New York Pizza Department, or NYPD, is Chattanooga’s one and only authentic New York pizzeria, taking ferocious pride in providing the real New York experience in the land of fried chicken, biscuits and grits. And even though they have only been open since March 2012, they’ve already earned numerous awards and accolades, including Urbanspoon.com’s “Best New Restaurant of Tennessee 2012,” the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce’s “Business of the Month” for March 2013, and msn.com’s number-one pick out of the “Top 100 Family Friendly restaurants in the entire country.” With more than 20 specialty pizza pie options, NYPD makes variety and authenticity its top priorities.
Every pie is made with only top-quality ingredients, with at least 90 percent accomplished in-house. They reject the entire concept of frozen or pre-packaged ingredients, making their own dough, shredding their own cheeses, making their own sauces, and cutting each of their vegetables. Because everything is made freshly on a daily basis, you don’t have to worry about preservatives, fillers, or artificial ingredients.
NYPD, home of the impressive 24-inch pie, offers a large variety, from crust to toppings, to give its customers their own, customized New York experiences. Pizza is available by the slice or in whole pies, in a big, foldable style or with the thick, chewy “Sicilian” crust of Sicilian Style Deep Dish Pizza (known as “Square Pizza” to northerners). Their pizza assortment ranges from “The 911,” with pepperoni, salami, ground beef, mild Italian sausage, bacon, mushroom, black olive, bell pepper, red onion, mozzarella cheese and authentic NY pizza sauce, to the “Verrazzano Veggie,” with onion, bell pepper, mushroom, black olive, tomato, sun dried tomato, broccoli, mozzarella cheese and NY pizza sauce, to the more traditional, and eternally delicious, cheese pizza.
To complement any New York pizza adventure, NYPD also has other NY pizzeria specialties, including calzones, stromboli, pinwheels, dough knots, and salads. Additions are being made right now to both the menu and to the space itself, as they are expanding to accommodate more people with outdoor seating and a private party room for any occasion from corporate meetings to family gatherings. The menu even includes pastas—baked ziti, fettuccine alfredo, stuffed shells, and spaghetti and meatballs—and sandwiches, including Philly cheesesteaks, Italian hoagies, and Italian beef sandwiches. The new menu coming out with the new year will have a kids’ menu and a variety of specials. Of course, no meal is complete without your choice of authentic desserts—cannoli, New York cheesecake or tiramisu.
The Cilen brothers consider their family-run establishment a tribute to the fallen heroes of 9/11 and to America’s other servicemen and women, and, as an act of appreciation for their heroes, police officers, firefighters, emergency responders, and military personnel always receive a special discount—20 percent off in uniform and 15 percent off out of uniform. As a family business, they are not only family- and kid-friendly, but also support the community and local charities, schools and sports programs.
Don't forget to check out one of their many Picasso-like daily specialty pies, which resemble a masterpiece more than just your typical pizza. These daily specials are all NYPD creations and cannot be found anywhere else outside their Hixson-based establishment.