And for me, it’s the rare opportunity for the truly tasty, almost poetic slice of New York pizza.
I grew up in New York and as a teenager, inhaled pizza on almost a daily basis. But once I moved west, a delicious, drippy slice of New York pizza became a memory. The standard fare in California is a whiter, thicker cheese, a plumper, doughier crust, and often, uncooked veggies (which my NY-reared husband considers the ultimate affront).
As I’ve been known to say, west coast pizza would be perfectly fine if it had another name like tomato/cheese/vegetable bread or something. It’s the “pizza” designation that is the deal-breaker for me.
I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had good, true, New York pizza in the past fifteen years, and three of those were last August, when I went back for a visit to old friends, my editor and agent. Each time, it was like a sensory experience for me. And as I stood on Lexington Avenue, munching a warm slice off waxed paper above a plain paper plate, I actually felt my eyes fill with tears in a sort of reach-back to the uncertain teen who’d wolfed so many similar slices. And I decided that if I could momentarily time-travel to tell her about how “our” life would go, she would be proud of me for having fulfilled so many of our dreams. (Cheesy, huh, and pun totally intended...)
So, anyway, yay for New York Pizza and its many wonderful properties!
What I’m Reading: Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko
Tina
Tina Ferraro
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13 comments:
New York Pizza? Not so much. But then I was raised in the west and am used to real bread, homemade sauces, crispy veggies and different kinds of cheese:)
Teri
I could eat pizza for every meal. I haven't had the pleasure of a NY slice but hope to someday. Mostly I'm just a pepperoni and extra cheese kind of girl! :)
Yummy :-)
I had pizza for lunch! Course, it was Boston pizza, which tries so hard to by NYC pizza, but it's not...
Tina, you're right. There's just something special about NY pizza. Up near Columbia there's a place called Koronet that makes GIANT pizzas and you could get a plain slice (that was a good 12 inches long) for two bucks. We used to have to mop up the extra grease with a napkin and half the time we would fold it in half and eat it like a sandwich.
Then there's Famiglia, with their delish Sicilian (deep-dish, square-cut) and heavenly garlic knots... oh, how I wish I could zap myself to NY for the day. =)
Thanks for all the comments! The only thing better than talking about pizza is eating it!
Pizza is the bomb. The cheesier, the gooier, the better.
I am so hungry right now... :)
Hi Tina,
I'm not really a pizza lover, but I remember when we were in Boston and you were searching for the perfect piece. If I went back to talk to my younger self, I think we'd have a lot to talk about!
Janie
Dona, I'm hungry right now, too!
Janie, yes, I forgot you were with me on my quest for the perfect Boston slice! Too bad we didn't know Marley then...she could have directed us!
Ooh, Tina I love real pizza! And I actually read Al Capone Does My Shirts (or at least 3/4 of it) while subbing a few years ago.
Great and great!
Hugs,
Heath
I can honesty eat pizza four times a week and be totally happy. I thought the habit would die once I graduated college and became a real-live adult, but no. I even read that there's a pizza diet, where studies showed eating a slice of pizza filled you up and helped you lose weight! Only who can stop at just ONE slice of heavenly pizza? Not me, I'm afraid.
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