Mama mia! That’s an expensive pizza!

They say there's no pizza in the U.S. like New York City pizza, and Upper East Side restaurateur Nino Selimaj proves it. He's dishing up a specialty pie that should make his competitors green with envy.

Actually, it's Selimaj who is seeing green. He's charging $1,000 for a 12-inch pie.

And people are paying it!

“One for lunch yesterday, and one for dinner last night I sold. I just started yesterday,” Selimaj said during an appearance Thursday on TODAY.

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Selimaj, who owns six New York City pizza restaurants, offers six types of caviar and lobster tail on the thin-crust pizza at Nino's Bellissima, which opened last month on Second Avenue. The caviar, a delicacy comprised of the roe of sturgeon and other salted fishes, is added along with other toppings, after the pie is baked.

“One thousand bucks for this pizza. How did you come up with this idea?” TODAY host Meredith Vieira asked.

“The idea came because I've been 29 years in this city,” Selimaj said. “It's a great city, maybe the greatest city on Earth. I believe we deserve something to show ... I wanted to be different.”

TODAY host Matt Lauer wanted to know if there's a way to sample what is believed to be the world’s most-expensive pizza without paying the full fare.

“So, can you just come in here and order a slice?” Lauer asked. “Here's 250 bucks, give me a slice?”

“No, I'm sorry,” Selimaj said, laughing.

With his production cost estimated at about $720 per pie, Selimaj may be laughing all the way to the bank.

— John Springer, TODAY contributor