So, last weekend, returning from a trip to our little place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, we needed some late afternoon eats. We stopped at Alfonsos 202 in Flemington, New Jersey, usually a worthwhile stop for some fresh salad, a pasta, and a personal-size pizza. Not a wonderful pie, but an entirely acceptable pie.
Well, last week's pie was dreck. Sauce: bland. Crust: limp. Cheese: excessive and tasteless.
I didn't finish it. The wife agreed: This one's for the trash bin.
As I left, I found myself thinking: Do I need a break from pizza (remember, I answered "once a week" to that poll back in May)? I just felt as if I didn't want to see pizza for awhile.
Fortunately, that aversion lasted exactly a week. Last evening, my daughter, son, and I had a wonderful visit to Toby's Public House, where the cremini mushroom pie was just what the doctor ordered and restored my faith in good pizza.
I know you eat pizza (and burgers) for a living, but have you ever had a slice that made you feel as if you had chosen the wrong profession? And how long did it take for you to get back on the horse, so to speak?
First, no and yes. I have never really eaten a slice that threw me completely off my game. If I get a bad slice, I try to eat my way through the pain, finish a few bites, and then discretely find a way to dispose of it so the pizzeria owner doesn't see me binning the product he may or may not have put some love into. (Strategy: If the clerk has double-plated the slice, I usually sandwich the dregs between the paper plates and then dump it all.)
That said, I do have pizza ups and downs. It's like a roller coaster. When I started doing Slice, I never thought I would burn out on pizza, but my first real slice crisis came at the end of October 2004. Judging in the Best of Long Island Pizza contest is what started the downward spiral. It was my first time serving as a food judge, and I didn't know how to pace myself. So after eating bits of 25 different slices (I actually ate the first two slices completely), I felt like Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions.
Not long after that, there were a number of high-profile pizzeria openings—Una Pizza Napoletana and Fornino among them—that demanded my attention. By mid-November 2004, I did not want to look at a slice of pizza for a long time.
It usually takes a couple months before my pizza mojo comes back. Right now I think I'm on a pizza high, and my enthusiasm is strong.
The Slice Override
What you did at Toby's Public House is what I like to call a "slice override." You've had such bad pizza that you need to get a slice or pie ASAP from somewhere you can rely on. Ed Levine did this recently after he had some unsatisfactory pies at Angelina Pizzabar—he immediately went to Sal and Carmine's.
Bass Ackward
You say, "... if you had chosen the wrong profession...." But the weird thing is that I really didn't choose this profession but sort of luckily fell ass backward into it. I was just goofing around doing Slice and then AHT, and a few years after I started them, along comes Ed Levine with the Serious Eats thing and BAM! next thing I know, I'm working as the managing editor for SE and Slice and AHT are rolled up into it.
That makes it all the more imperative that I eat through the pain and maintain an enthusiasm for pizza even if I feel a trough coming on. When Slice was just an indie one-man operation, I had the luxury of not blogging for a while until the mojo came back. Now, I have to somehow switch things up and make pizza interesting for myself again if things start to go south. Luckily, I haven't had a trough in a while—even though I have sometimes been at the mercy of time (i.e., not enough of it to eat/blog all the pizza I want to).
Hasta la ...
Last, I see that you have appropriated my catchphrase in signing off. You will be hearing from my lawyer.*
i used to say also that i never met a slice i couldn't eat but i assure you that in the last month on the newark star ledger's pizza patrol i have met too many to mention.
85% of the supposed best pies in new jersey are forgettable if not down right inedible
power to joe's semolina turano's and a few others for keeping standars high
power to the pizza
mr.nono's in harrison, nj well worth a detour
I throw uneaten pizza away with regularity.....much of the pizza I am served is simply crap and I have no desire to fill up on cheap, wretched horse manure.
I think I eat pizza 1-2 times weekly. Been a while since I've fallen off the horse.
Regarding Alfonso's: I too have partaken in the Alfonso’s Pizza Experience. I eat almost weekly at Alfonso’s in Somerville (a few miles North on 202 - same apparent ownership; same sign design… I’ve eaten at both, but I like the Somerville incarnation better). I like this restaurant very much.
My wife and I often order the same things: A personal pizza for an appetizer (note: well done, and extra thin. This is the way I like the pizza here – otherwise the crust is a little heavy and soft for my taste.)
I'm kind of basic in pizza tastes, unlike most of the readers here, but I know what I like.
