Penny-pincher alert: Pizza-by-the-slice places are proliferating in the Sacramento area, offering big slices of pie that don't take a big slice out of your wallet. Mangia!

Village Bakery
814 Second St., Davis
Pepperoni slice, very fresh, with a delightfully chewy (albeit slightly burned on this particular day) crust.

COST:

$2.25, making it the cheapest slice around, though also the smallest at only 4½ ounces. But don't let that fool you: It was plenty filling.

Pieces
1309 21st St., Sacramento
Mushroom slice, robust with cheese and garlic, and an unusually tasty crust. A tad on the greasy side, though.

COST:

$3.75 for a hefty 10¾-ounce slice

Uncle Vito's
1501 16th St., Sacramento
Veggie slice with pesto, sliced tomatoes and feta cheese. Loved the thin, crisp, easy-to-fold New York-style crust, but watery tomatoes drowned out the flavor.

COST:

$3.50 for a generous 10-ounce slice

Luigi's Slice
1050 20th St., Suite 150, Sacramento
Hawaiian slice, generously loaded with Canadian bacon and chunks of sweet pineapple on Luigi's fantastically crispy crust.

COST:

$3.75 for a huge 10½-ounce slice

Sbarro
Arden Fair, Sacramento
Supreme slice with pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, mushroom and onion, gooey with cheese and a very tomatoey sauce on a thick, doughy crust.

COST:

$3.99 for an enormous 10¾-ounce slice (could easily feed two)

The verdict

 

Biggest: Pieces and Sbarro (tie)

Cheapest (but smallest): Village Bakery

Tastiest: Luigi's Slice