We are fortunate to have a lot of great pizza places in San Jose. For New York Style you have the ever-popular A Slice of New York and Bibo's. For Chicago, there is Blue Line and Paxti's. For more traditional Italian, Pizza Bocca Lupo. Californian? Pizza Antica. We even have some awesome Indian fusion pizzas--my favorites are at Blast & Brew on North First Street.
However, out of all the pizza genres and all the pizza places I have been to in Silicon Valley... the Detroit-style pizza at Slice of Homage was the best I've ever had.
They have actually been around for a couple years for take-out, even operating out of a nightclub, but they have finally gotten a dedicated space in August. It's easy to miss, nestled between The Farmer's Union and San Pedro Social along Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose.
Detroit-style pizza is known for a crunchy, cheese-lined edge and crispy bottom. The crust almost tastes caramelized while the dough bakes bubbly and fluffy in the center.
Slice of Homage's flagship and my favorite slice of all time was appropriately named "The Detroit vs. Everybody." This masterpiece has a special four-cheese blend, bacon, Genoa salami, Rosa Grande pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms. It's topped with dollops of fresh ricotta, freshly grated Grana Padano, basil strips, and garlic-infused extra-virgin olive oil. Every ingredient is premium and it tasted like magic. Perfectly balanced despite the insane amount of meat and cheeses.
If you want to step it up another level you can dip it in homemade ranch sauce or use a hot honey packet or two. They also had vodka sauce, buffalo, and BBQ dipping options.
You can order it by the slice for $13, and one is enough to fill up most people.
Of course my wife and I had to try more of their options including the Margherita, Halla Mahalo (a take on Hawaiian with fresh pineapple, American bacon, Canadian bacon, tomatoes, and jalapenos), and traditional New York slice with pepperoni and basil.
Everything was delicious. If you are a carnivore, you should run not walk to get "The Detroit vs. Everybody." The vegetarian Margherita was also spectacular so you can't go wrong either way here. There aren't enough superlatives to describe just how good the pizza was here, you have to try it for yourself.
They also have a Sicilian-style pizza that takes days to make, but you typically have to order it in advance and can only get it by the tray. It's on my list for next time.
Word has started getting out. Slice of Homage has they highest Yelp rating of any pizza place in San Jose with over 200 reviews. It even has a higher rating than Tony's pizza in San Francisco. Truly epic for pizza lovers and I will be back here many, many times. It's also one of the few spots Downtown conveniently open every single day from lunch to dinner (11:30am-9pm).
Slice of Homage is located at 163 West Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose.
