provolone cheese mix can arrive in {{convert|900|lb|adj=on}} shipments. A single jumbo slice may contain more than 1,000 kilocalories (4200 kJ),{{cite book | last=Kime | first=P.N. | title=Moon Washington DC | publisher=Avalon Travel Publishing | series=Moon Handbooks | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-61238-039-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcFmiF7HiyIC&pg=PA111 | access-date=January 12, 2017 | page=111 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} as confirmed in a study conducted by ABC Research Corp. on behalf of the Washington City Paper.
History
Koronet Pizza, located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in New York City, began selling oversized pie slices upon its opening in 1981. By 1990, Koronet's slices were cut from {{convert|30|in|cm|-1|adj=on}} pies,{{cite news |last=Kuban |first=Adam |date=March 2011 |title=Koronet: Jumbo Pizza Slices Bigger Than Your Head |url=http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/koronet-jumbo-pizza-slices-morningside-heights-columbia.html |website=Serious Eats |location=New York City |access-date=December 26, 2016 |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228032907/http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/koronet-jumbo-pizza-slices-morningside-heights-columbia.html |url-status=live }} and had gained a following among students of nearby Columbia University.{{cite news |title=Pizza 2002: The State Of the Slice |last1=Levine |first1=Ed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/06/dining/pizza-2002-the-state-of-the-slice.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501231335/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/06/dining/pizza-2002-the-state-of-the-slice.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date=May 1, 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 2, 2002 |access-date=13 January 2017}} Koronet’s offering eventually came to be referred to as a "jumbo slice" pizza.{{cite news |last=Fishbein |first=Rebecca |date=September 18, 2013 |title=The 12 Best Pizza Places In NYC |url=http://gothamist.com/2013/09/18/the_best_pizza_in_nyc.php |website=Gothamist |access-date=December 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108025655/http://gothamist.com/2013/09/18/the_best_pizza_in_nyc.php |archive-date=November 8, 2016 }}
The first jumbo slice pizzerias in Washington, D.C., were established on 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan, a neighborhood known for its many bars. Jumbo slices are considered a staple for hungry late-night bar-hoppers, especially after last call around 3 a.m.{{cite news |title=Pie Fight; Pizza signs try to top each other. |last1=Jamieson |first1=Dave |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/26773/pie-fight |newspaper=Washington City Paper |date=July 25, 2003 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-date=October 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006031227/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/26773/pie-fight |url-status=live }} On a weekend night, a jumbo slice shop can produce approximately {{convert|800|lb}} of pizza, with most sales in a given week made over the course of about eight weekend hours.
Interiors of the D.C. shops are sparse, featuring only stools and counters, with no wall adornments or customer restrooms. Outside, the late-night scene has been described as "a kind of impromptu outdoor party".{{cite news |title=The Meet Lovers' Pizza; With That Jumbo P-Mart Slice: Pepperoni, Sausage, Dates |last1=Copeland |first1=Libby |url=https://www.highbeam.com/publications/the-washington-post-p5554/aug-10-2003 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 10, 2003 |access-date=December 17, 2016}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Bicycle-mounted Metro Police officers have made the area a regular post location on weekend nights.
Not all D.C. residents are enthusiastic about the jumbo slice. Elana Schor wrote in The Hill, "The food custom that keeps me up at night ... is the jumbo slice. Slung onto paper plates in neon-drenched dishonor, barely tasty even at 2 a.m., it is too disappointing to truly count as pizza."{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/capital-living/20857-petes-apizza-lures-diners-away-from-the-disgraceful-jumbo-slice/|title=Pete's 'apizza' lures diners away from the disgraceful jumbo slice|last=Schor|first=Elana|date=2008-06-19|newspaper=The Hill|access-date=2017-01-12}} The jumbo slice phenomenon has also been a source of frustration for neighborhood residents.{{cite news |title=Adams Morgan Acquires Late-Night Jones for Falafel; Shop Caters to Pocket of Fans in Big-Slice Country |last1=Lengel |first1=Allan |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-52276.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118102416/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-52276.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 15, 2005 |access-date=May 1, 2016}} Pizza slices have often ended up as street litter, with a wind tunnel effect on 18th street sometimes carrying paper plates up toward Adams Mill Road. Patrons have been known to discard plates and unfinished slices up to a half-mile away, especially in the direction of the Woodley Park Metro station. According to Scott Bennett, owner of the nearby Amsterdam Falafelshop, "If you see Adams Morgan on Sunday morning, it looks like Chernobyl."
The term "jumbo slice" was first used in Adams Morgan by Chris Chishti, owner of Pizza Mart, which has operated in the neighborhood since the 1990s.{{efn|name=fn1|Pizza Mart's opening has variously been reported as 1995, 1996, and 1997.}} In 1999, Chishti started creating larger pies by combining standard pizza dough balls; his first "jumbo slice" pie was {{convert|18|in|cm}}, and over time grew to {{convert|22|in|cm}}, {{convert|28|in|cm}}, and finally, {{convert|32|in|cm}}. As the jumbo slice developed, Chishti upgraded to larger ovens and, once constrained by the maximum size commercially available, even experimented with oval pizzas.
Jawed Khan, a former Chishti employee, opened Pizza Napoli in 1999, offering slices from a {{convert|30|in|cm|adj=on}} pie at a time when Chishti was still at {{convert|22|in|cm}}. Khan, who also began using the term "jumbo slice", told the Washington City Paper: "We came in with the biggest slice." Chishti responded by going to a larger size, and staked his claim to the term by hanging a plastic sign in his window reading "Jumbo Slice".
