The heart of the business district is not where you’d expect to find an underground heavy metal pizza party, but Frankie’s Pizza by the Slice doesn’t much go in for the expected. There are postcards and old photos tacked to the walls; red and white tablecloths and candles in bottles; and they sure can bake the heck out of a pepperoni pizza. They’ll also sell you a slice of whatever is hot for $6, but it pays to order a full pie – you get to choose from a much broader selection, and cooking to order ensures the pie arrives just that little bit crisper and fresher.
With our Spidey-Senses tingling at the recent Spider-Man additions to Disney+, we have our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man to thank for Marvel’s unfaltering popularity. And unless you’ve been living in an alternate Multiverse, you’d know the web-slinger is celebrating his 60th anniversary this year. So, what better time to chow down on a NYC-style slice at your local pizzeria? Why pizza, we hear you cry? Because Spider-Man will go down in history as the speediest pizza delivery boy ever.
Created by the inimitable Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Spider-Man first appeared six decades ago in the pages of the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15. Now Peter Parker, the loveable kid who does whatever a spider can, is part of the biggest movie franchise the world has ever seen. So chuck on your comfiest Spidey suit and watch your favourite movies, now streaming on Disney+.
It was during Tobey Maguire’s delightfully goofy and yearningly romantic tenure in the red and blue suit in Sam Raimi’s 2004 flick Spider-Man 2 – hailed by critics as one of the greatest Super Hero films of all time – that saw Parker delivering pizza. Working at the Big Apple institution Joe’s Pizza, he is given an ultimatum: deliver eight extra-large deep-dish pizzas across 42 crowded Manhattan blocks in only seven and a half minutes. Or you're fired. Ditching his scooter for his trusty webs, Spidey suits up and takes to the skies. He even stops to save a couple of kids along the way.
Whether your web-slinging proclivities lie with Maguire, Andrew Garfield or Tom Holland, it’s time to celebrate Spider-Man’s huge milestone. Here are our favourite New York City-inspired pizza joints slingin’ mouth-watering slices to chow down on in his honour.