Jersey Shore Style

This past weekend, I trekked to the Jersey Shore and had a wonderful weekend with my family and friends. Now, I'm struggling to figure out how I can re-appropriate the acronym GTL for my pizza blog...um...Greasy Tasty um...Lunch? Are there any words starting with L that are associated with pizza? Or starting with G or T for that matter? I'm thinking of slice, pie, um...yeah, even Za (shudder...) Other slang we know of? Please share!


Anyhow, while down the shore, I tried to maximize my pizza exposure by eating pizza flavored Combos during my drive up, and by going to 'A Slice of Heaven' Saturday night.

The combos...where to begin? Do they even count as pizza-esque? It's hard to say--certain pizza flavored things do manage to be pleasantly reminiscent of pizza. Case in point? Keebler's Pizzarias in the 80s and 90s. Best pizza chips EVER. Good enough that petitions for their return exist. But the Combos? Um...well. Not so great. They were the pretzel type, and...they mostly tasted like pretzels with cheese dust, not pizza-esque. It needed...more modified tomato product and artificial oregano essences, I think. They did fulfill my need to chomp on things whilst driving in traffic, so in that sense, they were satisfying. However, in regards to flavor and satiation, they failed quite miserably as a foodstuff.


Once I arrived at the shore, I got to spend some wonderful time with Anne and Karen, two of my best friends from Kalamazoo. Anne has been mentioned here several times already, and even been credited as my inspiration and muse for the pizza blog. Karen, however, was unaware of the pizza blog prior to this weekend. She's been inducted, now, and was a willing pizza accomplice Saturday night when we went out on the town.

We started our evening at Fantasy Island Amusement Park. Were my fantasies fulfilled? You know it. How, you ask? Well...they had skee ball. And no shore vacation could be complete in my mind without some serious skee ball.

All of that skee ball, however, works up an appetite, so of course we had to grab a post skee ball slice next door at Slice of Heaven. Yes folks, you read it right. I got to experience the fulfillment of my fantasies and heaven both in one night. Such joys can only be had at the Jersey shore, clearly.

Was my slice heavenly? Texture-wise...yes! It was a very nicely crisp but pliable thin crusted slice. Toppings wise? It had fallen from grace a bit. The sauce was weak and a bit too canned tasting, and the cheese was a bit oily and cheap tasting...that is, by the end of my slice, it had congealed into something more like solid grease and salt, and less like a dairy product. But, nonetheless, a slice at that moment did make me quite happy.

Chicago-esque...

Happy Easter!

I desperately need to take my mind off the gobs of candy I've eaten today, and writing about pizza seems like a good way to do that.

So. I went on a date Friday night. A pizza date. And what was extra exciting about this pizza date was the fact that my date, Ernie, suggested a pizzeria that I'd never even heard of--a totally off my pizza radar restaurant! It was called Armand's, and was in Silver Spring (though, it's a mostly local chain). I was quite impressed with my smooth-voiced (really, he had a very nice voice) and stylish date's ability to find a place that I didn't even know existed. That's what's so magical about pizza--there is always new pizza out there to discover. I was also impressed with my date's thoughtfulness in bringing a camera along as a surprise, since he felt photos were missing from my blog. However, you'll notice that there are no photos here yet. He's not emailed me them... yet. He says he's forgetful. Maybe he'll read this and remember. Right?

Anyhow, so, the atmosphere was a nice blend of "dive" and "mom and pop" restaurant, and my seat looked like a throne/church pew. Awesome. The place specialized in "Chicago Style" deep dish.

So. Chicago pizza. I've had it. In Chicago. Many times. I know...how it really should be. Relatively thin crust (all things considered) made with a bit of cornmeal (mmmcornmeal crust), and then just tons and tons of sauce, toppings, and cheese. Then, when served, the waiter serves up the first slice with flair, managing all of the cheese in a graceful swoop. Armand's...doesn't quite have it down. The crust was too thick (common error with chicago-style wannabes) and the server DID serve the first slice, but maybe not with the flair of a Chicago slice server. He did do a good job though, and truth be told, sometimes you don't want the glitz and showmanship, right?

