A Tale of Two Pizzas: (Part Two - NYC)

Continued from Part One - Chicago Deep Dish...

ROUND TWO: 

Now, let’s be clear, I’ve had pizza.  I’ve had lots and lots of pizza. 

Pizza will vary from slice to slice… there’s the pizza you run to after a bad break-up, the pizza who’s just a buddy for the big game, and the pizza you can share with your girlfriends.  It can be hot and messy, but delicious, and it can be comforting when you feel a bit blue.  Sometimes it’s weird and hard to manage, and then there are the times you have to have it, even if you know you shouldn’t want it.

But here I was, in New York City, and I wasn’t just looking for any old pizza, I was on the prowl for a very specific type… the NY Slice.

I heard the rumours, hell, I’d built my fantasy around them.  Would it be able to live up to its reputation?

I spent the day contemplating how I would do it.  I wandered the streets of the city to build an appetite.  I started to get excited as the sun set over 29^th and Lexington and then, finally, night fell. 

Game on.

I had a few martinis at the hotel, to loosen up, and set out in this city of bright lights to find my perfect…. Pizza.

I passed a million places.  There really were pizza joints everywhere.  I got a bit confused, and frankly didn’t know where to stop.  My mind was whirling with all the possibilities, when I decided to stumble into a friendly, super Italian-looking spot. 

It all happened faster than I had imagined.  Not like Chicago and it’s slow build-up… here, in New York City, it was all about instant gratification… you walk up, you choose, you order, fugghedabout it… bing, bang, boom. 

Score.

It really was the biggest slice of pizza I had ever seen, but as soon as you lifted it up it sure was floppy, just like you see on tv.  It was exactly as I had imagined - thin, but strong… hot, fresh and delicious.  I loved it.  And what the ‘restaurant’ lacked in atmosphere, the pizza made up for in quality.

Score one for New York.

As I sipped my wine out of a paper cup in the neon (after)glow of Times Square, I watched the world walk by and contemplated the score…

Stay tuned for the results of the Chicago Deep Dish vs NYC battle…