I got an email from Famdoc yesterday with a good idea:
I don't recall ever seeing one, but I wonder whether you've ever surveyed your readership on the number of times per month (or per week) they eat pizza. I'd be curious to see the distribution of replies (my own reply would be 4 times per month, counting homemade pies). If you haven't done such a survey, would you consider putting one up on the site?
I think when I first started Slice I was interested in polls, but there was no easy way to slap one in a blog post at the time. (This was more than five years ago, before things like PollDaddy existed.) And once they did exist, I don't know why I never revisited the option.
Well, anyway, enough with the blathering. Here's the first Slice poll. Thanks for the nudge, Famdoc!
I think this poll may show that many people eat it less than one may think. I personally don't eat pizza EVERY week, but I love Slice. Plus, when I do eat pizza, I tend to think of it as a special treat. Just my prediction.
it so depends on the week. there are some weeks when i don't eat pizza at all and then some weeks when i'll eat it four or five times (especially when i make my own). also, this doesn't really take into account how much pizza one consumes, e.g., someone who has a slice six days a week still eats roughly the same amount of pizza I eat in one sitting.
I don't eat pizza that often, but when I do, I make it count. Of course, "making it count" can be going somewhere for wonderful pizza (current favorite is Beau Jo's...so excited to see it reviewed on Slice yesterday!) or eating 2-3 large Papa John's pizzas in one sitting (no exaggeration), depending on whether I'm looking for quality or quantity. Like @pastry262, I love pizza, but it's sort of a special treat for me.
Believe it or not, I responded 3 days a week. Perhaps I'm in that Egyptian river. I have been spending a lot more time in Brooklyn lately so I probably should have responded 4 days a week. Keep in mind the question simply asks how many DAYS a week we have it. I can think of many days when I've had it more than once a day. BTW, I'm writing this after having lunch at Ed Levine's favorite bar pie joint, The Reservoir Tavern in Boonton. I work in the next town.
Like others who have commented so far, pizza is also a treat for myself and my family. We shun mass produced, delivery or frozen pizza. We look for pizzaioli who use fresh, quality ingredients. We usually like to have wine or beer matched to the pizza and not jug wine from a wicker-enclosed bottle. Maybe we're snobs, but I prefer to think that life is too short for bad pizza (or bad wine).
Thus, a trip to the pizzeria can set us back anywhere from $30-100. Much as I'd like to enjoy pizza more often, at those prices, it's impractical.
A personal anecdote related to the cost of pizza and in the spirit of nostalgia, I recall my mother giving me 50 cents every Wednesday, allowing me to leave school (PS 89 in the Bronx) for lunch, which consisted of a slice (15 cents), a coke (15 cents), a black-and-white cookie (5 cents) and a pack of baseball cards (5 cents). The remaining dime was mine: I could spend it or save it.
Yeah, less than once a week . . . since moving to Minnesota from NYC, because really, why bother eating less than stellar pizza? But back east, easily twice a week. And back in high school? Every day, at least two slices.
Well, I eat pizza about once a week. However, the pizza places up here in NH are, well, lousy. I keep thinking of the phrase from The Office, "Hot Circles of Garbage."
But when I go someplace with decent pizza? I enjoy it. And heck, if I could live at Pizzeria Bianco or Pepe's, I would.
@attgig: Lest Slice become a forum for marital advice, I'll share my own married with pizza story: my wife grew up in Jersey City and probably had pizza a few times a week. Now, she would never have pizza out (she claims to love my homemade pies...I need to keep her away from Paulie Gee, however). Somehow, she begrudges me my little pleasures and agrees to go out for pizza with me and the kids provided she can get a cheese-less pie (she claims to have lactose intolerance). The lesson: marriage is truly a give-and-take thing. She gets her salmon, I get my pizza.
How often do I eat pizza? You mean NOW? Now, when I'm trying to lose another 40 pounds (already lost 35 since January)? It's been really difficult limiting myself to once a week, sometimes less, but here we are for the moment. And living two miles from Umberto's in New Hyde Park, this is not easy.
