Notes from the Western Slope
Congratulations on buying $8000 worth of fireworks, guy who lives one block from me, but do you think maybe you want to save a few of them for the actual Fourth Of July, instead of setting every single Black Cat in the box off tonight? At…11 PM? In front of the Holiday Inn? Because I like making up stories about how the rumble between Canal Bar and the Glory Social Club just went grenade as much as the next woman, but I know the truth: it’s some nozzle in a seven-sizes-too-big tank top who’s going to have to pick his nose with a straw from now on if he’s not careful.
…Oh my God, just when I think he’s run out of ammo, another salvo starts up. The latest batch is the whistly ones that sound like farts. It’s like the Battle of Black Beans and Cabbage out there. I think one of the cats just called 311 to complain.
And speaking of complaining cats: Little-Joe-branded restaurant hilarity on 5th Avenue! Brownstoner notes a new Thai restaurant on 5th between Lincoln and Sackett named…Mee. Awesome. “Hey Little Joe, where should we go for dinner?” “Mee!” “Good choice, dude!” I don’t really like Thai food, is the only problem.
Insert clumsy segue here as we move to the subject of pizza — specifically, Slope pizza, as covered on the Slice pizza blog. I did not know that fine publication existed; hat-tip to Gothamist for the link. What’s more, author Adam Kuban names my local, Tomato & Basil, as the best slice on his Slope Slice Walk.
I like T&B a lot — we moved to the block at about the same time, everyone who works there is super-friendly, and you can’t beat the convenience — but Kuban notes that their delivery pies often come “overcheesed and undercooked,” which is true often enough that I had to start cheating on them with Bella Maria for whole pies (their on-pie produce is also fresher). The funny thing is that I had actually had a whole debate with Skyrockets about how he didn’t like T&B slices because the crust is too doughy, the sauce is too thin, and you can’t get a good “fold hold.” And some days, he’s right. Other days, it’s the second-best prototypical New York slice in the borough (second only to My Little Pizzeria, but that’s Skyrockets’s local; thus the debate).
How good the individual slice is on any given day doesn’t seem to follow any pattern vis-a-vis who’s behind the counter, but you can tell by sight if the by-the-slice pie is worth it — and you can also tell based on how oily the complimentary bruschetta is. If the paper on the tray is soaked through, skip the plain and get a grandma slice (T&B’s is the best in the business anyway).
Tags: city living feline fun times food hilare Little Joe Park Slope fun times pizza partisanship shut up Union Street sites
I had no idea you could tell T&B quality on any given day by the oiliness of the bruschetta. Thanks for the intel!
No problem; thanks for the article! Any time you need a freelancer on the white-slice testing tip, drop me a line.
They were setting of fireworks in central park last night too, but it wasn’t for July 4th – they always do it when the NY Philharmonic plays. Maybe the guy is just a really big fan of classical music?
Tomato and Basil employees are so super nice. They will actually deliver all the way down to Z & me if they’re slow. And you’re right on about the Grandma pie — only one to get. T&B is definitely one of my top five PILFs (the other four being Di Fara, Franny’s, South Brooklyn Pizza, and Peppino’s). Lombardi’s, feh!
The fireworks don’t seem to be just an NY thing, since here in Chicago there’s been a spate of fireworks-related doucherie the past couple of nights. Still no idea what it’s for, though. Maybe they’re just celebrating life.
In other news, I’m totally hungry for a slice of NY pizza. Kill me now.
Grandma slice?
Also, that’s totally my rapper name when I’m 90.
Since I just live in a suburban college town, where it’s more important for pizza to be cheap and plentiful than good, I buy pizza dough at Trader Joe’s and make my own pizzas on the BBQ grill. What the hell is a grandma slice? :)
You don’t like Thai food? I’ve actually never heard anyone say that. There’s my dad, who’s probably never tried it, and then there’s the rest of the world, who loves it. What’s not to love? (That’s a serious question.)
I don’t like dessert-y elements in my entrees, and Thai food is too sweet for me. I’m not an unadventurous eater, either, but I don’t care for Thai (and the last time I let myself get talked into it, it made me violently ill, so we’re done here).
Gotta add one suggestion to the slices – Brothers on 4th b/w 19th and 20th. Regular slices are decent – sweet sauce – but their white is AMAZING. I delivered pizza for 3.5 years in high school/college for a typical bronx-style pizza place, so my standard is pretty high.
I’m not crazy about Thai food either, also because it’s a little too sweet. And I’m a food writer with a fairly adventurous palate.
Ahh, pizza. It took me years to find a decent pizza place when I moved to NC. My choices were chain pizza (which does not darken my door), gourmet pizza (see previous parenthetical comment), or pizza that the crazy locals swear is fabulous but can’t even hold a candle to what I got in central PA. (I know!!!!!). Finally, finally we found a place that knows how to make a decent cheese pizza. Joy and happiness abounds. It was almost as great as when Yuengling Lager was finally available here.
My husband, a Chicago-area native, mocks me endlessly because (yes, sorry, I know) I like the occasional Domino’s or Pizza Hut pie.
But what can I say? Domino’s double pepperoni just hits the spot sometimes, and I lived in St. Louis for eight years, where Domino’s was a happy alternative to the local pizza specialties, which were abominations like this:
http://www.imospizza.com/
and this:
http://www.cecilwhittakerspizza.com/southco/menus.html
I mean, even (right-thinking) St. Louis natives hate that pizza. I had a friend who was born and raised in The Lou who accurately described St. Louis-style pizza as “a saltine cracker with sauce and cheese waved at it.” St. Louis has given the world some great things, even some great foods, but pizza sure ain’t one of them.
There’s definitely been a lot of firework action here in Chicago. The jerks in my neighborhood don’t even wait until it’s dark! This annoys me especially bad because I have a (large, strong) dog who is TERRIFIED of fireworks, so it’s a real pain in the ass to think I’m in the clear because it’s 4:00 when all of a sudden BOOM! POP! Ugh. Seriously, why would you set off fireworks in the daylight?