The Cyclone has been ridden and the pizza has been eaten, and so spring begins for Slice.
Earlier today, Seltzerboy and I were joined by five friends of Slice in a tradition he and I have shared since 2001, way back in the pre-Slice era. On hand for the coaster ride were Dan, Katie, Tien, and our Queens correspondent, Chito. We met up in front of the 'Clone, bought tickets ($5 a ride), and submitted our bodies for a little Jazz Age G-force testing.
The line this year was longer than in years past, no doubt thanks to the sunny weather, and it looked dire for getting a seat in the coveted first row. But Seltzerboy and Tien (left) employed a bit of strategy, taking the first open seats as close to the front as possible. When the train roared back to the platform, they were able to ride again ($4, rerides have priority) and move up into the now-vacated front seat.
We all rode at least twice and then headed to nearby Totonno's, first passing the curiously named Pizza on the Run (right) on the way.
Totonno's was pretty near full when we arrived, but we were able to squeeze the six of us into the booth nearest the oven. Matt showed up about five minutes later. "You better like plain, pepperoni, or garlic, 'cause that's what we ordered," we told him. Everyone must have been hungry because they certainly didn't give me a chance to play pizzarazzi with the pie before grabbing a slice of the plain pie (right).
THE PIZZA nycslice (10:41:2 PM): yo yo yo nycslice (10:41:9 PM): what'd you think of totonno's today? nycslice (10:41:28 PM): everyone seemed to say it was "missing something" tien (10:43:58 PM): hey hey hey tien (10:44:5 PM): it was good tien (10:44:8 PM): but... tien (10:44:14 PM): it was a little undercooked tien (10:44:16 PM): i thought nycslice (10:44:35 PM): ah tien (10:44:36 PM): like, i could smell the uncooked dough nycslice (10:44:39 PM): the plain pie? tien (10:44:45 PM): i think so nycslice (10:44:57 PM): I noticed it seemed a little doughy right below the sauce tien (10:45:4 PM): yeah nycslice (10:45:10 PM): but the bottom of the crust -- i thought that was pretty good. nice char. [above right] nycslice (10:45:14 PM): it was crisp tien (10:45:15 PM): true tien (10:45:22 PM): maybe too hot? tien (10:45:24 PM): i dunno nycslice (10:45:25 PM): hmm tien (10:45:31 PM): so it would cook the bottom tien (10:45:34 PM): but not the rest nycslice (10:45:35 PM): like maybe the bottom cooked faster than the rest nycslice (10:45:38 PM): possibly nycslice (10:46:2 PM): it was markedly crisper than the last few times i've been to totonno's tien (10:46:16 PM): i cant remember the last time nycslice (10:46:32 PM): i didn't observe any tip sag until we got to the garlic pie tien (10:46:42 PM): hmm tien (10:46:46 PM): i liked the garlic pie tien (10:46:57 PM): but i wish the garlic was more evenly distributed nycslice (10:49:54 PM): i only had one skinny slice of the garlic nycslice (10:50:1 PM): and mine was pretty garlicky tien (10:50:10 PM): which might have been a reason for tip sag nycslice (10:50:11 PM): seltzerboy had at least two nycslice (10:50:24 PM): but he's not on AIM, so I can't ask him tien (10:51:21 PM): i liked the pep tien (10:51:31 PM): pepperoni nycslice (10:52:41 PM): yeah. it was my favorite of the day tien (10:52:51 PM): i like their pepperoni tien (10:52:55 PM): has some spice to it nycslice (10:52:57 PM): i should have grabbed a second piece nycslice (10:53:11 PM): totonno's seems to use the top-notch peps. really good ingredients there. the cheese was phenomenal tien (10:53:23 PM): indeed
IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES
You can't go to Coney without A) riding the Cyclone (check) B) eating at Nathan's or Totonno's (check; Tien had both) and C) playing some games (left). We did some Skeeball, won some tickets, and traded them in for prizes. Blah blah blah.
One of the prizes somehow made its way to a high perch in the girders of the 36th Street D/N/Q station in Brooklyn, where it will stand watching the iron horses until an attentive straphanger or station maintenance crew removes it.
Though the pizza was lacking a bit (our pie was a smidge too burned for our tastes), Totonno's surliness was in fine seasonal form. I stood inside for 1.3 seconds before I was yelled at to wait outside. Jeeze. And I was only trying to order a pie or two to go. Ahh, Coney; some things never change.
Totonno's is okay but its another yuppified brick oven joint. What makes New York pizza unique is that you can buy it by the slice. So real pizza places like Di Fara and Spumoni Gardens are head and shoulders better than this place.
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The Cyclone has been ridden and the pizza has been eaten, and so spring begins for Slice.
The line this year was longer than in years past, no doubt thanks to the sunny weather, and it looked dire for getting a seat in the coveted first row. But Seltzerboy and Tien (left) employed a bit of strategy, taking the first open seats as close to the front as possible. When the train roared back to the platform, they were able to ride again ($4, rerides have priority) and move up into the now-vacated front seat.
We all rode at least twice and then headed to nearby Totonno's, first passing the curiously named Pizza on the Run (right) on the way. 
Totonno's was pretty near full when we arrived, but we were able to squeeze the six of us into the booth nearest the oven. Matt showed up about five minutes later. "You better like plain, pepperoni, or garlic, 'cause that's what we ordered," we told him. Everyone must have been hungry because they certainly didn't give me a chance to play pizzarazzi with the pie before grabbing a slice of the plain pie (right). 
nycslice (10:41:2 PM): yo yo yo
nycslice (10:46:32 PM): i didn't observe any tip sag until we got to the garlic pie
tien (10:51:21 PM): i liked the pep
You can't go to Coney without A) riding the Cyclone (check) B) eating at Nathan's or Totonno's (check; Tien had both) and C) playing some games (left). We did some Skeeball, won some tickets, and traded them in for prizes. Blah blah blah. 
One of the prizes somehow made its way to a high perch in the girders of the 36th Street D/N/Q station in Brooklyn, where it will stand watching the iron horses until an attentive straphanger or station maintenance crew removes it. 
2 Comments:
Though the pizza was lacking a bit (our pie was a smidge too burned for our tastes), Totonno's surliness was in fine seasonal form. I stood inside for 1.3 seconds before I was yelled at to wait outside. Jeeze. And I was only trying to order a pie or two to go. Ahh, Coney; some things never change.
Slice My So-Called Strife at 10:42PM on 04/10/06
Totonno's is okay but its another yuppified brick oven joint. What makes New York pizza unique is that you can buy it by the slice. So real pizza places like Di Fara and Spumoni Gardens are head and shoulders better than this place.
Slice Jeff at 4:44PM on 05/11/07