Historically, I'm a 3 - 4 time a week pizza eater. If I was single, it'd be a minimum of five times a week. My wife tries so hard to keep me alive... :)
@famdoc Fear not. I am a man of honor. Is she mascarpone intolerant? I've been thinking a pie with mascarpone, smoked salmon and capers might make a nice brunch item. Mascarpone, par poached salmon (so it doesn't get overdone in the oven) and post oven dill weed wouldn't suck either.
Two years ago we started commuting from Brooklyn to Vermont every weekend. This typically means Fridays at Pepe's of Fairfield and Sundays at Zuppardis. Which pretty much means no NY pizza unless I'm near L&B. I guess we're less inclined to deal the hassle of Lucallis or DiFara when I know a Zuppardis pie with belly clams, bacon and vinegar peppers is just a couple of days away.
Ok, I may have to revise my answer to this poll. I estimated that I eat pizza 2X each week, but it's only Friday afternoon and I just had my third pizza meal of the week. I have a feeling that 3X is probably closer to the average for me :)
Speaking of revising, all this talk, as well as the comments in the 99 Cent Pizza article got me craving a good old fashion NY slice. I headed over to a local slice joint in Deville I hadn't tried yet and grabbed a couple of less than pedestrian slices. They tasted very good to me nonetheless. When the owner told me it was $2.00 a slice I said "That's all?" and he said, alright then, make it $2.50. He then said that he had actually been thinking of raising it to $2.25. I of course jumped all over the opportunity to tell him what powers were at work to prompt him to consider that increase. Anyone care to guess what I explained to him?
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
P.S. - I guess I'm really in that Egyptian river because I'm already up to four days this week and tomorrow night's a lock as well. And another serving this evening is a good possiblity.
You are right about Manhattan prices, especially now that Metrocard discounts must be factored in. Jersey seems pretty close in cost to outer borough slices, but I'm not an expert on those prices these days, other than New Park in Howard Beach. And the squares at Spumoni Gardens.
Paulie Gee: I order the "Clams Casino" pie a la carte as it were, Zuppardi's menu only has one combo pie, the Special which is Sausage & Mushrooms. We get the "Casino" plain, no sauce, no cheese, sometimes we sub shrimp for clams, either way it's a large slice of heaven.
Hey Adam: some of the above comments about the price of pizza (and the inevitability of a price increase) reminded me that you had once talked about developing a pizza price per square inch measure. What ever became of that?
There is a little strip mall near a Shop Rite that has been there since I was an infant--called Atillos. It is run by the same Italian-speaking couple, still with thick impenetrable accents. The first pizza I ever had, literally. $8.50 for a small pie and $1.25 a slice.
That said, I don't have pizza that much--it isn't one of my primal craving foods. But I do read Slice because pizza was such a part of my life, growing up in Jersey (plus college). It is just very much a part of my food history as an eater. I guess pizza is for me what Chinese food is for many Jewish people I know who grew up in NYC during 'a certain time'--just a food that is connected to many life milestones even if taste-wise, I don't need it every other day.
Typical order for family of four at "artisanal" pizza joint:
--2 pies (one with toppings, other di nonna or similar)=$45
--1 bottle of wine or 2 glasses of wine and 2 beers=$30
--appetizer (say, mussels or calamari)=$12
--salad (or tomatoes/basil/mozz with balsamic and extra virgin)=$12
--dessert (for argument's sake, one dessert and four forks)=$6
--tax and tip
I think that's nearly a buck and a quarter right there.
Where I go for pizza (typically, Brooklyn, Staten Island or Jersey), we simply don't order by the slice. Like others who have commented, pizza has become a special meal. And, pizza is just part of the meal. Accordingly, the cost of a pizza dinner for two adults and two college-aged children is at least a hundred bucks.
Well, my week is finally over and not only did I head back to Roberta's on Friday night (the Guanciale and Egg pie was kick ass), I had a triple header yesterday to end the week. A Sopressata Picante at Motorino before the game, another visit to Roberta's after the game and my Inaugural visit to Artichoke for a midnight snack after this not to be missed Roller Derby event:
Sadly my Brooklyn Bombshells came up short, as did that spinach dip on dough thing Artichoke claims is a slice pizza. The Margherita and the Sicilian were very good however. And BTW, this week is off to a fast start. I had a leftover Artichoke Margherita slice for breakfast.
