Entries tagged with 'Chelsea'
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 16, 2008 at 8:00 AM
I took some art history courses in college. Did they prepare me for this?
Pizza Corpse is an exquisite framing of the artist's nostalgia, social and cultural associations; interest in the grotesque, hygiene and self-image, corporal perturbations, and any other greasy subject related to these concerns in and out of the box. All of the featured artists are Yale School of Art graduate students or recent graduates, who grinningly pulled the book's topic out of a hat. This strategy not only introduced a re-examination of Fluxus terms for the compilation, but it also served as a method to display contemporary alterations of Internet-accessible imagery. You will find this book to be a humorous browse or an earnest sit down; the responses in the book are as varied as the toppings on a pizza.
I'm not sure they did.
Pizza Corpse Book Launch
Where: Printed Matter, 195 Tenth Avenue, New York NY 10011 (b/n 21st and 22nd streets; map)
When: 5 to 7 p.m.; Thursday, July 17, 2008
More Info: http://printedmatter.org/news/news.cfm?article_id=329
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 10, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Roma Pizza in better days, before it unexpectedly closed last week.
Last week saw the passing of Roma Pizza on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. I'm probably speaking for everyone on the block—which is home to FIT and the Serious Eats/Slice office—when I say it was an unexpected event. One evening, we were buying slices there for a quick dinner, and the next morning the place was being cleaned out by an auction. By the time the 4 p.m. coffee break rolled around, there was a black plastic trash bag outside the door with the handle of a pizza peel peeking out of it.
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 9, 2006 at 10:45 AM
Reader comment and response is still pouring in thanks to yesterday's New York Times story. So many great comments and recommendations. And questions. Reaching into the proverbial mailbag, we have ...
Dear Slice,
Do you know of any good late night or 24 hour pizza places in NYC?
—Bilal
Dear Bilal,
Slice is a homebody, more prone to lying prone on the couch at night, remote in hand, watching Battlestar Galactica. But our favorite late-night (if not 24-hour) place is Vinny Vincenz. Great squares here. Sunday through Thursday till 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday till 4:30 a.m.
Late enough for you?
And, as always, readers, if you know of any good 24-hour or late-night pizzerias, chime in with your comments!
Hasta la pizza,
Adam
VINNY VINCENZ
Address: 231 First Ave., New York NY 10003 [East Village, b/n 13th/14th sts.; map]
Getting There: L train to First Ave. Vincenz is practically on the corner
Phone: 212-674-0707
URL: vinnyvincenz.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 31, 2006 at 2:18 PM
In yesterday's New York Times F.Y.I. column, the question was raised: Where was the first Ray's Pizza, and what's the story behind it?
A. Why don’t you ask something simple, like what happened to Judge Crater? Some New York culinary questions (just who invented the black-and-white cookie is another) are destined to remain shrouded in mystery. The evolution of Ray’s Pizza resists an easy explanation....
The Ray’s question is also bristling with lawyers. Rosolino Mangano, of Famous Original Ray’s Pizza on Columbus Avenue near 83rd Street, went to court in the early 1990’s, registered that name and branched out with many identically named Ray’s, run mostly by relatives, with others under license. Then there was Ralph Cuomo, who in 1959 opened a Ray’s Pizza at 27 Prince Street and then another one on First Avenue and 59th Street; the second location ended up in Mr. Mangano’ s hands. Other would-be Rays said they had a right to their versions. Some joined forces; some sued. You get the idea.
Slice suspected as much, from the research we've done on the topic, that's why you've never seen an in-depth investigative piece on the place on this website. I mean, if the might and muscle of the Gray Lady couldn't uncover the truth, we're afraid the Ray's question will forever remain a greasy mystery.