The pizza, overall, was very, very good. The crust, though not exactly right, was very tasty. It surprised me, since normally I don't like really doughy crusts (hi, pizzeria paradiso...). The sauce was good--a darker sauce, without being too sweet--and the toppings (mushroom and onion) were generous and fresh (no canned mushrooms here). The cheese was glorious (they could have made a commercial about it in 1987, it was so glorious indeed. ). Overall, it was a great meal. I was impressed. And, on the rare chance that the urge for deep dish pizza were to strike me, I'd return. But, I mean, I do have a bias towards thinner crusted pizza. I like it when I can eat ungodly amounts of pizza. Deep dish is too filling for my inner glutton to be satisfied. I only ate 2.5 slices. I need to eat like, a whole pizza to feel like I've done a good job...

The rest of the evening was special. It involved awkward times with singing pirates. You may think I'm making this up, but I'm not. Singing pirate awkwardness aside, it was a good night though. I hope I have pictures to add to this post soon.

pizza weekend in nyc

I kind of wanted to title this "let's eat some pizza in Neeeew YOOOORRK!" in honor of the girl at the gelato place last night who was getting DOWN to the Alicia Keys song...which, for the record, isn't that good. Jay-Z helped her out with that one.


I am currently sitting in my brother's living room in Saddle Brook, NJ. I've pretty much eaten pizza exclusively since getting here yesterday afternoon. There was a scoop of gelato, a cup of coffee, and a cheese sandwich at Murray's (http://www.murrayscheese.com), but everything else has been pizza. Really. It's sickening. I love it.


I arrived at my brother's yesterday afternoon (much later than I'd hoped to arrive, due to being foiled by daylight savings time...grrr.). We headed straight into the city for some shopping in SoHo, and made plans to meet up with Anne for dinner. Before finding a neat segue into the pizza, let me talk for a minute about shopping in SoHo.

So...look, it's typical, it's not particularly hip, etc, but every single time I'm in New York, I end up in SoHo cos I love Uniqlo and Muji way too much. 19.50 for the best fitting jeans ever? Yes please. Seriously, between those 2 stores, I got new sneakers, jeans, 2 cardigans, socks, a notebook, my favorite candles, travel accessories, and more...for under 100 dollars. And all of it just fits so right. Sort of obsessed. Go Japan. Nick, fortunately, shares my passion for these two stores. I love that my brother is a man who shops.

Anyhow, after we Uniqlo'd and Muji'd it up, we walked down Bleeker Street singing the requisite Simon and Garfunkel song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UY1t47TNY) to meet up with Anne and Steve at John's. Classic Village brick oven place. It's good. It's really good. In fact, it's not worth comparing it to other pizzas I've eaten up to this point this year (yes, there have been better pizzas in the past. But not yet in 2010). We were seated in a very cozy window booth, and it was one of those "historic" booths--everyone's name all scratched into it, etc. Anne, much like me, is a bit of a pizza purist--she prefers a good cheese pizza. I'd forgotten that Nick gave up meat for Lent, and so, much to my benefit, it turned into an all vegetarian pizza night. We got a large cheese and a large mushroom between the four of us, and none was wasted, that's for sure. We devoured those pizzas.

The crust was a dream: blistery with that nice charry taste, thin, chewy, crisp...mmm. The sauce was also well done--brightly flavored and very authentically tomato-y, not sugary or bitter, and perfectly distributed (I hate heavy handed sauce). The cheese was just a plain cheese, not fresh mozz slices, and it was also distributed in perfect balance. The mushrooms...were good. I don't know. I think that they maybe could have been more generous, but they were fresh mushrooms, so that's a plus. The cheese was, for me, the winner between the two, but both were very, very good. However, John's pizza reminded me of one of the greatest plights I face every time I eat truly good pizza. And in fact, this plight could indeed be the hallmark of a great slice for me. You see, when the pizza is just right and when the crust is really just that perfect balance of thin, crispy, chewy goodness, I get into the following trouble. You see, when it comes to food, I'm very impatient. I need a bite of that pizza as soon as it's set down, and I almost always burn the roof of my mouth on that first bite. And then, with the roof of my mouth all tender...it gets scraped by those sharp edges on that perfect, perfect end crusts...a truly good pizza, therefore, brings me both deep pleasure and a little pain. It's earned. I like that. Anyhow, after eating 5 slices (yes, 5), I was in serious need of some gelato to sooth my scraped up mouth. Really people, gelato is the only solution.

