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Entries tagged with 'television'

Scary Pizza: 'Fear Factor' Slice With Worms and Fish Eyes

20071031halloweenslicedude-64x64.pngHope you got yr barf bag ready, peeps, cuz I got the NASTIEST slice of pizza you could ever hope to run away from.

It's a slice of pizza from a long-ago episode of Fear Factor and features a bile-based crust, cow-blood sauce, stinky cheese, and is topped with fish eyes and live worms. Yeeeech!

20071031fearfactor.jpgHere is what Fear Factor contestant Shelby Smith had to say about eating it:

Between all the coagulated blood and the cheese and the worms, I don't think I could even, at the time, differentiate what was in my mouth. I didn't even feel the crunching. I was chewing so quickly and trying just to get through it. There was so much stuff put together. Once it got inside my mouth and I was just chewing everything up, it really didn't even matter at that point.

Tough Pizza Critics on 'The Office'

"It's like eating a hot circle of garbage." —Kevin Malone

20071012pizzabyalfredo.jpgMichael: Good news.
Stanley: We get to go home?
Michael: Guess who just ordered from your favorite pizza place, Alfredo's?
Kevin: Wait. Alfredo's Pizza Cafe? Or Pizza By Alfredo?
Michael: Same thing.
Everyone: [grumbling] No. No it isn't.
Michael: Alright I don't understand when you all talk at the same time.
Kevin: Oscar, talk to him.
Oscar: Michael, there's a very big difference between these two pizza places, both in quality of ingredients and overall taste. Which one did you order from?
Michael: Pizza By Alfredo
[Everyone grumbles]
Michael: Alright. OK, OK. What is better: a medium amount of good pizza or all you can eat of pretty good pizza?
Everyone: Medium amount of good pizza.
Kevin [alone with camera in conference room]: Oh no, it's bad. It's real bad. It's like eating a hot circle of garbage.

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Heard on 'The Report' Last Night: Oreo Pizza

"And my guest John Kao says that America has lost its lead in innovation. Clearly, he hasn't tried Oreo pizza." —Stephen Colbert

On TV: 'Heavyweights: The Pizza Files'

Well, folks, unless they left me on the cutting room floor, yours truly will be appearing as a blabbing head tomorrow night on the new Food Network show Heavyweights. I'll be on an episode called "The Pizza Files."

The show pits two food industry rivals against one another and has commentators talk about them. The two biggies here: Pizza Hut and Domino's.

The short of it: Airs Saturday, September 22 at 9 p.m. ET. Check your local listings, set your TiVos, take some Tums.

The long of it after the jump, written just after I taped the show on July 6 and excerpted from my personal blog ...

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Rachael Ray's Pizza Throwdown

20070425rayray.jpgRemember when Rachael Ray was asking for votes for the best pizza in Chicago and New York City?

The results are in, and, according to Friend of Slice Tien Mao, they're being aired as we speak (if you're on Eastern Daylight Time). If you're in later time zones, you might still have a chance to watch; check your local listings. I, for one, will look for a rerun and try to DVR. In the meantime, Tien gave me some play-by-play. He's working from home, multitasking with some TV in the background, I assume.

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Slice Mentioned on 'Millionaire'

Holy Slice!

FOS Tien Mao called earlier today while I was at IKEA picking up some office furniture for Serious Eats, and he said he was working from home, flipping through channels, and just happened to land on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

One of the questions, he said, was something to the effect of "The New York–based website SliceNY.com is a blog dedicated to what food: pies, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels?" (I'm probably getting the foods wrong there, but you get the gist.)

This is a stretch, because who DVRs Millionaire, which apparently airs in the afternoon now, but if anyone out there has it TiVo-ed, could you please send it my way somehow?

TV Tonight: Pizza on 'American Eats'

AMERICAN EATS
The History Channel
10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, 9 p.m. Central

Order a pizza in and get ready to watch. Or set the TiVo and go out for a pie. From the "New York Times":

The migration of pizza westward — from southern Italy to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles — is the story of mutation, innovation, perversion. And in spite of the documentary's wonderfully nonjudgmental narration, viewers will find it hard not to take sides.

