Not to be confused with West Nashville’s great NY Pie, there’s a place called NYNY Pie that has opened up in Mt. Juliet’s new giant outdoor shopping center. I was easily enticed by the name, but for the Snob, Mt. Juliet is no short hike from Frank-town. So, there it sat on my list waiting for an adventure out east on Interstate 40. The chance came one spring Saturday after my crew and I embarked on a hiking adventure to the remarkably magnificent Burgess Falls just outside Cookeville.

Never mind that we had a picnic lunch at the falls, my buddy Bassman Steve and I were game for a couple of slices after I let Ms. Pie loose in the wilds of the Providence Market Place Shopping Center. It is one of those new-fangled outdoor malls where you can drive right up to your destination. Trouble with these places is that there is no easy way to find anyplace the first time. We eventually stumbled onto NYNY occupying some prime corner real estate.

NYNY is a family-owned business that offers a fairly extensive Italian menu including salads, pasta dishes, hero sandwiches, calzones and deserts. They also feature some nifty lunch specials and offer most types of booze (beer, wine and liquors). Pie-wise, they list out many specialty pies of both the red and white sauce. And, for us normal folk, they make a Sicilian and a classic thin.

This is a table-seating joint, so we took off our hiking boots and grabbed a table on the outside corner patio. Things started off just fine when we learned that there were slices on the menu, and the Bassman followed my lead in ordering a pair of cheeses. Our sweet and kind waitress told us that they were a good size, made from a special 20-inch pie.  This certainly gave us great value and extra carbs for the super $1.99 per slice price.

They looked great when they arrived, and we both realized that we were about to eat something classic and great.  We were not disappointed. My initial reaction was that it was just short of being a perfect slice, needing to be crispier. Just a few more minutes in the oven would have nailed it.  The Bassman agreed. On further examination, our slices were nice and thin, with a good oil base. Both the tomato sauce and cheese were fresh and delicious. I experienced some sauce run-off when I folded my slice, so maybe it was a little heavy on the sauce. The crust was good and chewy, despite not being at maximum crispness.

The Bassman summed it all up by saying it was “definitely worth a repeat performance.” It is a long way from our home turf, but NYNY Pie will be hard to pass up whenever I find myself driving home on I-40.

PIZZA SNOB RATING     ****1/2 Nearer Perfection

NYNY Pie
401 S Mount Juliet Rd., Suite 250
(Providence Market Place Shopping Center)
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
615-754-6969
www.nyny-pizza.com