Try the extra thin/well done trick next time. I haven't been disappointed in the 2 years since I figured it out. :)
I too have eaten at both Alfonzo's. Good family place with lots of well prepared and plentiful servings. I don't recall anything about the pizza however. I'll have to go back.
As a professional and obsessive pie man, it's pretty much impossible to knock me off my horse. On my nights off, I like to make pizza at home. When eating out, pizza is usually my first choice. Fortunately, I get "slice overrides" every time I work. And by working at multiple places (until recently), along with my home experimentation, I don't get burnt out on any one rendition.
Is there a pizza joint in the free world Paulie Gee hasn't visited?
If there were a Nobel Prize for pizza fortitude, Mr. Gee would certainly be the recipient. Having seen the fruits of his labors, it's hard to imagine any neighborhood pizzeria matching the Paulie Gee experience.
Still waiting, patiently, with a bottle of a Super Tuscan, to sit at the table of the maestro himself.
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PrintSo, last weekend, returning from a trip to our little place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, we needed some late afternoon eats. We stopped at Alfonsos 202 in Flemington, New Jersey, usually a worthwhile stop for some fresh salad, a pasta, and a personal-size pizza. Not a wonderful pie, but an entirely acceptable pie.
11 Comments:
i used to say also that i never met a slice i couldn't eat but i assure you that in the last month on the newark star ledger's pizza patrol i have met too many to mention.
85% of the supposed best pies in new jersey are forgettable if not down right inedible
power to joe's semolina turano's and a few others for keeping standars high
power to the pizza
mr.nono's in harrison, nj well worth a detour
foodismylife at 3:57PM on 08/13/09
I throw uneaten pizza away with regularity.....much of the pizza I am served is simply crap and I have no desire to fill up on cheap, wretched horse manure.
Pizzablogger at 4:31PM on 08/13/09
Of course, we've eaten some baaaad pizza, but Lil takes it in stride, and I laugh.
"Another slice of pizza in America..."
passion4pizza at 6:14PM on 08/13/09
Umnn, I think it's easy to tell I have most definitely been knocked offa my pizza horse.......terrible slices lately.....but I will prevail!
Adam, I definitely exercise the pizza sandwich of shame by putting the nasty leftovers between the paper plates before discarding. --PB
Pizzablogger at 6:51PM on 08/13/09
I better check and see if any of these are missing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauliegee/3062950227/in/set-72157603296443911/
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 8:37PM on 08/13/09
I think I eat pizza 1-2 times weekly. Been a while since I've fallen off the horse.
Regarding Alfonso's: I too have partaken in the Alfonso’s Pizza Experience. I eat almost weekly at Alfonso’s in Somerville (a few miles North on 202 - same apparent ownership; same sign design… I’ve eaten at both, but I like the Somerville incarnation better). I like this restaurant very much.
My wife and I often order the same things: A personal pizza for an appetizer (note: well done, and extra thin. This is the way I like the pizza here – otherwise the crust is a little heavy and soft for my taste.)
I'm kind of basic in pizza tastes, unlike most of the readers here, but I know what I like.
Try the extra thin/well done trick next time. I haven't been disappointed in the 2 years since I figured it out. :)
galadiman at 10:31AM on 08/14/09
I too have eaten at both Alfonzo's. Good family place with lots of well prepared and plentiful servings. I don't recall anything about the pizza however. I'll have to go back.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 4:23PM on 08/14/09
As a professional and obsessive pie man, it's pretty much impossible to knock me off my horse. On my nights off, I like to make pizza at home. When eating out, pizza is usually my first choice. Fortunately, I get "slice overrides" every time I work. And by working at multiple places (until recently), along with my home experimentation, I don't get burnt out on any one rendition.
f r y at 11:49AM on 08/15/09
If you make your own pizza, sometimes you get a dog. But then there are other days, like yesterday, when I had the second greatest pizza in my life.
Mooner at 7:40PM on 08/15/09
Is there a pizza joint in the free world Paulie Gee hasn't visited?
If there were a Nobel Prize for pizza fortitude, Mr. Gee would certainly be the recipient. Having seen the fruits of his labors, it's hard to imagine any neighborhood pizzeria matching the Paulie Gee experience.
Still waiting, patiently, with a bottle of a Super Tuscan, to sit at the table of the maestro himself.
famdoc at 3:38PM on 08/16/09
@famdoc Thanks very much. I haven't been to Mozza yet. But Mikie Gee now has been. Perhaps I'll get him to post a mini review here in the comments.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 5:45PM on 08/16/09