Midwestern deep-dish types tend to see coastal pies as too wan or too fancy. Californians like their Spago-era artworks all fusioned and deluxe; I imagine they silently believe that other kinds of pizza are only for fat people. New Yorkers, who are fundamentally right on this subject, know they have the real thing.

Or almost. One thing this documentary does well is show how importation is always transformation: even when Gennaro Lombardi, the founding father of American pizza, opened his shop on Spring Street in SoHo a century ago, he was tampering with tradition. He had to use local tomatoes, explains the voice-over, "instead of San Marzano tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius." And atop the local tomato sauce he melted ordinary cow cheese, instead of the distinctive Italian mozzarella made from water-buffalo milk.

'American Eats' Offers the True American (Pizza) Pie [New York Times]

Luzzo's Pizza on Martha

A tipster tipped us to the fact that Lower East Side coal-burner Luzzo's will be featured on Martha this morning. New Yorkers can tune in to the show on WNBC-4 at 11 a.m. Anyone else, check your local listings.

LUZZO'S
Location: 211-13 First Ave. (b/n 12th and 13th streets) [map]
Phone: 212-473-7447

FURTHER READING
Martha Visits East Village's Luzzo's [Slice Archives]
Jeffrey Steingarten on Coal-Oven Pizza [Slice Archives]
Luzzo's: New Coal-Oven Place in the City! [Slice Archives]
Luzzo's in the Post [Slice Archives]

Pizza on 'The Office'

On last night's episode of The Office, painfully obtuse boss Michael initiates some male bonding among the white-collar office workers and blue-collar warehouse staff. After totally mucking things up ("I am collar-blind"), he orders pizza to try to smooth things over:

Michael: [singsongy] PI-zzaaa. The great EQ-uilizer. Rich people love pizza. Poor people love pizza. White people love pizza. Black people love pizza. ... Do black people like pizza?

How Sweet It Is

WORDS BY SELTZERBOY .::. Confetti falls in Times Square, the band plays that Guy Lombardo song, and The Honeymooners airs on WPIX. It must be New Year’s.

20060104Honeymooners.jpgSome traditions are more well known than others, but for residents of the New York area, something would seem awry without the latter, which ritually kicks off the television year with several hours’ worth of the seminal sitcom.

It’s still easy to appreciate the timeless humor of these 50-year-old episodes, even when you know all the plots and punch lines. And held above the fray of our tawdry popular culture, The Honeymooners assumes a level of sophistication that was probably unimaginable when CBS launched The Jackie Gleason Show in 1952. Equally jarring is how these two couples, who spent $75 to rent a pair of one-bedroom apartments in Bensonhurst (that’s for two apartments, and even after a 15 percent rent increase, which Ralph uproariously protested by living in the street), depict a New York City more realistic than anything on the air today.

With that, Slice has decided to kick off the year with a slice of this landmark show. No, this does not involve Ralph’s ill-fated plan to open a no-cal pizzeria, a scheme cited in more than one episode but one that never made it to script. Taken from the episode in which Ralph learned that Alice was planning a surprise birthday party for him, it involves a diet-conscious Ralph being tempted by Ed’s indulgence in our favorite food. At this point in the show’s run, Ralph and Alice were using a red-and-white-checkerboard tablecloth, making this pizza scene even more tasty. Bang, zoom!

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Slice Pizzeria on Food Network

Moby's everywhere I turn the last couple of days. First as the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question on New Year's Day. Then on a couple NYC blogs yesterday as word of his tea shop's renovation spread. And now on the Food Network eating pizza.

But wait. Ain't that dude vegan? You betcha. But the slice he's holding (right) is from Upper East Side healthy-pizza pizzeria Slice.

Last night's Recipe for Success on the Food Network featured the place, and the story was fairly interesting, showing all the hard work and research the majority owner, Miki Agrawal, put into her recently opened pizzeria. It's particularly amazing to see the space as it was several months ago, all gutted before being built out. She took a lot of risks to open the place, and if the Food Network's numbers are correct, they're starting to pay off for her. Good deal.

Maybe she should talk to Moby about turning the recently closed-for-renovation Teany into a second Slice location.

