First Bite: Slice House

Nashville has its share of solid pizza places. Now that Joey’s and Manny’s have gone to the great deck oven in the sky, I point people to places like Five Points Pizza, Sal’s, NY Pie, Nicky’s Coal Fired and Smith & Lentz. But I haven’t had a go-to in Franklin until now.

Slice House is pretty much the first thing you encounter when driving into downtown Franklin traveling south on Franklin Road. The spot at 98 East Main St. previously housed two A. Marshall Hospitality concepts, Burger Dandy and Americana Taphouse, and the new occupants of the building also have plans for an exciting bakery and cafe coming soon to the space next door to Slice House. More on Perenn soon!

On my first visit, I was surprised, nay tickled, to discover parking right in front of the building. Slice House actually offers almost 50 parking spots in lots around the building with an hour of free parking with validation. That’s a pretty big deal, but the public garage in downtown Franklin is only a couple blocks' walk from the restaurant.

Slice House is the brainchild of Tony Gemignani, the globally acclaimed 13-time world pizza champion (that’s really a thing), and the Nashville operator believes so strongly in the concept that he plans 10 outposts across the state in the next decade.

But Franklin is the lucky first recipient of Gemignani’s talents, which are impressive, considering he literally wrote The Pizza Bible. Hailing from the Bay Area, Gemignani has mastered several different styles of pies, and he showcases four different crusts at Slice House.

The first is New York Style, the classic walking slice with a strong backbone and nice crunch. Grandma Style is the second option, and the first of three pizzas that is cooked in a pan rather than on a stone or pizza steel. All three of the pan doughs share the same basic recipe, but Grandma Style crust has the shortest fermentation time, so it’s the thinnest of the three with a more rustic style. 

Sicilian is the third style; a longer proofing time leads to an airier crust, almost like a focaccia. Detroit Style has the longest time to rise, resulting in an almost deep-dish crust. A crispy layer of cheese called a “frico” adds a nice bit of crunchy texture to the outer crust of a Motor City pie.

Slice House revolves around choices. Just inside the front door, a case displays rotating slice offerings for grab-and-go or a quick dine-in experience. As popular as the restaurant has been since opening and as much attention as the team pays to their cooking process, be aware that it might take up to an hour to get a whole pie if you order from the counter. So definitely consider a slice for your first experience.

Those slices include at least one option featuring each type of crust so you can sample the effects of the different fermentations and rise times. Among the most popular styles that will be staples of the slice choices are a classic pepperoni, a trendy hot honey and pepperoni, and Italian sausage.

Each outpost of Slice House designs its own house pie, which Gemignani contributes his advice to, and Nashville’s is the Law Dog. Available by the slice only, the Law Dog has a lot going on, with a plate of New York-style crust topped with mozzarella, applewood smoked bacon and peppered maple bacon, thin-cut pepperoni, Jack Daniel’s Maple Syrup, hot pepper oil, green onions, garlic oil, oregano and Romano cheese.

Whole pies are available in several sizes and configurations. New York Style crusts come in 12-inch and 20-inch options, and there's also a 9-by-12-inch Detroit pan size, a 12-inch square Grandma Style and an 11-by-17-inch Sicilian. So like I said — lotsa choices!

What makes Slice House pies special (and IMHO they truly are!) is Gemignani’s dedication to quality ingredients and fanatical focus on repeatable processes. Every Slice House location orders ingredients from the same suppliers, from imported flour and tomatoes to sausage and pepperoni that have been selected from suppliers after painstaking research. When a couple more Slice Houses open in Middle Tennessee over the next year or so, every pie should taste the same no matter where you order it. They have even installed a special water filtration system to standardize that important ingredient and eliminate variability.

In addition to slices and whole pies, Slice House also offers antipasti dishes like dense pork and beef meatballs in marinara sauce and cheesy garlic bread, pasta dishes ranging from a toothsome gemelli with vodka cream sauce to bucatini with a meaty tomato sauce, a few salads, and cannolis and cookies for dessert. Beverages include soft drinks and beer, with wine coming soon.

As busy as they have been since opening in April, Slice House has not turned on its online ordering yet, but they will have dedicated parking and pickup windows for carry-out orders once the team gets their feet underneath them. Slice House is open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week, and your best bet may be to bust down the door at 11 a.m. for an early lunch like I did. That’ll give you the best chance to find parking close by and be in and out with a slice or two in record time. 

I’m guessing you’ll be impressed!