@famdoc--I am from Jersey! a large 9.50 pie has 8 slices, so 2 slices per person, perhaps $10 if you drink, plus an appetizer around 5.00. And as I said, this place is run by an Italian couple. I live in Soprano-land.
For me, it depends on the week. It is usually at least once per week. However some weeks, it can be an every day event. (Yes, it is an event since I celebrate pizza.)
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36 Comments:
I think this poll may show that many people eat it less than one may think. I personally don't eat pizza EVERY week, but I love Slice. Plus, when I do eat pizza, I tend to think of it as a special treat. Just my prediction.
pastry262 at 11:44AM on 05/14/09
I'm being literal when I say I eat pizza on average 6 days a week.
s4xton at 11:50AM on 05/14/09
it so depends on the week. there are some weeks when i don't eat pizza at all and then some weeks when i'll eat it four or five times (especially when i make my own). also, this doesn't really take into account how much pizza one consumes, e.g., someone who has a slice six days a week still eats roughly the same amount of pizza I eat in one sitting.
egadman at 12:03PM on 05/14/09
I won't consider my life complete until I know Paulie Gee's reply.
famdoc at 12:07PM on 05/14/09
not enough!!
Edwardkimuk at 1:16PM on 05/14/09
@pastry262: Yeah. I'm 1x to 2x a weekâunless there's some weirdness where a bunch of new pizzerias open up in a short span of time.
@s4xton: I don't doubt that.
@egadman: True. I am going to do polls that take into account how many slices at one sitting, etc. Until I run out of poll questions.
@famdoc: Right there with you. I should have put an upper end on this poll simply labeled "Paulie Gee"
Adam Kuban at 1:22PM on 05/14/09
I don't eat pizza that often, but when I do, I make it count. Of course, "making it count" can be going somewhere for wonderful pizza (current favorite is Beau Jo's...so excited to see it reviewed on Slice yesterday!) or eating 2-3 large Papa John's pizzas in one sitting (no exaggeration), depending on whether I'm looking for quality or quantity. Like @pastry262, I love pizza, but it's sort of a special treat for me.
cycorider at 1:44PM on 05/14/09
Believe it or not, I responded 3 days a week. Perhaps I'm in that Egyptian river. I have been spending a lot more time in Brooklyn lately so I probably should have responded 4 days a week. Keep in mind the question simply asks how many DAYS a week we have it. I can think of many days when I've had it more than once a day. BTW, I'm writing this after having lunch at Ed Levine's favorite bar pie joint, The Reservoir Tavern in Boonton. I work in the next town.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 2:12PM on 05/14/09
Like others who have commented so far, pizza is also a treat for myself and my family. We shun mass produced, delivery or frozen pizza. We look for pizzaioli who use fresh, quality ingredients. We usually like to have wine or beer matched to the pizza and not jug wine from a wicker-enclosed bottle. Maybe we're snobs, but I prefer to think that life is too short for bad pizza (or bad wine).
Thus, a trip to the pizzeria can set us back anywhere from $30-100. Much as I'd like to enjoy pizza more often, at those prices, it's impractical.
A personal anecdote related to the cost of pizza and in the spirit of nostalgia, I recall my mother giving me 50 cents every Wednesday, allowing me to leave school (PS 89 in the Bronx) for lunch, which consisted of a slice (15 cents), a coke (15 cents), a black-and-white cookie (5 cents) and a pack of baseball cards (5 cents). The remaining dime was mine: I could spend it or save it.
famdoc at 2:18PM on 05/14/09
Yeah, less than once a week . . . since moving to Minnesota from NYC, because really, why bother eating less than stellar pizza? But back east, easily twice a week. And back in high school? Every day, at least two slices.
brokenbuzz at 2:24PM on 05/14/09
when i was single, it would be 2-3 times a week.
now.... not as much. she's not as much of a pizza lover as i am...
attgig at 2:30PM on 05/14/09
Well, I eat pizza about once a week. However, the pizza places up here in NH are, well, lousy. I keep thinking of the phrase from The Office, "Hot Circles of Garbage."
