Slice of life
Slices Pizza Co., nestled in the middle of Terrapin Station shopping complex, is a considerable break from the doldrums of standard “drunk” College Park pizza. Crispier than Ledo, tastier than Domino’s and less greasy than Ratsie’s, their pies are a fine pastiche of New York-style pizza — minus the New York prices.
However, my first experience at Slices was not a positive one. I went with a companion who ordered the Coney Island pizza-pretzel log, another homage to New York. But his sandwich was a congealed mess of cheese, french fries and hot dog, something akin to carnival food. The barbecue chicken slice I ordered was nothing exceptional either; however, the mix of caramelized onions and barbecue sauce on top was quite tasty.
This initial lukewarm visit cannot be attributed to any recipe flaw, though. Everything possessed promise. On a busy Friday night with students filing in and out of the restaurant in droves, you’d think there would be an extra emphasis on freshness, especially at a recently opened eatery looking to make an impression. Yet the dinner we were served looked as though it had been sitting on the counter for hours while the oven roared emptily just behind it.
My second visit to Slices was much different, already an improvement when the food reached the table in piping hot form. I first tried the garlic knots, which were run-of-the-mill yet reliably palatable — all that really can be asked of garlic knots. The mac ‘n cheese slice was simple and delicious, albeit a tad dry on the crust without any other sauce. “The Works” slice, with its assortment of salty meats and vegetables, was also very solid, its omnipresent chunks of sausage packing a surprising level of richness.
The best slice of all, though, was the truffled mushroom, one of the best conceptual white pizzas I’ve tasted in a long time, its subtle coating of blue cheese crumbles serving as a perfect complement to the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the earthy flavor of the mushrooms.
Overall, Slices is respectable if unremarkable when compared to other College Park eateries. Just make sure you catch it on a good night. If you don’t, all bets are off. But if you do, this is as good as it gets for pizza in the area.