FURTHER READING
Slice the weblog on Slice the pizzeria
Twenty Bucks a Day on Slice

Pizza on the 'Colbert Report'



20051202Colbert.jpgOn Slice, I'm pretty monomaniacal on what I post about: pizza. Sure, I'd love to rhapsodize about how great the new Battlestar Galactica is (I'm dying for the new season to start). Or the sad, sad cancelation of Arrested Development. But I can't. I've gotta stay on message here.

So until I see Admiral Adama chowing down on a slice between cylon attacks or I run across one of the Bluths ordering a pie on the AD DVDs, I can't go there.

But the fleeting mention of pizza on last night's Colbert Report gives me license to mention this great new Daily Show spin-off. If you're not part of the Colbert Nation, here are your immigration papers. It is simply the best show on Comedy Central these days, spinning the whole fake news concept into an obnoxious O'Reilly-style pundit show that handily eclipses the Jon Stewart joint immediately preceding it.

In last night's Report, host Stephen Colbert brought us up to speed on the design of the medals Italy will be handing out at the Winter Olympics in Turin. What Stephen said couldn't be more truthy:

It was very, very exciting to get my tickets — until I saw the design of the medals released today. Take a look at these [top left]. Congratulations: You've won a giant gold washer. Or a subway token.

Think about it. You've been training since you were three. Your parents had to separate so you could live with your coach. Your brothers and sisters couldn't go to college so you could go to luge camp. You finally win the gold, and they put this around your neck.

Now apparently it's supposed to represent a piazza [top right], which the Olympic Committee calls "a great symbol image of Italy." That's an elegant translation. You know what another great symbol image of Italy is?

The pizza. And you know what a pizza [above] looks like? An Olympic medal.

Wørd.

Short Takes: Pizza

Premiering tonight at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Times channel is Short Takes: Pizza, a documentary about "America's favorite food." From what I understand, it's a British-based production, but part of it was filmed here in New York City in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood.

Rocco's, on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street, will be featured. There's going to be a debate on Chicago- vs. New York–style pizza, and Rocco's will get a "pizza makeover."

Hey, as long as Ty Pennington's not involved with the makeover, I'm there. For those of you who can't catch the airing tonight, it will repeat several times tomorrow. Click below for the full schedule.

Short Takes: Pizza [Discovery Times Channel]

Slice on NY1

20050829AKNY1.jpg

If you live in New York City, subscribe to Time-Warner Cable, and have a high tolerance for hot air, you can tune to NY1 between 6 and 7 p.m. tonight or tomorrow to catch this site's editor & publisher on the air. NY1, for those non–New Yorkers reading this, is like a CNN for the Big Apple. The all–New York-all-the-time channel will air a segment on Google Maps mash-ups in which I appear blabbing about how neat the tool is.

Slice, of course, uses the function in our recently released Slice Pizza Map, which plots all the pizzerias that we or our correspondents have reviewed since this site's inception.

If you didn't see or don't end up catching the piece, you can read and watch the online version here. All in all, it was pretty painless doing the quick, five-minute interview. NY1 technology reporter Adam Balkin did a great job on the editing, making me sound coherent while adding just the right screen shots that illustrate the points I was trying to make. Thanks, Adam!

Google Maps Mash-Ups All The Rage On The World Wide Web [NY1]

Roll Tape

20050816MLI.jpg
Almost a year ago, this site's editor and publisher, Adam K. (that's me), was called upon to serve as a judge in the annual Best of Long Island Pizza Contest. Contest organizers told me that the judges would be sampling 25 slices of pizza—five pizzerias competing in five categories. They told me that the Food Network would be there, taping for the show All American Festivals. They also told me not to eat breakfast.

This site's roving reporter, E-Rock, joined me on the journey to Farmingdale (that's who I'm consulting with in the screen capture at right), and our antics and recap of the day can be found in this entry from October 06, 2004. What concerns us today is the fact that I've finally gotten my greasy hands on a digitized, web-based streamcast of the All American episode depicting the L.I. pizza bash. (Watch it here.)

