Late-night meal options have always been limited in downtown Sacramento. It used to mean that if you were without a car, your best bet for a meal would be a week-old, pre-made sandwich or a hunk of beef jerky from the corner liquor store.

Fortunately, for the past 11 years, Pieces Pizza by the Slice has provided famished insomniacs with an alternative to vacuum-sealed food.

Most businesses on 21st Street are closed by 9:30 p.m., but at Pieces, a steady flow of customers files through the door. They wait impatiently as employees rush back and forth between the counter and the oven, serving up piping-hot slices of meat combinations, pepperoni, vegan and the infamous pesto with sun-dried tomatoes and feta.

Soul music plays through the shop&s speakers. A local artist parks her bike at the door and drops off a stack of fliers for her next show.

Outside, hipsters, kids and downtown regulars sit at round tables right on the sidewalk. They talk about music, politics, work and relationships, bringing life to the otherwise dead corner of 21st Street and Capitol Avenue.

Later, it will be a slightly different scene as the downtown party-goers and club-goers arrive, a little more demanding and a lot less patient to receive their slices of spicy, cheesy goodness.

How did Pieces become such a popular late-night hangout?

&We were open,& said Jerry Kroes, Pieces& daytime manager. &Look around here at night. There aren&t many options for food within walking distance of the Bermuda Triangle.&

The so-called &Bermuda Triangle& is the area downtown residents refer to as the distance between Benny&s, the Press Club and the Old Tavern.

&I moved here from San Francisco a few years ago,& Kroes said. &I was used to having all kinds of great food within walking distance, like big, fat burritos and pizza slices. This place really reminds me of that.&

Pieces opened in 1994. Owner Jackie Herdre wanted to bring New York- and Bay Area-style pizza by the slice to downtown Sacramento. She was also a big fan of the French-style sidewalk café; hence, the tables out front.

Herdre wanted to cater to the weekend bar crowd. The only late-night options for food at the time were places like Lyons and Eppies, none of which were in walking distance of the bars. She figured that opening up a place to eat right in the area might keep a few more drunks out from behind the wheel.

Bethany Baines is Pieces& night manager and has worked at the shop for nearly four years. In that time, she has seen her share of people who have had a few too many getting out of hand.

&It&s an array of people from every walk of life,& she said. &And they&re all kind of intoxicated. But I like it here because I get to listen to whatever kind of music I want, and I can create my own way of getting things done.&

Pieces& style of pizza seems unique to most area residents but would be familiar to anybody who&s ever been to New York. The crust is thin and floppy, with a heavy cheese-to-sauce ratio.

The pizzas are huge so that slices can be cut large enough to provide an entire meal. The thin crust is rubbed in seasonings and comes out flaky and robust, making the pizza equally tasty from first bite to the last.

While the menu offers a wide variety, from heart-stopping meat combos to vegan pizza cooked to specs by the shop&s resident vegan, it&s obvious by watching people order that the favorite is Pieces& pesto with sun-dried tomato and feta. It seems that no matter how many of the pesto pies they cram into the oven, they&re always running low.

The past two years have seen a handful of downtown establishments jumping on the late night bandwagon. Places like Hot Rod&s café, Plum Blossom and Ink have added a few more meal options for those unwilling or unable to leave the grid.

The new businesses all seem to be doing well for themselves, but the 2 a.m. line at Pieces still goes out the door and employees said it hasn&t gotten any shorter.