Before moving on to my next pizza, I need to pause to give Anne some credit here. You see, Anne really was the one who inspired me to make this pizza resolution and start this pizza blog, because Anne has told me in the past that, since moving to NYC for law school, she's been on a pizza quest, seeking out the best in New York. Every time I've stayed with her, we've gone out to try the most hyped up pizza joints, and visited some of the big classics. Together, in January of 2008, we went to Lombardi's (New York's original pizzeria), and found that, though it was good, it was perhaps not the best. She encouraged me to walk several extra blocks out of the way late one night when I needed a slicem in order to go to Famous Joe's on Carmine at Bleeker, even though I passed countless places en route from her dorm on Mercer (worth it. best slice, easily).Two summers ago, we trekked all the way out to Coney Island to go to Totonno's...which still stands as the best pizza I've ever had, made even better by the fact that we rode the Cyclone and walked around the boardwalk after the pizza. I really hope that Totonno's won't be changed too much by the fire that happened there last spring. That'd be heartbreaking. But anyhow. What I'm saying here is that Anne really deserves major props for being my inspiration in this blog, and the queen of the NYC pizza quest, and my sister in pizza eating adventures.


Anyhow. Today, in order to celebrate spring break, I did one of my favorite things...one of those things I rarely get the opportunity to do. I went into the city this morning and spent the entire day just walking around exploring by myself, window shopping and eating. Due to a slight train mishap, I didn't get to the city until 11am (note to self: when in Secacus, asking "Does this train go to Penn Station?" is a real gamble. The man was correct when he said "yes" but...he meant Newark Penn Station, not New York Penn Station...durrrr). But that was okay, because that meant I arrived at Famous Joe's at the perfect time--right after the opening rush was done, and they'd juuuust pulled out a fresh cheese pizza. 2.50 can buy you happiness. It really can. It's just such a perfect slice! Not too greasy (but...greasy enough to be just a liiitle sinful), floppy enough to fold, but still perfectly crisp. Great sauce, great balance. Just damn. good. pizza. Plus, I love that the parm, red pepper, salt, and pepper available all came from the CVS next door. Nice. Go there people. It's worth it. I could have eaten 2 slices, easily, but I decided to pace myself in order to allow me other treats throughout the day.

I walked all over the village, NoHo, SoHo, and into Chinatown today. I just walked and walked and walked. I turned down every interesting looking side street. I tried to go down streets I'd never been down. I went into little stores and galleries I'd never been into. I avoided all chains. I went into many eyeglasses shops--all of which were out of my price range--and tried on many awesome frames (I need new ones). I stopped in coffeeshops for cups to go. It was windy, grey, and rainy, but...man. Best day ever. I did a big loop, more or less, so that I could end my day at Murrays for the aforementioned cheese sandwich (with jalepeno coleslaw, chips, and a drink), before catching the train at West 4th Street station. Next trip to NYC, I'll aim to do a different chunk of the city. I need a day like this in Brooklyn too (I've been wanting to get to CB I Hate Perfume for FOREVER!).