FURTHER READING
From A Full Belly, March 18, 2004:
Food Wars claims that there are at least 3,000 pizzerias in New York, and at least 30 of them use some form of “Ray’s” in their name including but not limited to Ray’s, Ray’s Pizza, Famous Original Ray’s Pizza, Ray’s Famous Original Pizza, World Famous Ray’s Pizza, Not Ray’s Pizza, and RayBari Pizza. A quick poll of Citysearch finds 2788 results on “pizza” and 45 results on “Ray’s pizza”. The thing is, there is no Ray.
Using his mom’s pizza recipt, Ralph Cuomo opened Ray’s in 1959 in Little Italy, which quickly became known as the place to buy the slice (and later, the place to buy a slice AND some heroin, but curiously enough Food Wars fails to mention this bit of trivia). In the early 60’s, Cuomo opened a second Ray’s (54th and 7th Ave), which was eventually bought by Rosolino Mangano. Mangano changed the name to Famous Original Ray’s, even though it wasn’t the original. Mangano now goes by the name “Ray” even though legal name is still Rosolino, and has opened Famous Original’s all over New York City. Mangano also claims that he is the “Ray” that has made the name "Ray’s" famous.
In 1981, Mangano sold a store to someone else, who continued using the name “Ray’s” and soon more “Ray’s” pizzeria variations began popping up. Ralph Cuomo then attempted to trademark the name "Ray’s." The three "Ray’s" pizza players eventually incorporated together, trademarked the name Ray’s, and then went after everyone else using the name.
But wait, there’s more! Joe Bari bought a “Ray’s Restaurant” in 1973 and turned it into a pizzeria and added his own name, Ray Bari Pizza. Bari believes he, not Mangano of Famous Original Ray’s, made the name famous by using cab drivers to spread to word about the pizzeria. Joe Bari refused to change the name, and was sued by the corporate Ray’s, and eventually changed his restaurant name to RayBari Pizza.
And there you have a small slice of the contentious history behind New York pizza.
You Can Call Them Ray [New York Times]
New York Pizza, Part 1 [A Full Belly]
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 7, 2005 at 1:54 AM
The New York Times reviews Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza & Penne in its Under $25 column today and comes away with a hit and miss conclusion:
Here's the good news about his new pizza venture: toppings, especially the more adventurous ones, are largely top-notch. Few linen-draped restaurants can boast of lamb as succulently braised as what's served here with bits of roasted lemon on one of the specialty pies (half-pies are $5 to $6; small pizzas are $9 to $14; large are $14 to $19).
But the crust makes or breaks a pizza, and at Waldy's, prestretched dough sits in plastic-covered piles, looking as uninspired as it tastes even after a journey through the wood oven in the back of the narrow space.
WALDY'S WOOD FIRED PIZZA & PENNE
Location: 800 Sixth Avenue (at 27th Street; Chelsea)
Phone: 212-213-5042
Cost: Half pies, $5 to $6; small pies, $9 to $14; large, $14 to $19
Payment: Cash and credit
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 22, 2005 at 2:33 PM
From the New York Times today comes a short blip about the impending opening of Waldy's Wood-Fired Pizza and Penne, which happens this Friday (June 24):
Since Beacon opened on West 56th Street six years ago, Waldy Malouf has spent much of his time near a wood-burning oven, shoveling food in and out of it with a long wooden peel. The opening Friday of Waldy's Wood-Fired Pizza and Penne, 800 Avenue of the Americas (27th Street) changes none of this, merely expands it. Mr. Malouf, left, the chef and an owner at Beacon, owns the new place, which he calls a "slice joint," with Rob Dixon. What other slice joint offers 11 different pizzas in two sizes of rectangles and also as a single-serving quarter-pie?
WALDY'S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA AND PENNE
Location: 800 Sixth Ave. (b/n 27th and 28th Streets), Manhattan 10001 (Chelsea)
Getting There: F/V trains to 23rd Street; N/R/W trains to 28th Street
Phone: 212-213-5042
The Skinny: Owner of Beacon brings his skillz downtown a bit; cooking in a wood-fired oven, duh.