But when I go someplace with decent pizza? I enjoy it. And heck, if I could live at Pizzeria Bianco or Pepe's, I would.
kaszeta at 2:36PM on 05/14/09
@attgig: Lest Slice become a forum for marital advice, I'll share my own married with pizza story: my wife grew up in Jersey City and probably had pizza a few times a week. Now, she would never have pizza out (she claims to love my homemade pies...I need to keep her away from Paulie Gee, however). Somehow, she begrudges me my little pleasures and agrees to go out for pizza with me and the kids provided she can get a cheese-less pie (she claims to have lactose intolerance). The lesson: marriage is truly a give-and-take thing. She gets her salmon, I get my pizza.
famdoc at 2:41PM on 05/14/09
How often do I eat pizza? You mean NOW? Now, when I'm trying to lose another 40 pounds (already lost 35 since January)? It's been really difficult limiting myself to once a week, sometimes less, but here we are for the moment. And living two miles from Umberto's in New Hyde Park, this is not easy.
Historically, I'm a 3 - 4 time a week pizza eater. If I was single, it'd be a minimum of five times a week. My wife tries so hard to keep me alive... :)
passion4pizza at 3:21PM on 05/14/09
@famdoc Fear not. I am a man of honor. Is she mascarpone intolerant? I've been thinking a pie with mascarpone, smoked salmon and capers might make a nice brunch item. Mascarpone, par poached salmon (so it doesn't get overdone in the oven) and post oven dill weed wouldn't suck either.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 3:22PM on 05/14/09
I have a minimum of a 2 days per week habit. Sometimes when I fall off the wagon, its a 5 day per week habit.
ESNY1077 at 4:08PM on 05/14/09
My hat off to the 8 people (so far) who eat pizza daily! You RULE!
Adam Kuban at 12:42AM on 05/15/09
Two years ago we started commuting from Brooklyn to Vermont every weekend. This typically means Fridays at Pepe's of Fairfield and Sundays at Zuppardis. Which pretty much means no NY pizza unless I'm near L&B. I guess we're less inclined to deal the hassle of Lucallis or DiFara when I know a Zuppardis pie with belly clams, bacon and vinegar peppers is just a couple of days away.
jakeyd at 12:49AM on 05/15/09
Holy crap, Jakeyd. That sounds like THE LIFE. Boo hoo, Fridays at Pepe's and Sundays at Zuppardi's. [Jealous]
Adam Kuban at 12:53AM on 05/15/09
Adam, Fairfield Pepe's has been inconsistent lately, but Zuppardi's totally rocks, for gas oven Pizza to my mind it's just a notch below DiFara.
jakeyd at 1:09AM on 05/15/09
"...belly clams, bacon and vinegar peppers...". Looks like Zuppardi's has created a Clams Casino pie. I like the sound of that.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 11:32AM on 05/15/09
Ok, I may have to revise my answer to this poll. I estimated that I eat pizza 2X each week, but it's only Friday afternoon and I just had my third pizza meal of the week. I have a feeling that 3X is probably closer to the average for me :)
Kerosena at 1:36PM on 05/15/09
Speaking of revising, all this talk, as well as the comments in the 99 Cent Pizza article got me craving a good old fashion NY slice. I headed over to a local slice joint in Deville I hadn't tried yet and grabbed a couple of less than pedestrian slices. They tasted very good to me nonetheless. When the owner told me it was $2.00 a slice I said "That's all?" and he said, alright then, make it $2.50. He then said that he had actually been thinking of raising it to $2.25. I of course jumped all over the opportunity to tell him what powers were at work to prompt him to consider that increase. Anyone care to guess what I explained to him?
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
P.S. - I guess I'm really in that Egyptian river because I'm already up to four days this week and tomorrow night's a lock as well. And another serving this evening is a good possiblity.
pauliegee at 2:34PM on 05/15/09
@paulie: Smooth move, dude. You just got the prices jacked up for everyone at that place!