I appear in it for a total of about 2 seconds. E-Rock, maybe 1 second. I'll tell you who does get some serious airtime, and that's Miss Long Island (above). Host Jim O'Connor paid a heck of a lot of attention to her for a man wearing a wedding ring. But I'm not so naive as to think he'd actually want to talk to this dirtbag when the more telegenic Miss L.I. was just to my left. I mean, hey, sex sells, and what do I know about pizza anyway? Alright, have a look at the video. E-Rock and I appear a little over 9 minutes into the show, if you're interested.

The episode touches on a bit of pizza history and technique before highlighting a pizza-eating contest and a children's meatball toss (I don't know either), both of which served as welcome respites from eating. The funny thing about the show, or the contestants, rather, was something even my mom picked up on when she watched the episode some months ago—and she's by no means a pizza purist. "They're all so concerned with winning the speciality pizza division," Ma Slice said, "but you'd think the real honor would be in the regular pizza or even the Sicilian contest."

My thoughts exactly. I'd hazard a guess that most of a pizzeria's sales are on plain or modestly topped pies and slices, not those monstrosities with salads—or a Tyson chicken factory—dumped on them. So Ma was right (once again) when she said, "If you focus on the basics, the rest will fall in line."

Anyway, that's that. I encourage you to check out the Food Network video. Not only that one, but I produced a short film highlighting the day, too. It's set to Kiss's "Any Way You Slice It," and it rocks. Hard. Chekk it.

All American Festivals: "Pizza"
Long Island Pizza: Judge's Dread
Any Way You Slice It (11.9MB Quicktime .mov)

Bum Me Out, Scotty

20050721Scotty.jpgLike a decent number of Slice readers, I'm sure, I was saddened to learn of the death of James Doohan, a.k.a. Star Trek's "Scotty" or "Mr. Scott." I grew up watching Star Trek and enjoyed the cantankerous commander and his declarations—that he was doin' all he kin, cap'n. That she, the ship, canna take no more.

As is the case here at Slice, when a beloved public figure dies, we hit the Internets and see if the dearly departed had any connection to pizza. Mr. Doohan apparently did not, but we came across this page that posits what toppings Trek characters would order on their pizza.

Scotty's? "No more anchovies, cap'n! The tastebuds cannae hold it!"

Not that funny admittedly, but worth a chuckle or two.

Godspeed, Mr. Doohan! May you fare well in that undiscovered country.

James Doohan to be sent to his final frontier [CNN]
Trek character pizza orders [About.com]

Pizzerias, Pizza Fans Needed for TV Show

Slice has a bulletin board forum dedicated to pizza. It's called The Pizza Peel. I've got mixed feelings about the continued usefulness of this site feature, but every now and then, something pops up on it that catches my eye. Like this message from a TV producer. I thought I'd highlight it here on the main part of the site:


I’m looking for passionate pizza chefs for a Discovery Times Channel series called '15 Films About Pizza'. I need a pizza chef that believes the Chicago deep dish is the one and only- and a New Yorker that believes the NY style rules!

I'm also looking for a pizzeria brave enough to make pizzas for our global pizza taste challenge. We'll supply the recipes - but who will be brave enough to make curried cabbage pizza?!

This is all good fun- at goes out to 35 million viewers.

Finally I’m also looking for a pizza addict! Can’t go a day without a delicious pizza? Then get in touch.

Email me on michelle@zigzag.uk.com

You heard her, folks. Have at it!

Find da Popes in da Pizza

With all the recent pope talk going on, Slice can't help but be reminded of Father Guido Sarducci's "Finda da popes in da pizza" bit on Saturday Night Live. From a transcript of the bit, which appeared as part of a 1979 Weekend Update segment:

It's amazing to me all the interest in the Pope last couple weeks. I think it's because of John Paul's visit, personally, but, you know, whatever the reason, people are buyin' these posters that show all of the Popes and people want to know what their names are, what their real names are, when they was livin', when they died, all that stuff. And, going along with this papal mania, I've kind of designed a contest about the popes. [holds up a large photo showing a close-up of the surface of a pizza] It's called "Find the Popes in the Pizza." All two hundred and fifty-four Popes, they're in here. And, what we're gonna do in about one minute, we're gonna put a close-up of this on your screen and, you at home, all you have to do is get some, like, wax paper, any kind of paper you can see through and paste it to your screen -- or tape it, whatever you want—and all you gotta do is get a pencil and draw a circle around every place you see a picture of a Pope. And, while we're doing this ...

