My quest for the perfect
My Standards
The concept is fairly simple: I will always order one plain slice and one other slice (whatever looks best when I get there) to cover the pizza spread available. This way I can compare apples to apples by tasting the basic element of any good pizza, the unadorned cheese slice, while still giving some latitude in case the pizzeria has great toppings or a particular specialty slice/pie that you just can’t ignore. I’ll rate the each pizzeria on a 1 – 10 scale on several aspects of the experience: pizza quality, toppings/specialty slices, and other. Now on to the first review!
Bravo Pizza on
The first destination on my pizza pilgrimage was Bravo Pizza, conveniently located on 14th and 7th, right outside of the
Pizza Quality: 6
The basic cheese slice at Bravo is a solid example of
Toppings: 7
Bravo’s is one of those New York pizza places with a wide variety of topping, Sicilian and white slices all lined up on the counter, and I have to say that most of them looked pretty darn good. I decided on a meat-lover’s slice with sausage, pepperoni and bacon for my topping selection, mostly because they really covered the whole slice and I like my toppings to be ubiquitous whenever possible. True to appearances, the toppings were pretty good! They added to the flavor of the slice without overwhelming it, and were quality ingredients in there own right. They were a little different from the typical fare, a little crisper than a lot of other pizza toppings I’ve had, but the effect was great, and also seemed to have minimized the extra grease that usually accompanies the meat slice.
Other: 5
I wanted to make a category for intangibles such as price, atmosphere, convenience, and anything else that may not actually make the pizza taste any better, but will have some impact on the overall experience. Bravo didn’t stand out to me in any particular respect with regards to this category. The location is convenient if you actually were to travel to get there as I did, but while I’d drop in if I were in the neighborhood, I wouldn’t likely go out of my way to get there, making this something of a moot point. Service and ambience were typical (don’t laugh, some places really excel in this category…and some really suck). The price was a little high by my usual standards, but not enough to be a deal breaker.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Bravo serves up a solid
This past Friday I was feeling pretty down, not really in the mood to do anything at all, which is incidentally why I’ve been slow to update this blog lately. But of course I had to fulfill my requirement of at least one New York cultural event a week, and I was already downtown so I wanted to try and do something. I didn’t have much of a plan at that point, but I do have a short, unofficial list of things and places that I ultimately feel I need to visit in this city. Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction was one of these places.
As it turns out, I picked a pretty good time to drop by, because when I got there I was pointed upstairs to a completely free show, “No Name and a Bag of Chips.” Of course, this in itself wasn’t enough to rouse me from my exceptionally sour mood, but I had nothing better to do so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I have to say that after realizing the comics in the room outnumbered the guests, I was a little put off, but it actually didn’t matter. These hearty souls put on one hell of a show, including magic, standup, and stories that not only put me more at ease but actually had me laughing and feeling pretty good by the end. Such is the power of comedy.
I also learned for the first time what a powerful word “blog” can be. After the show I mentioned this project to one of the comics (who were amicably hanging out around the bar for a little while after the show) and was immediately taken to be introduced to pretty much all the rest of them. Now as most people who know me are probably aware, I don’t exactly like being the center of attention, but all the same it was kind of cool. I’d like to make a special mention of one particular comedian, Nancy Lombardo, who was engaging both on and off the stage and encouraged me to meet the rest of the cast.
The Bottom Line
Friday evening entertainment in this city is rarely cheap and almost never free. In that respect, this show was already a diamond in the rough, but the fact that it was actually entertaining enough to bring me out my sullen state scores some major extra points in my mind. There was a one item (food or drink) minimum, standard NYC bar pricing, but I doubt anyone would press you about it, and in any case it’s a small price to pay considering. The show was great, the people were friendly and the price was right, so the bottom line is, get your butt to Mo Pitkin’s for “No Name and a Bag of Chips” next time you’re looking for something to do on a Friday night!
Not to start a war or anything, cause I know how some people can be about their pizza, but I’m looking for recommendations on everyone’s favorite slices in the city so that I can begin my very own New York pizza tour. So far, I’ve got two names on the table, Two-Boots and Pizza 33, but I’m gonna withold my judgement (which of course I’ll be sharing with all of you) until I actually try them. So shout out a few places that you think make the best slice in New York City and I’ll go check ‘em out!
The question I have to ask after my experience at the Th