Suck My Pizza!

A friend's uncle recommended I try the pizza truck that parks at the southwest corner of Union Square. He had pretty good things to say about it, and I work around the corner, so I hied myself there.

You know what's disconcerting and unappetizing? When you're standing in line behind a guy who seems to be having trouble placing his order and you realize he and one of the pizza sellers are now arguing about something and then the guy walks away angrily shouting, "Suck my ***!" and the pizza seller shouts back, "Suck my ****!"

Then it was my turn to order. I didn't want anything sucked. Tension was in the air. I meekly asked the second pizza seller (who had done no shouting) for the Sicilian slice special (2 for $4) and a Pepsi ($5 total) and tried not to look at Mr. "Suck my" while my pizza was fired in the truck's oven (in the photo above, the crust looks burnt, but that's because I toasted it to re-warm it when I got back to work).

I do not consider myself a prude, but my pizza just didn't taste as good as I think it would have if I'd gotten to experience it without the memory of all that yelling about sucking things that should never be sucked in public (or in anger). Still, the slices were tasty (I almost always prefer Sicilian when in NYC) and I'd order lunch there again.

Saying Cheese

Tokens! Free refills of syrupy pop! 2 pieces of dense, sweetly sauced pizza! Vegetable tray that was always just a bit out of reach! Children and adults, friends and strangers, having a lovely time together! A grown birthday boy dancing with a costumed mouse! Cake! A vibrating, sticky-floored arctic journey via video game! Winning enough tickets to buy three Laffy Taffies and a plastic comb!

None of these are complaints. I had a blast at Kevin's birthday. I didn't even know there was a Chuck E. Cheese in NYC. Let's go back!

Signing Bonus

After I agreed to cat-sit for Ian, I was rewarded with a bonus slice of barbecued-chicken pizza. I don't know its provenance, but it was tasty. The sauce was surprisingly sweet, but worked with the chicken and thick cheese.

Slice of Life

After braving the horror of Trader Joe's (aieee, the lines!), we deserved slices of pizza at Artichoke on 14th Street.


(photo by Dan)

Pizza Margherita was my choice. It was delicious and the crust was nicely crispy. The basil tasted very fresh.


(photo by Dan)

Dan chose Artichoke (which had a kind of creamed spinach on it, too). The toppings were quite rich. The crust was thicker than that of the Margherita slice.

The crab slice and Sicilian squares also looked excellent. Dig the painting of three Kennedys over the eat-in bar as bonus. I think I'll have to get off the L train at 1st Avenue more often.

No ham or turkey for us!

(phone photo by Dan)

For this pastor's (and pastors') kid, Christmas was never really about the food. Or, rather, part of our Advent and Christmas celebration each year was certainly about cookies, bread, sparkling non-alcoholic beverages, and cinnamon rolls, but we don't really do a big Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner along the lines of the Thanksgiving-style feasts in which many other families indulge.

This year, with two services to go to and just 30 minutes or so in between, Christmas Eve Dinner was a hastily grabbed and eaten assortment of pizza, cheesesteak, and french fries from Palermo's (4 locations in the Philadelphia suburbs). I didn't try the cheesesteak, but the fries were fresh, crispy, hot, and great. I'm told they're the best. The pizza was also excellent - thin, hot and not at all greasy. The owner was at the Pottstown location when we picked it all up, and he's a friendly, decent guy. I wish it were my local pizza joint.

Pizza roll with the punches

When life gives you lemonade, drink it with pizza rolls.


p.s. These are Amy's Snacks - Cheese Pizza. Amy's southwestern style burrito (with corn masa) is better (and a favorite of mine). These are a tad dry (not enough organic tomato and too much organic flour?). According to the website, both the southwestern burrito and these cheese pizza snacks are kosher and tree nut free. Woo!