20050420Sarducci.jpgWell, I think what I'm gonna do for the prize, whoever wins—you know, finds the most Popes—they'll get to have a button that I designed myself. I noticed on the tour, the best selling button was this. [holds up button] It says, "I Got a Peek at the Pope." And I designed a button that I think even more people can relate to. [holds up another button] It says, "I saw the Pope on TV." This is what you win. And now, I think, we're about ready. So while you're looking at the pizza for thirty seconds, I'm gonna play a cut from Pius XII's album. Here is Pius XII singing "On the Sunny Side of the Street." And now find the popes in the pizza. Good luck to you. All two hundred and fifty-four.

[A jazz recording of the old pop song "On the Sunny Side of the Street" plays as we dissolve to close-up of the pizza: mostly a red mass of tomato sauce, but also cheese and one rather large image of a Pope sitting behind a desk in the lower right hand corner. The other Popes are invisible to the naked eye. A clock ticks off thirty seconds in the upper left hand corner as Father Sarducci's voice chimes in with occasional helpful hints.] Some are easy to find, some are hard. ... Here's a little clue for you. Most of the Popes have red faces. Here's another clue. One of them is in the right side of the screen. Behind the desk.

This reporter isn't going to say much about the selection of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as pope, as I don't know much about him. He's got a tough act to follow. I mean, will the new Pope Benedict XVI hold a special mass for pizzamakers? We have yet to see.

Pizza on 'Survivor': Temptation in the Wilderness



I've never seen an episode of Survivor. Never been interested. (Well, I did see the last half hour of the first season's post-series reunion special.) Put pizza on Palau, however, and you've piqued my curiosity.

On last night's show, the individual immunity challenge involved standing on little perches above a lagoon. The last contestant standing on his or her platform would receive a bye in the next kick-'em-off round. It would be one thing if players had to stand there until dropping of exhuastion, but host Jeff Probst was also tempting them with goodies.

After one hour: donuts. Two players chow down. Hour two: chocolate chip cookies and milk. Four players take the dunk. At hour three, with three remaining survivors posing on their perches, Probst proffers pizza. Two of the three slice through the water toward shore and devour the pie with an abandon we at Slice both fear and admire.

Was it worth giving up immunity for? A million reasons say no. But judging by the looks on the contestants' faces (see photos, above), something stronger than filthy lucre hooked them, proving that the simple things in life—cookies and milk, a slice of pizza—are sometimes more gratifying than wealth.

That said, I'd rather have the money.

[Thanks to Jen for the heads-up.]

Wrong Number

20050102Alias.jpg
Special Delivery: Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) feeds Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan) a slice of pizza in a scene from the inexplicably (at least to us) popular spy-girl series Alias.

Slice-reading Alias fans are no doubt looking forward to that show's season premier tonight (9 p.m., WABC, Ch. 7). While we don't mind looking at the show's star, Jennifer Garner, the editors of this weblog have remained immune to the Alias fever that's swept the rest of America and have largely ignored the show's inanity.

That said, we do love the series Lost (why isn't the fat guy, Hurley, losing weight!?), also an ABC vehicle, so we've been subjected to numerous Lenny Kravitz–backed commercial promos for Alias Season 4 while following the exploits of Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and that hobbit dude from Lord of the Rings.

In one of the Alias promos, we noticed Ms. Garner's character, spy-girl Sydney Bristow, sitting on a gentleman's lap, feeding him a piece of pizza. We instant messaged our friend "JXM," a huge Alias fan, asking what's up with the pizza thing. Turns out that it's a code between Sydney and her CIA handler, Michael Vaughn (played by Michael Vartan). See, Sydney has an unsuspecting roommate (are they paying spies so little these days that they can't live alone?), so Vaughn can't very well just call and say "Let's meet." Instead, he calls and asks for "Joey's Pizza," which is Sydney's prompt to go meet him somewhere. Where? Slice doesn't know! Didn't I say we don't watch this show?! Anyway, a typical encounter with the "wrong number" might go like this, from Season 1, Episode 15:

VOICE: Joey's Pizza?
FRANCIE [Sydney's roommate]: You know, this is Joey's Pizza. You want to hear our specials?
(They hang up.)
FRANCIE: Hello? Seriously, we need to think about changing our number.
SYDNEY: I know!
FRANCIE: Thank you.
SYDNEY: I'm going to go get a bottle of wine for tonight. Do you need anything while I'm out.
FRANCIE: No thanks.
Doesn't the roommate notice that Syd leaves whenever there's a wrong number for Joey's? I guess spy-girl picked the perfect roomie for her unique situation—one as dense and as senseless as a deep-dish pie.