Once home, Nick called and said he wanted to pick up a pizza for dinner cos it was easy. No complaints here. Yes, I can have pizza for the third time in 24 hours! Sounds fantastic! We got a margherita pie from Donnagios, which is this place up the street from his apartment. Um. Not a winner of a pie. I guess cos it was a margherita rather than a regular cheese pizza, they were trying to be fancy, but the sauce wasn't right. It tasted like spaghetti sauce--it was dark, sweet, and really thickly applied. Too much. The crust was decent, but the over all experience was low on my list for the weekend. Too bad. It really didn't stand a chance though, when you think of it...I'd just eaten some of the known contenders for best pizza in New York, and...well, this is just some joint up the street in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. I mean, Jersey! Poor New Jersey. It always loses.

The best pizza so far...

Last Saturday, Kim and I headed out to Baltimore for adventures with Noah, Adam P. and his girlfriend Katie (Adam...how many times can you say Za in a night???) and Conor. We went to Iggies, which was right down the street from Noah's place, and you know, this is the first place challenging my rule of no returns. The pizza was fantastic! And the atmosphere was great as well.

We had to wait quite a long time, but it was a self-service, shared table atmosphere, which I love. It reminded me of Europe, in many ways. We ordered two large pizzas--one margherita, and one pesto-based pizza (Alice), and one small pear and gorgonzola. The "Alice" pizza had pesto sauce, spinach, garlic, goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella. It was good, but as I've perhaps mentioned before...I really do tend to like tomato sauces better. I guess I'm a pizza conservative or something. The margherita was fantastic. The sauce was excellent, the toppings perfect, the proportions just right...the only tiny thing that wasn't perfect was the crust--it was good, very crispy, but i tend to like my crust to have just a teensy bit more chewy-ness to it. It was very good though.

Now...the pear and gorganzola. It also had a balsamic reduction. No sauce. BEST THING EVER. As Noah exclaimed "This is better than apple pie. FUCK APPLE PIE. Don Mclean should have written in that song "bye bye miss pear pizza." Perhaps this is funny to you. Perhaps, though, you needed to be there.


The rest of the evening was as fantastic as the pizza. A downside was that Adam, Katie, and Conor went home, but Kim, Noah, and I went out to Hampden and got some drinks...Noah managed to start a USA! cheer at the bar because he thought Apolo Ohno had won a gold medal. Kim and I had to explain that he'd only won his qualifying heat...and that he won bronze in the end. Noah was so let down. By the end of the night, he was telling Kim and I that we put the "cans" in cantos, and we decided it was time to head home :)

January 17th: The week ends, and I keep going.

It's been quite the weekend. I've done far more than normal this weekend, in this sort of mad effort to keep busy, to keep happy, to keep distracted. It's working, somewhat. I've had some great times with great people. I'm very fortunate to have such wonderful friends.

Since my marathon update on Friday morning, I've eaten pizza twice. Both times on Friday. The first pizza was the aforementioned Lean Cuisine, and then the second pizza experience was super-bonus surprise pizza awesomeness.


Let's start with the Lean Cuisine, since I've left you all waiting on this one.

So, let's first address the elephant in the room. It's a Lean Cuisine pizza. It's a small, diet-friendly, frozen pizza in a box that origamis itself into a "crisping tray." It's there for you in 3 minutes flat, and at only 300 calories.

Guess what?

It was pretty good! In fact, I'd even say it was better than the pizza I ate at Franklin's last weekend. Why? Well, for starters, even the Lean Cuisine managed to present itself as having a crust touched by human hands at some point in it's little, frozen life by not being perfectly round. An illusion, no doubt, but worth noting. It looked more homemade.

The cheese managed to taste like cheese, rather than gummy plastic, and it had some relatively "fresh" looking tomatoes on top. The crisping tray really didn't do much for the pizza's crispiness, however, and the crust, despite looking like a real, hand-tossed crust, had the flavor of a soggy saltine cracker. But, hey. I like saltines!

It was, by all measures, a satisfying lunch pizza, and though it was far from perfect, I would probably eat it again.


Now, onto the more fun pizza review.