In March 2003, the Pizza Boli's chain opened a franchise location three doors away from Pizza Mart. Owned by a former business partner of Chishti, John Nasir, and operated by Kerry Guneri, Pizza Boli's installed a neon sign reading "Original Jumbo Slice". Guneri explained the phrase, saying "I make the slices original. My slice is as original as the way they've made it in Italy for 2,000 years." In response, Chishti installed a nearly identical sign the very same day, reading "Real Original Jumbo Slice". Said Chishti: "When he gets fancy, I'm just responding to it." As part of the ongoing feud, in August 2003, Chishti installed another sign reading "First Oldest Original Jumbo Slice". According to the Washington City Paper, "what escaped both proprietors was the fact that nobody cares."
Other pizza shops in Washington, D.C., have also laid claim to the phrase "jumbo slice", including locations along the intersecting U Street corridor,{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Police-say--394833701.html |title=Police: Man Cuts 'Jumbo Slice' Pizza Line, Stabs Man During Fight |date=September 26, 2016 |work=nbcwashington.com |publisher=Associated Press / NBC4 Washington |access-date=December 17, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220153043/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Police-say--394833701.html |url-status=live }} and near the Catholic University of America in the Brookland neighborhood.{{cite news|title=Fire Ravages Famed Area Restaurant |last1=Cea |first1=Antoinette |url=http://www.cuatower.com/news/2013/11/10/fire-ravages-famed-area-restaurant/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111020433/http://www.cuatower.com/news/2013/11/10/fire-ravages-famed-area-restaurant/ |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Tower |date=November 10, 2013 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |url-status=dead }} As of December 2016, Adams Morgan establishments marketing themselves as selling the "jumbo slice" include Pizza Mart, Jumbo Slice Pizza, Duccini's Pizza, and Bestolli Pizza, which is the former Pizza Boli's, although the signage remains unchanged.
Angelo's of Baltimore has also been serving an 18" slice for at least 30 years, and unlike the Adams Morgan venues, it is actually a piece of an entire pizza. The pizzeria also offers an immense 26" (or, in the past, 30") "party pie" which challenges the narrow width of many Baltimore rowhouses. After closing in 2014 https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/hampden-pizza-place-evicted-ceases-operations/ in Hampden, owners Tommy and Angelo Pizza reopened in 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pmq.com/angelos-giant-pizza-slice-in-hampden-is-reborn/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2024-11-22 |archive-date=2023-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319171302/https://www.pmq.com/angelos-giant-pizza-slice-in-hampden-is-reborn/ |url-status=live }}
The phrase has also been used by pizzerias outside the Washington and New York areas,{{cite news |title='Jumbo Slice' is a fact, not a boast |last=Enna |first=Renee |date=March 22, 2000 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune}} including D.C. Slice in Pittsburgh, which was inspired by the "legendary" Adams Morgan jumbo slice pizzas.{{cite news |last=Gigler |first=Dan |date=January 8, 2016 |title=Like a big pizza pie ... |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/life/plate/2016/01/08/Like-a-big-pizza-pie/stories/201601080200 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=December 26, 2016 |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228040259/http://www.post-gazette.com/life/plate/2016/01/08/Like-a-big-pizza-pie/stories/201601080200 |url-status=live }}
In mass media
The jumbo slice has been recognized as a part of Washington, D.C. food culture in books,{{cite book |title=Pizza, A Slice of American History |author=Liz Barrett |year=2014 |publisher=Quarto Publishing group |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0-7603-4560-3 |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPCuBAAAQBAJ&q=jumbo+slice&pg=PA135 |access-date=13 January 2017}}{{cite book |title=Lexicon of Real American Food |author1=Jane Stern |author2=Michael Stern |year=2011 |publisher=Lyons Press |location=Guilford, Connecticut |isbn=978-0-7627-6094-7 |page=163 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nCFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT169 |access-date=13 January 2017}} and its "dueling" establishments have been featured on the Travel Channel's Food Wars.{{cite news |title='Food Wars' names Washington's best jumbo slice |last1=Palmieri |first1=Tar |last2=Schwab |first2=Nikki |url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/food-wars-names-washingtons-best-jumbo-slice/article/4830 |newspaper=The Washington Examiner |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://dcist.com/2010/04/jumbo_slice_featured_on_food_wars_t.php |title=Travel Channel's Food Wars Takes on D.C.'s Jumbo Slice |author=Jamie R. Liu |date=April 3, 2010 |work=DCist |publisher=Gothamist LLC |access-date=December 17, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824091910/http://dcist.com/2010/04/jumbo_slice_featured_on_food_wars_t.php |archive-date=August 24, 2011 }} Pizza Mart was judged the winner, with Top Chef's Carla Hall casting the deciding vote.{{Cite episode |title=Jumbo Slice Vs. Pizza Mart |url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12iqac_jumbo-slice-vs-pizza-mart_tv |access-date=December 17, 2016 |series=Food Wars |series-link=Food Wars (American TV series) |network=Travel Channel |date=April 13, 2010 |season=1 |number=7}} Local media outlets have covered the jumbo slice phenomenon by sampling comparable slices, in some cases with an emphasis on undertaking the task while sober. In 2012 The Washington Post objected to a ranked list published by The Daily Meal calling Jumbo Slice Pizza the 12th best pizza in America.{{cite news |last=Baldinger |first=Alex |date=October 12, 2012 |title=Jumbo Slice is not the 12th best pizza in the country |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/going-out-gurus/post/no-jumbo-slice-is-not-the-12th-best-pizza-in-the-country/2012/10/12/dc1d4510-13cd-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=December 26, 2016 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004737/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/going-out-gurus/post/no-jumbo-slice-is-not-the-12th-best-pizza-in-the-country/2012/10/12/dc1d4510-13cd-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_blog.html |url-status=live }}
See also
{{Portal|United States|Food}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Pizza in the United States}}
Category:Food and drink in Washington, D.C.
Category:Pizza in New York City