Ever on the lookout for the great slice of pizza, I was delighted to see two new players get into the pizza game. Pizza must be a really good business. It’s everywhere. But that doesn’t mean that it’s good pizza. As a passionate fan of the ultimate New York pizza, I am on an eternal quest for “the one.” Neapolitan pizza has made strides into the pizza market, but if I never see a circle of melted mozzarella di bufala again, that’s fine with me. Regular whole milk mozzarella melted on a great crust with a pizza sauce that is preferably not sweet buried under a camouflage of pepperoni is the pinnacle of pizzadom to me.
I was underwhelmed when the group behind Junior’s moved into the old Delerno’s space in Old Metairie and opened Il Supremo, a pasta takeout offering six different pastas and sauce to mix and match. There was nothing special about this pasta but it was good enough.
Then we heard they were getting into the pizza arena, and I was dubious. But when I saw a pic of the pizza I got excited, and headed over to Il Suoremo to have a look. And a slice.
I love this little place. The old Delerno’s was the scene of a bad date once, but I still liked the restaurant. Il Supremo is a tiny little part of the footprint from the old Delerno’s. And it’s so cute!
A customer walks into Il Supremo, which is a pretty no-frills space. There is a counter where you order and your order is walked into a kitchen you can’t see where your order is prepared. There is a checkered curtain separating the two. I don't know why but I find this scene charming. The kids taking your order are so appealing, and it is rare that I think that. They are as nice as they are cute.
Since the first time I went into Il Supremo to get pasta, they have added a few seats along the walls. It’s cozy and dark yet somehow cute and would be a nice place to hang out and eat a pizza with someone you really like.
There is a small menu of pizzas and two by the slice. I’m a pepperoni girl but only cheese and the day’s special were available by the slice. The special was a pepperoni pizza with jalapeños and hot honey. I’m not into the honey phenom, so I asked if I could get a cheese pizza, add pepperoni. They did it.
I was thrilled with this pizza. I haven’t seen a New York-style pizza (since the sadly defunct Slice) with a crust that was stiff enough not to fold when held. This crust had a wonderful couple of bubbles with a nice char. There was plenty of pepperoni and enough cheese to make a good slice. It was a little dry but that may be the extra toasting when the pepperoni was added. Dipping sauces are offered but we didn't get any, so maybe that’s to offset the dryness.
Either way, this pizza checks my boxes: a chewy sturdy crust, some char, regular mozzarella, and plenty of pepperoni. I wish they would get something else in common with Slice, like adding anything you want to a cheese pizza slice. That would be a shortcut to my happy place.