So, this being a long weekend, my original plans involved Jack coming to visit and us having a good time together and perhaps trying a pizza place out. Of course, this didn't happen. It hit me at some point on Friday that I had to take urgent measures to avoid spending the evening at home feeling sorry and heartbroken.
I texted.
I updated my gchat message.
I posted on Facebook, twice.
I was striking out, running out of time and options, and preparing myself for a night in sweatpants watching crappy movies on cable when....

Jeremy, of Orange Iguanas fame, answered my prayers. He just happened to see my plea on Facebook, and texted me right away. It was like double-luck, too, considering that Jeremy is a person that I do not get to hang out with much, despite always having a great time in his company. It just never seems to pull through, even though we regularly make efforts. Extra bonus? Kevin, also of kickball fame (and a fellow Michigander!), was going to be there as well.

His text promised happy hour fun, to celebrate his girlfriend's new job. Little did I know, there was also Matchbox pizza planned for the evening.

Now, some pizza related backstory. When I first proposed my pizza eating plans, many pointed out to me that DC is not a city known for its pizza. In fact, there is a dearth of good pizza in the greater DC area. However, many cited Matchbox pizza as a shining exception to DC's bad pizza-ness, landing it near the top of my places to try first.

People, it did not disappoint.

There were three pies ordered. One pepperoni (which disappeared really quickly, and amongst comments such as "the pepperoni is so spicy and crisp!") one "Fire and Smoke," and one Margherita (ordered because I didn't realize that the Fire and Smoke was, indeed, a vegetarian pie.)

So, the basics. The crust? Great. Thin, chewy, with some nice blistering from the oven. The sauce? Fresh, chunky, and tomato-y, with great flavor, but a little heavy handed (it made the pizza just a bit more soggy than I would have liked). The cheese? We'll review this per pizza, but the fresh mozzerella on the margherita was great, and they wisely allowed it to stand on it's own (I hate places that try to mix the fresh mozz with the regular cheese. Lame, guys!). The thin strips of fresh basil were also great.

Now, as mentioned, the margherita wasn't the best pizza margherita I've ever had...it was a bit too saucy for my tastes--I don't want my pizza to be more saucy than me, ever. But the Fire and Smoke...let me describe pizza heaven to you.

This pizza comes topped with hot red peppers, garlic puree, onions, an extra spicy red sauce, and smoked gouda cheese. It is extraordinarily pungent, perfectly firey hot, and suuuuper flavorful. The smoked gouda really added an amazing flavor to the pizza, one that I'd not experienced before. The smokiness added a slightly meaty quality without it actually being meaty, and it balanced with the spice so nicely. The onions (which were, if memory serves me correctly, red onions?) were perfectly tender-crisp, and having that much garlic on a pizza shouldn't be allowed, but I'm happy it is. I would eat this pizza again and again and again. That said, I know it's not for everyone--Jeremy and Cassi, with their strong aversion to onions, were not fans. And anyone sensitive to spicy foods would have died after a bite. But for me, it was heavenly.

Anyhow, the meal was great, and it was good to be with such fun and funny friends (Kevin, please do open Shenanigans). In addition to the good food, we discussed good beer (oh Hopslam! How magical you are!) and many other things that are good. Go Orange Iguanas!


Saturday, I went salsa dancing with Steven and Irene, which was a great time. My feet really hurt by the end of the night, and despite the dancing being suuuper fun, it's a bit embarrassing on some level to be doing something that makes you feel so thoroughly uncoordinated, rhythmless, and awkward as you're learning. Sexiest dance in the world? Not when I'm doing it. But, I want to learn and get better at it, because it was really, really fun. It also puts me out of my comfort zone and shell a bit in a healthy way, I think, since I get really shy and self-conscious in crowded settings, and also get pretty uncomfortable with what I'll call "social touching." You know, the stuff that's normal, like handshakes and friendly hugs? They freak me out a little bit. Definitely can't have that though in a salsa club. I felt a bit loosened-up, socially, by the end of the night, and that's a good thing.

Now, it's off to a sushi-filled girls night with Sarah, Emily, and Alison. Look at how social I've been this weekend? It's like I'm starting over or something (please don't wince at that.)