Adam Kuban at 2:41PM on 05/15/09
@Slicemeister Come on, any pizza enthusiast worth his salt knows what the only reason is that his price will rise.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 2:47PM on 05/15/09
Yes. Subway prices. But does that affect Jersey slices as well as NYC? Also: Most Manhattan slice shops have already outpaced the fare hike!
Adam Kuban at 2:54PM on 05/15/09
You are right about Manhattan prices, especially now that Metrocard discounts must be factored in. Jersey seems pretty close in cost to outer borough slices, but I'm not an expert on those prices these days, other than New Park in Howard Beach. And the squares at Spumoni Gardens.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 4:27PM on 05/15/09
2-3 times/week. But since I make my own and eat it all myself, my guess is I'm actually eating more pizza than most people.
Mooner at 9:04PM on 05/15/09
Paulie Gee: I order the "Clams Casino" pie a la carte as it were, Zuppardi's menu only has one combo pie, the Special which is Sausage & Mushrooms. We get the "Casino" plain, no sauce, no cheese, sometimes we sub shrimp for clams, either way it's a large slice of heaven.
jakeyd at 9:04PM on 05/15/09
Hey Adam: some of the above comments about the price of pizza (and the inevitability of a price increase) reminded me that you had once talked about developing a pizza price per square inch measure. What ever became of that?
famdoc at 11:54PM on 05/15/09
@famdoc--a hundred bucks?
There is a little strip mall near a Shop Rite that has been there since I was an infant--called Atillos. It is run by the same Italian-speaking couple, still with thick impenetrable accents. The first pizza I ever had, literally. $8.50 for a small pie and $1.25 a slice.
That said, I don't have pizza that much--it isn't one of my primal craving foods. But I do read Slice because pizza was such a part of my life, growing up in Jersey (plus college). It is just very much a part of my food history as an eater. I guess pizza is for me what Chinese food is for many Jewish people I know who grew up in NYC during 'a certain time'--just a food that is connected to many life milestones even if taste-wise, I don't need it every other day.
HeartofGlass at 8:08PM on 05/16/09
@HeartofGlass:
Typical order for family of four at "artisanal" pizza joint:
--2 pies (one with toppings, other di nonna or similar)=$45
--1 bottle of wine or 2 glasses of wine and 2 beers=$30
--appetizer (say, mussels or calamari)=$12
--salad (or tomatoes/basil/mozz with balsamic and extra virgin)=$12
--dessert (for argument's sake, one dessert and four forks)=$6
--tax and tip
I think that's nearly a buck and a quarter right there.
Where I go for pizza (typically, Brooklyn, Staten Island or Jersey), we simply don't order by the slice. Like others who have commented, pizza has become a special meal. And, pizza is just part of the meal. Accordingly, the cost of a pizza dinner for two adults and two college-aged children is at least a hundred bucks.
famdoc at 12:14PM on 05/17/09
Well, my week is finally over and not only did I head back to Roberta's on Friday night (the Guanciale and Egg pie was kick ass), I had a triple header yesterday to end the week. A Sopressata Picante at Motorino before the game, another visit to Roberta's after the game and my Inaugural visit to Artichoke for a midnight snack after this not to be missed Roller Derby event:
http://www.gothamgirlsrollerderby.com/events/
Sadly my Brooklyn Bombshells came up short, as did that spinach dip on dough thing Artichoke claims is a slice pizza. The Margherita and the Sicilian were very good however. And BTW, this week is off to a fast start. I had a leftover Artichoke Margherita slice for breakfast.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 2:06PM on 05/17/09
@famdoc--I am from Jersey! a large 9.50 pie has 8 slices, so 2 slices per person, perhaps $10 if you drink, plus an appetizer around 5.00. And as I said, this place is run by an Italian couple. I live in Soprano-land.
HeartofGlass at 4:19PM on 05/17/09
I'm revising again. I had pizza 4X last week, and twice this week so far (it's Monday afternoon). Never realized how much of my diet is pizza-based.
Kerosena at 3:14PM on 05/18/09
For me, it depends on the week. It is usually at least once per week. However some weeks, it can be an every day event. (Yes, it is an event since I celebrate pizza.)
mdv at 5:48AM on 05/19/09