Big Apple Pizzeria

I ordered parmesan chicken wing. Not mc chicken from McDonald. This is an extremely unfair service. This post is to warn others to make sure when they order wings from them, ask «are they actually full size wings». See picture for complete understanding.

A great small sized pizzeria for a quick bite or takeout. The vegetarian selection is usually good– more than just cheese pizza on display. Usually, you walk in, pick your slice, and they reheat it. Not the freshest in the world, but it is flavorful and great if you are in a hurry. Drinks are cans and bottles from the fridge. A small seating area is available if you want to stay, but I’m often on the go when I stop here, so I’ve rarely stayed.

Super quick delivery late night and cheap. We ordered a large cheese for $ 12.
Didn’t like the crust at all, it isn’t crispy and the pizza was therefore floppy

Disappointed with the hot meatball sub. Bread was fresh, but the meatballs were far too small for the sub. It was mostly bread and cheese. Delivery speed was sub par. Price was comparable to other local places.

— Great lunch time spot. I was doing work for R.P.I. down the hill and would come up here for lunch. Great varieties of pizza for great prices. The only thing preventing this place from getting 5 stars is that the pizza isn’t fresh. It’s made earlier in the day, but then not cooked so when a customer wants it they slide it in the big oven for a few minutes to melt everything then give it to you. It’s still very good. So it’s like exchanging time for quality.

I ordered the cheese steak pizza for delivery just around the corner. The motzerrella sticks were all but cold. Not melted at all. The pizza toppings were good, but the crust was stale and chewy. Overall a meh experience. Much better places in the area.

Quality has gone from marginally acceptable to consistently poor. Ingredients and preparation are an afterthought. Not even useful as school fuel: RPI Union pie is actually better. Who’d have thought it would come to this?

I’ve been eating here on and off for half a decade, and they make pretty decent pizza. They’ve got soft, chewy crust (particularly if you order by the pie), passable sauce and cheese, and pretty good toppings. Their buffalo chicken, chicken parm, and ziti pizzas are some of my favorites.
While maybe not the best pizza ever, Big Apple is really consistent. They deliver very quickly pretty much all the time, and the pizza you order today is exactly like every other. They’ll always say 45 minutes, but if it takes more than 25 it’s unusual. In six years I’ve never gotten a mistake in my delivery, something I can say about very few places in troy.
The recent price hike is a bit disappointing but understandable. It’s not incredible pizza, but it’s good pizza and the quality doesn’t vary much day to day. It’s convenient enough for an RPI student, or anyone who lives up the hill really, that it’s worth getting all the time.

Stopping here for gas on the way to Canada, my bf called his friend who lived in the area for lunch specials, and he sent us here. It was quick, the pizza all looked good and I wanted to try ALL of them, and the crush was the perfect thin but not burnt. And we live in NYC!

Ever had pizza on the west coast? Lol, yeah…
Wings were decent. I’ll order a mild 6 piece and the sauce tastes BBQ, not mild.
The delivery is average and this place is pretty cheap which is why I have ordered from here 2 – 3 times before.
Pizza is trash though. Cheese not fully melted, way too much sauce dried up on my crust, sloppy presentation. I just ate it because I was super blazed and they have a cheap pizza&wings deals.
Just order from Defazio’s.

As an RPI student, my review may be biased. But, that being said, I have got to make this review in hopes that someone working at Pizzabella would understand that there is still work to be done.
First, the good thing. I do like the pick-​up via phone or in person system that they have. It’s usually not that bad. For pizza slices that they have in the restaurant itself, it is a fast service. For items that require longer time to make, being able to order on the phone and pick it up later is also very convenient.
Next, the average, it is a pizza restaurant, but it could be better described as an Italian restaurant. The quality of the food is average and there is nothing special about the pizza (with the exception of the cheese slice) or the pasta. What keeps this problem balanced is the sheer variety and quantity of food that you get.
Finally, the bad. Delivery is a horrid affair. First, let’s talk about the accuracy of the delivery. More often than not, if you are ordering with a group of friends, they will mess up at least one order and send you something that you didn’t want. You still pay for the pizza and the delivery tip only to find out, after opening the box, that they put the wrong pizza in. Second, the good thing about the way this restaurant works with slices of pizza is that you can see what slices are available if you walk into the restaurant. The delivery, however, make this process a pain because you cannot physically see what is available. Sometimes, I would order certain slices only to be informed that they do not have any of the slices available. Other times, they make their own substitutions, leading to the first problem I have with the delivery.
The point is that while this restaurant is average and there is still room for improvement, especially with regards to delivery.

Open waaayyyyyy late (for us working the night shift at the nearby hospitals), fast delivery, good food decent prices. I love their buffalo chicken pizza, and their chicken finger salad & chicken tenders are a favorite among my co-​workers.

