The Original original Ray's
6th Avenue & 11th Street
Arguably the best pizza in Manhattan (Madonna used to cite Ben's Pizza on Spring & Thompson streets as the best.....like many other things, she's wrong about that). This is -- purportedly -- the original "Original Ray's". There are about seven dozen pizza parlours in Manhattan that refer to themselves as "the Original Ray's," but if I have my facts right, this is the genuine article right here. In any case, the slices here are the work of the gods, regardless of the authenticity of the nomenclature. About a decade ago, there was a local band making the `rounds who called themselves "The Original Rays".
This particular Ray's is quasi-famous for becoming a de facto shrine to the missing following the events of September 11th.
(photo by Bronston Jones)