From the register – a view of where the magic happens.

The first I heard of this thin sliced oasis in the middle of a corporate pizza wonderland was when my friend Rocket, a Brooklyn native, called and said, “Amanda, you’ve got to try this pizza.  I swear, it’s a taste of Brooklyn.”  She didn’t have to tell me twice, and since she did call, it’s  the only spot I go to to curb my pizza cravings even though it’s in one of the hippest (read “busiest”) resorts on The Strip.

So where is it?  What’s it called?  It has no name.  It’s on the third floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino, to the left of Jaleo’s and to the right of the Japanese restaurant.  If you’re driving, park at the East elevators and disembark on the third floor; if you get off at the casino level, take the escalators to the third floor and look left.  There’s what looks like an alley, but reveals itself, as you get closer, as a corridor covered with albums. Walk down the corridor.  At the end you will find pizza nirvana.

At the counter – oh, the delectable choices.

Pizza nirvana begins with several thin crust pies waiting to be purchased, styled, and finished in the oven.  Your typical base pie will be cheese, pepperoni or sausage (yummy), and mushroom.  From there, you can go wild – sun dried tomatoes, ricotta, banana peppers, sautéd onions, and garlic sauce top are added to the usual mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, pepperoni and sausage.

My favorite? Mushroom with ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, onions, banana and bell peppers, and garlic sauce.  For variety, I’ll add sausage.  If they charge me for a combination slice, the whole meal is just under six bucks with tip.  Want a whole pie?

My favorite slice – so good it almost didn’t make the picture.

They make those too.  Oh, and did I mention that the crust is hand-tossed?  The only sounds coming from the customers are pure satisfaction.

If you’d like a drink – soda or beer or wine is to be had.  The seating counters are limited in the space, but there is plenty of seating outside in the floor’s two lounge areas: one replete with a pool table if you’d like to try your hand.  If you prefer video games, while waiting for your slice, you can partake in Galaxy or try pinball for entertainment.  My favorite entertainment on The Strip, however, is people watching and this place has it in spades.  They also have two televisions tucked in the corners playing sports if that’s more your style.  Whatever your taste, if you happen to get a taste for pizza while in town, this is the place to go.  But keep it to yourself since it is one of The Strip’s best kept secrets.

Tourist watching / Tourists watching.