UPDATE: My Alias-loving friend, upon reading this entry, was all like, "inexplicably popular?" and "Joey's Pizza is over, and Francine's dead. That's all seasons 1 and 2." All I can say to that is, for the umpteenth time, YOU KNOW I DON'T WATCH ALIAS!

Slice Loves Cool J

The Slice Academy may have been too hasty in giving Ted Leo/Pharmacists the award for Best Supporting Location in a Music Video last week. But to avoid a Paul Hamm–style debacle, we'll create a new category: Best Use of a Pizzeria in a Music Video. How these awards categories differ, we don't know. Don't care, either. They're not real awards anyway.

Without further ado, the winner is LL Cool J for "Hush/Shake It Baby" (above).

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A Perfect Prescription


TED LEO LINKS
Buy Ted Leo/Pharmacists CDs from Amazon.
An interview with Mr. Leo from Gothamist.
Gawker interview with Leo
TedLeo.com
The "Me & Mia" video at the Lookout Records website.
More Leo links at Cheesedip.com


And the award for Best Supporting Location in a Music Video goes to World Famous Ray's Pizza in Ted Leo/Pharmacist's "Me & Mia." [Watch the video here.] Though the pizzeria's on-screen time is brief, it steals all the scenes it appears in and transforms an otherwise straightforward montage of band practice into an almost-narrative video.

World Famous Ray's, located at 595 Sixth Avenue, sneaks into the picture 22 seconds in, though only sharp-eyed viewers will note it, as the shot's focus is a walk–don't walk sign in the foreground. After a minute of footage that shows the band in what appears to be a large, ample-windowed practice loft, the camera quickly cuts back and shows that Mr. Leo and company are playing directly above World Famous Ray's. This is followed by some more band-action footage and then by a scene in which a taxi pulls up next to Ray's, drops off Mr. Leo (but wait! He's upstairs practicing!), who heads in to order some food.

We see Mr. Leo yell something to an employee there, and not long after, he's sitting at a table eating what appears to be, sadly, pasta—not pizza.

The song itself is catchy power-pop and reminds me that I should probably pick up Mr. Leo's latest record, Shake the Sheets, seeing as how I enjoyed his previous two, Tyranny of Distance and Hearts of Oak.

For more info on Ted Leo/Pharmacists, see the box above.

[Video via The Real Janelle and her Weekly Wrap-Up.]

Alton Brown: From TV To Pizziola?

2004_05_29_AltonBrown.jpgAlton Brown, oh he of Food Network Good Eats fame, was doing a Q&A that ended recently over on eGullet, in the Forums section.

Someone asked him, What kind of restaurant would you open if you were to do so? You can guess the answer or click here to read it.

Sorry to alert you all to the AB Q&A after the session ended, but we've been superbusy the last couple of weeks.

[Spotted by Alaina. Thanks.]

Ladies And Gentlemen, Set Your TiVos (Or Time-Warner DVR Boxes)

2004_03_19_USPizzaTeam.jpgThe Food Network will air "Pizza Palooza" on Sunday evening, beginning at 6 p.m., as a run-up to the special program World Pizza Challenge. The show follows last year's World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy.

The 2004 U.S. Pizza Team will be competing in this year's event March 29–30.

Sunday evening's programming will feature regular Food Network shows, but with a pizza focus. Here's a run-down:

ROKER ON THE ROAD 6 p.m.
Al goes on patrol with the only US Pizza Policeman.

GOOD EATS 6:30 p.m.
Alton Brown claims we won't be satisfied with pizza until we take matters into our own hands. Venture through the world of yeast, lay new tiles in your oven and meet a peel named Emma.

