Pizza 33:Crispy crust, top-of-the-line ingredients.

Food
Best Pizza by the Slice
Pizza 33
489 Third Avenue, at 33rd Street
212-545-9191

Just as there's a difference between a neighborhood whole-pie-only pizzeria and a destination whole-pie pizzeria, there are still a few slice joints worth going out of your way for. Most of these -- Joe's on Carmine and Bleecker, East Harlem's Patsy's (accept no substitutes), Carroll Gardens' House of Pizza and Calzone, and DiFara's in Midwood -- are reliable relics, notable as much for their ancient grime as the crispness of their crusts. All of which makes our winner, the nine-month-old, squeaky-clean Pizza 33, even more exceptional. We go for the relatively pricey fresh-mozzarella margherita slice ($3), roughly the size of an NBA sneaker and made with good cheese, tangy half-dollar-size dabs of sweet tomato sauce, and a flick of fresh basil. Hard-core slice hounds may find the thinnish crust a tad stiff as they approach the lip -- it cracks when you fold it -- but 33 gets extra points for its un-grungy atmosphere.