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 25, 2005 at 9:00 AM
Pins and Pizzas: Slice spotted this sign (top left) on the way to Chelsea Piers Lanes last night; we thought our friends at Gothamist would enjoy this photo. The entrance (above right) to Chelsea Piers Lanes. The electronic scoring monitors (middle row, left) made it known that pizza was available for hungry bowlers. We were hungry, so we ordered a pie—and some beer (middle row, right). Adam K.'s thoughtful and creative coworkers unveiled a cookie pizza for him in honor of his upcoming birthday (above).
Three strikes and you're ... a turkey. At least in bowling. In baseball, however, you'd just be out. And in the world of pizza, if you strike on the crust, sauce, and cheese, you're out of the game altogether. Such was the case with the plain pie we had at Chelsea Piers Lanes last night.
Slice editor in chief Adam K. was at this classy venue with coworkers for our monthly after-work bowling party. I arrived early to reserve a couple lanes and, with that taken care of, did some pizza exploration while waiting for my colleagues to arrive. What I found was pizza on the scoring monitors and pizza in a warming case in the snack bar. A quick glance at the pie in the case told me that I should stick to beer or white Russians.
And that's what I did. Somewhere around the fifth frame however, after watching my skillfully rolled ball knock down all ten pins, I walked off the lane to find my coworkers had ordered a plain pie (see photo, above).
Ladies and gentlemen, I told my esteemed colleagues not to go near this stuff! The dudes did not abide.
Was this pizza as bad as it looked? Let me tell you something, pendejo: It was worse. One of my teammates, South Biyatch, described the limp, doughy, undercooked crust as "almost blond." The sauce was sour and overspiced, and the cheese was rubbery and flavorless. In short, eating this pizza was like rolling two gutterballs in one frame. Stick to beer and white Russians, my friends.
But the evening was redeemed by another "pizza." My thoughtful and creative coworker Trixie, who also happens to be Slice's nightlife editor, snuck in a giant cookie decorated to look like a pizza, with red frosting as sauce, coconut shavings as cheese, and Kit-Kat Bites as sausage. The occasion: my upcoming birthday (March 28; Aries; tiger; buy me shit here).
This pizza was a real turkey. And I mean that in the good, bowling sense of the word.
###
And now, because "Trixie" thinks this site should be about her and won't stop nagging me until I put a photo of her on it, here is time-sequence montage of her coming off the lane after a strike, attempting to high-five her teammate Rico, and accidentally hitting him in the face. Happy now, Trix?
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 1, 2004 at 5:00 PM
Amanda Hesser's La Bottega review from a couple days ago. Though the chef's specialty is pizza, Ms. Hesser doesn't go into much detail about this restaurant's offerings in that department.
La Bottega, located in the Maritime Hotel (partially pictured above).
Nautical metaphors abound.
In the corner, near the bar, is a wood oven. And while not all of the food coming out of it is good, the scent of wood smoke, herbs and blistering pizza dough it gives off is addictive. From the moment you walk into La Bottega you are hungry. [Bottega Chef John] DeLucie's real specialty is pizza. His crust is flavorful and thin, and the toppings are added with restraint, so that each bite is an intense taste, not just filler.
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 30, 2004 at 2:21 PM
THIS PIZZA'S 'SAGGY'
The Daily News visits La Bottega in the Maritime Hotel and reports that the pizza, cooked in a wood-burning oven, is "tasty but saggy":
Pizzas straight out of the wood-burning oven were tasty but saggy. (Point the wedge toward your mouth; if the tip droops, your pie's a drag.) One notable exception is the pizza robiola, a crisp, top-crusted affair sandwiching potent robiola cheese glistening with white-truffle oil.
Perhaps more interesting to us is the fact the Maritime's cheesegrater-like faade and that certain floors are rumored to be haunted (shuffle through your stack of recent New Yorkers and read it there).