TYLER'S ULTIMATE 7 p.m.
Pizza has conquered the planet. In NYC, Tyler takes us to John's in Greenwich Village for the classic we know and love. In Naples, Giavanna Raffoni shows Tyler how to make pizza Southern Italian style with lots of tomatoes and lots of love.

CIAO AMERICA WITH MARIO BATALI 7:30 p.m.
The crust can be thin and crisp. Thick, soft and slightly chewy. Or doubled. Pizza has come a long way. Mario's off to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to see and taste how this humble Italian street eat has become an American food icon.

EMERIL LIVE 8 p.m.
Basic Pizza Dough; Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza Bites; Stromboli; Parmesan Pizza Crust Topped with Kicked Up Chicken Caesar Salad; Nutty Cinnamon Twists.

WORLD PIZZA CHALLENGE 9 p.m.
It's a high-flying, dough-tossing extravaganza as Italy throws the world's biggest pizza party and six American chefs are invited. Does Team USA have what it takes to beat the Italians in their own backyard? The World Pizza Championship awaits!

THE BEST OF 10 p.m.
Pizza Places Vicolo Pizza - San Francisco, CA; Grimaldi's - Brooklyln, NY; Waldo Pizza - Kansas City, MO; Buddy's Pizza - Detroit, MI; Jumbo's Seafood and Pizza Eatery - Wildwood, NJ

THE BEST OF 10:30 p.m.
Best Pizza Tacconelli's, Philadelphia// John's Pizzeria, New York// Lou Malnati's, Chicago// Johnnie's NY Pizza, NY// Info Segment-'Pizza Tossing Tips' at D'Bronx Deli, Kansas City

UNWRAPPED 11 p.m.
Pizza Unwrapped Take a cross-country pizzeria tour from the first pizzeria in America locate in NY to the "windy city" for a look at what makes a pizza "Chicago-style". And visit the California Pizza Kitchen & Find out how your pizza can be "designer" as we learn the secrets behind flavored frozen dough.

TOP 5 11:30 p.m.
Incredible Expos Imagine having to sample the most scrumptious candies imaginable. The most delectable cakes and gourmet delights. All the pizza, fried chicken and chocolate you can eat. Checking out the latest foods finds and what food expos are all about.

[Thanks to Janelle for tipping us off to this.]

Day Traders

2004_03_01_CPKCEO.jpgThe chief executives of California Pizza Kitchen, Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield (pictured at far left in photo), will be turning in their Armani suits to wear chef's hats for a day. A new "reality" series, Now Who's Boss?, which premiers March 8 on TLC, will feature corporate hacks working in the trenches for five days. If you find yourself really bored on March 29, tune in to see these two moneybags stick their hands in the flour bag for a spin at making a few assembly-line pizza pies. No word if they'll be trading in their salaries, too.

According to a report in Sunday's New York Times, Mr. Flax fumbles drink orders and Mr. Rosenfeld gets reprimanded by the kitchen manager for not working the pizza oven properly.

"The truth is, we would have been fired from every job we undertook," Mr. Flax said. "We were completely incompetent."

Take heed, gentlemen: Judging by the taste of this chain's pizza, the regulars aren't much better.

'Baci Baci!' Or 'Believe The Hype'

2004_02_24_WB11DiFara.jpgDi Fara Pizza got major props on the WB11 last night. The Warner Bros. affiliate station is highlighting the best of New York this week, and it has deemed Dom Demarco's pies top of the pops.

The ever effervescent Toni Senecal was on hand last night for a live broadcast from the Midwood pizzeria, where she claimed to have eaten six slices.

Mr. Demarco, his daughter, and one of his sons looked a bit overwhelmed by Ms. Senecal, who, while it can be said displayed no lack of enthusiasm, seemed a trifle condescending toward our favorite pizzaman.

We felt a little sorry for Mr. Demarco, who looked like he just wanted to go about his business, but he did get some "Toni Time" in the form of "baci, baci" ("kisses, kisses"), which we certainly wouldn't have minded (that's what's going on in the vid capture above).

Ms. Senecal at one point cried "bravissimo!" in reference to the pies, and twice used the phrase "That's what I'm talkin' about," which is one of Slice photographer E-Rock's favorites.

