It doesn’t matter how many slices of pizza you’ve eaten in your life. It doesn’t matter if you’ve eaten nothing but pizza for 25 years. If you’ve never had cold cheese pizza ― this cold cheese pizza ― then you haven’t lived. Cold cheese pizza is a revelation, especially for those who can’t wait for their food to cool down before taking a bite.
Cold cheese pizza is not a slice of leftover cheese pizza you pull from the fridge. It’s just a normal slice of hot cheese pizza that’s topped with a handful of cold, shredded mozzarella. Not only does the mountain of cold cheese protect the roof of your mouth from burning, but it also adds a wonderful new texture combination and flavor to the pizza.
The Daily Meal credits Oneonta, New York ― specifically Tino’s Pizza and Restaurant ― with inventing this pizza style. Tino Jr., the owner of Tino’s, recounted the story of how cold cheese pizza started:
“This guy came up to the counter and asked for a slice. But it was too hot so he said, ‘Can you put some cold mozzarella cheese on top?’ so he could eat it right away,” Tino Jr. told The Daily Meal.
And just like that, a cult favorite was born.
Tino’s is definitely not the only place to make cold cheese pizza. Little Vincent’s on Long Island also makes a famous slice. And so too does Beto’s in Pittsburgh. Wherever you get your slice, you can look forward to it looking something like these:
Tino’s is not the only place that serves cold cheese pizza in Oneonta, N.Y. And Oneonta is not the only place to find it. Little Vincent’s on Long Island makes a famous slice. Town Pizza in Ocean Beach, N.Y. also makes a slice people love.
If you can’t find cold cheese pizza near you, go ahead and ask your local slice place if they’ll make you one. And in the mean time, feast your eyes on these glorious slices:
This story has been updated to mention other famous pizza places that make cold cheese pizza.