With a large selection of pies and slices, you think it’d be pretty good, I mean, how couldn’t it! Well, turns out it’s just a ploy and is just super mediocre to the point of being disappointing. I feel bad for anyone who thinks this is five star pizza.

They are the cutest. Last night when me and my friend went there at around 4 the staff were about to leave and close. But they stayed and actually made us some pizza. How nice! Even brown bag’s was closed at that time.
I love their chicken bacon ranch. And hawaii is good too. They have some really really good philly cheese steak hot sub also.

I will give them credit for their bombardment of flyers– it will make you think of them when you want a pizza.
Wait time for a delivery is average– but on more than one occasion something has been forgotten by the delivery person by the time they get to the house unfortunately.
The pizza is also nothing to really write home about. If you are just looking for a cheap and easy pizza when you are having some beers, this will do just fine. I like to have a really good pizza though, hearty sauce, loaded with toppings (and not overpriced for less than it’s fair share of toppings).
So just to sum up– if you want a simple pizza and aren’t too particular– this is just as good an option as any other. But if you really like a top notch pizza, keep looking.

In my return to campus last week as a recruiter interviewing folks at RPI, I got the chance to try Big Apple for the first time in quite some time.
Despite the name changes, this place still has it. It’s great pizza — so much better than the crap they serve out in the Northwest that they claim is pizza. Pricing was $ 2.50 for a slice with toppings and $ 1 for a soda can. While not as cheap as they were back in the day, the place looked a lot less like a hole-​in-​the-​wall as compared to the old Empire Pizza days.
I still like them better than I Love on 4^th/​Hoosick and Gino’s on 4^th.

It’s a pretty nice pizza place.
This is no mass-​plain-​cheese-​pizza manufacturing joint.
I’m not kidding when I say all the pizzas really look like art. I met the owner once making the pizzas himself in the middle of the day. Each one was uniquely different and absolutely LOADED with toppings, and the price per slice is really good. I’m also really impressed that they don’t just dump on the cheese excessively like your average pizza place, but actually care about the ingredients used.
They also offer gyros I think so I’m kind of surprised that so many people go to the nearby Moes for lunch instead. Those guys always end up getting a giant cup of nacho-​butter-​cheese and a free bag of chips so it becomes way way worse than eating a slice here.
The only trouble I have with the place is that you can’t choose what kind of pizza you want sometimes because they’re all so good haha.

Our former roommates used to work here, so for a while my fiancé and I enjoyed lots and lots of free Big Apple! Since they moved out, we order from them whenever we have company. The pizza is delicious and service is usually fast. They are open super late so it’s great for a late night snack.
Unfortunately there is a $ 5 minimum for credit cards, so if you’re stopping in for a slice you’ll need some cash on you.

Do not trust the hype, fellow RPI students. I firmly believe that you have to be 100% hammered to be able to enjoy this «food.»
Bella is some of the worst food you will ever be tricked into paying money for. It is awful. It’s greasy as all hell, the crust is flavorless and stale, and the toppings are legitimately disgusting. They are all either super salty or just gross in general. The sausage in particular forced me to throw out like 80% of my slice, which is something I would never do to a slice of pizza under other circumstances.
The only reason this place is popular is that it’s open stupidly late and it’s really cheap. But do yourself a favor and order Domino’s to eat a little later so you don’t have to subject yourself to this nest of mediocrity.
I’ve had better food from Commons. I’ve had better food for 50 shillings in a rural village in Kenya. Do not eat here. I’d rather starve.

Big Apple Pizzeria (formerly Empire Pizzeria) is conveniently located at the corner of College Ave and 14^th St, across the street from the RPI campus.
This cozy pizza place offers an impressive selection of regular and specialty pizzas by the slice, about 20 pizzas on hand (Pizza Da Vinci has a similar concept). The specialty slices are $ 3.00 a slice and are pretty filling. They have cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, buffalo chicken, ziti alfredo pizza, Greek, Hawaiian, veggies, steak & cheese, and eggplant, chicken parm, and more. The pizza crust is very firm with a pizza bread texture and loaded with tasty toppings. My favorite pizza slice is the breaded eggplant with red peppers. The slices are heated up in the oven and come out quick.
Pizza is the ideal food for the hungry college student! I would eat here a lot and try every slice if I were going to school again. Back in the day for me, I had to settle for Hole In The Wall for much of my pizza needs during study time crunches.
Besides pizza, they offer calzones, strombolis, garlic knots, rolls, salads, wings, appetizers, subs, and pasta dinners. See the menu and prices at
There’s seating inside and outside seating along the College Ave side. This place is open pretty late until 3AM (Sun-​Thu), 4AM (Fri-​Sat) and 2AM during the summer.
RAD is accepted here.