I thought I spied one of my friends in the background for a split second—hiding behind Ms. Senecal's head. But it couldn't have been her because she would have called to tip me to this event. Right?

Anyway, we've noticed from our SiteMeter stats that a lot of you are arriving at Slice after doing web searches for Di Fara, no doubt in response to last night's broadcast. Rest assured in the knowledge that Di Fara's truly is remarkable pizza. This is one story that broadcast news didn't get wrong.

Click here to view the video from last night's broadcast. Once in the WPIX "Feedroom," you'll see, second column from left, the Best Of New York videos.

Pizza On 'The Simpsons'

2004_02_23_Simpsons.jpg
Last night on The Simpsons:

Bart and Milhouse are riding Bart's souped-up bike. Bart flips the switch to turn on the "motor mimic," a device that makes the two-wheeler sound like a motorcycle. Chief Wiggam and Lou, roadside in police car, hear the fake motor.
Wiggam: Sounds like a motorcycle gang. And we don't have back up. [Pulls out pizza-delivery sign to cover bank of lights on top of car]. Better lay low.
Lou: But, Chief—what if they like pizza?
Wiggam: [Pulls out "Dominoe's" sign and affixes it over police shield on passenger-side door] Way ahead of you, Lou.

Sadly, that was perhaps the funniest bit on The Simpsons last night. I haven't watched the show in ages, and now I know why. It seems to have jumped the shark.

Ween's Unreleased Pizza Hut Jingle

2004_02_10_Ween.jpg

Any of you who are Ween fans may already know this, but back in Aught 2, the band was hired to do the jingle for Pizza Hut's Insider pizza. As you might recall, that was the pie in which The Hut hid the cheese inside. Says Ween:

Earlier in 2002 we were hired by the largest advertising firm in the country to write music for a Pizza Hut commercial. Pizza Hut had hired them to come up with a whole new image to promote their new Pizza, "The Insider" which had all the cheese inside the crust. In keeping in line with their new cutting edge image, the agency hired Ween to do the music, and we delivered in a big way. Unfortunately, they didn't like a single piece of the 6 tunes we submitted and they had us rewriting the song every day for a couple of weeks before they hired someone else. In my opinion, it is one of the best tunes we wrote all last year.

Listen to the jingle

"Where'd the Cheese Go?" (mp3)
"Where'd the Cheese Go?" (Explicit Re-mix) (mp3)

Big

New York Times: "Discovery [Channel] also has greenlighted a 13-episode series called 'Big,' in which a team will band together to build humongous versions of everything from a light bulb to a pizza pie. 'Big' will premiere in June on Tuesdays at 9 p.m."

The Israelis do big pizza.

Miss Piggy Got The Bling-Bling

Jessica Simpson has given a hint at what will transpire in the Pizza Hut commercial in which she'll star with various Muppets:

"It's very cool and Pizza Hut is the best and The Muppets are an American icon. I've watched them since I was young and Miss Piggy is in a cute little Juicy sweatsuit and has bling-bling so it's fun."

"The concept is very cute. The Muppets are fighting and I'm trying to calm everybody down with this amazing new pizza from Pizza Hut." [From Albany's WXXA-TV, Fox 23.]

Crazy Bread

Jon Stewart | The Daily Show | http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/thedailyshowwithjonstewart/downloads.jhtml

While watching a DVRed episode of South Park Wednesday night, I caught a Daily Show Newsbreak that mentioned pizza:

Jon Stewart: Good evening. The detection of mad cow disease in America prompts over thirty countries to ban U.S. beef imports. Making matters worse, grain imports have also been halted after some American pizzas tested postive for crazy bread.

2004_01_07_Cartman.gifThe Daily Show's a bit late, treating the BSE scare as a first-day story. (And no, it wasn't a rerun; the actual show, later in the evening, featured the latest Mars rover, Spirit, which touched down earlier this week.) The holidays must have put this fine fake news show behind schedule.

Speaking of South Park, here's Eric Cartman on pizza. We couldn't agree with him more. [Warning: Audio file contains language that may be inappropriate at work.]

Pizza by Location

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