CLOSED

This week’s restaurant: New York Pizza Company, 1013 W. Foothill Blvd. (at Mulberry), Upland.

NYPC was formerly located in an obscure part of West 11th Street in the Upland Sports Arena pay-to-play building and moved to Foothill and Mulberry, next to Philly’s Best, a few months ago.

They have a huge array of pizzas with over 50 toppings to choose from, plus salads, pasta, subs and burgers. You order at the counter and they bring your order to your table. It’s clean and comfortable, a very modern interior with corrugated metal accents, and with clocks giving the time in Italy, New York and Upland. One wall, perhaps 15 feet long, is covered with a photo mural of Times Square, with NYPC’s sign Photoshopped in. Ha ha. By the way, can it be true that Times Square has two Sbarros in two blocks? Well, it IS Michael Scott’s favorite N.Y. pizza parlor…

I’ve been to NYPC twice in recent weeks, plus a third visit in their old location a few years back. But I can’t say I’m a fan. The first time was because a friend was working there. I went more recently to check out their new location and possibly blog about it, but a different restaurant that week ended up in this space.

In that visit, I had the pizza slice special (slice, salad and soda) and for whatever reason, the “pizza of the day,” the odd but strangely compelling Baked Ziti Pizza, called to me. It was a slice with, yes, baked ziti pasta, sauce and ricotta cheese on top. It was as weird as it sounds, albeit quite filling.

I decided to go back last week, order a conventional slice and write about it. I got the slice-salad-soda special again, this time with a plain cheese slice ($7.55 with tax).

One thing in NYPC’s favor, you get a lot of food for the money. The salad isn’t bad and the slices are enormous wedges bigger than your head. That said, this doesn’t seem like New York-style pizza to me. The crust is on the thick side, rather stiff, and it’s impossible to fold a slice in half to eat it, as New Yorkers (and those who love them) like to do. You’re just holding this giant triangle with two hands and moving it toward your mouth.

The sauce is rather bland, too, something I’d noticed on previous visits.

I’m a little surprised to be saying this because I like all kinds of pizza (while generally turning up my nose at Domino’s, Little Caesar’s and the like) and really like New York-style pizza. They do very good versions at San Biagio’s in Upland and Anthony’s Italian Kitchen in Rancho Cucamonga.

You may like NYPC’s pizza — people’s taste in pizza varies considerably — but if I go back, it will be to try a sub.