Thursday, September 1, 2011

Picasso Pizza: "I hope the owner didn't cut off his ear! Get it? Cause Picasso cut off his ear."

I have this really bad habit of still calling my friend Andy Folk by his old name, Young Punk Andy, a name he never chose, and a name that is no longer particularly apt because Andy is no longer so young. This totally funny thing happened where, when I met Andy he was like, a spritely young 18 year old and I was clocking in at an old, haggard, world-weary 23. That is a huge difference in age! I was like, way older than him. But now that he is 25 and I am 50, or whatever fucking ages we both actually are, he is only a little bit younger than me instead of a lot! This is that phenomenon where my kid sister and my friend Cory were born the same year, but Cory is the same age as me and my sister is younger than me. Even though when me and Cory met I was definitely older than him. And I used to be much older than my sister than I am now, even though we're the same number of years apart. LISTEN IDIOT YOU EITHER KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT OR YOU DON'T AND IF YOU DON'T YOU'RE THE STUPID ONE, NOT ME. Anyway, Andy. Cool guy. You should read his zines. They are available from the Book Thugs and I'm sure you can mailorder them right from him if you want.

Leslie Nielson? Howard Dean?

Picasso Pizza. I forgot to take a picture of the front of it, because I am a jackass, but the front is incredibly unremarkable. Here is a picture of it from some other website:

The front of the pizzeria is hiding behind that tree. Thank you infoUSA for your great photography.
I got so lost coming to this place! That's mostly because I forgot the address and went to the wrong street, but also because it's really hard to bike to. That's the truth!


This slice was pretty good! The slice a whole had, what Andy characterized as "good integration." The sauce was on the wetter side, but was totally not sloppy and kind of ruled, although it could've been a little more flavorful or tangy. The dough had too much visible cornmeal, which put me off, but I didn't actually notice it while eating the slice, and it was definitely crispy and firm enough. The cheese was of a totally decent quality and was cooked to an absolutely respectable viscosity! This is what Andy was getting at with his "good integration" comment. The slight wetness of the sauce and the perfect viscosity of the cheese combined expertly and sat on top of the crust without making it soggy. It missed that special zest, and wasn't especially mindblowing, but for real, this slice was pretty alright! I would eat here again, unlike most pizzerias in New York City.

Rating:


Picasso Pizza - $2.70
303 South End Ave (Albany & Liberty)
New York, NY 10280

6 comments:

  1. Wasn't that Van Gogh with the ear?

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  2. Haha. I love mixed metaphors. I heard someone say "If I could be a spy on the wall".

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  3. Yes, it was Van Gogh. You can see the National Lampoon cover: Van Gogh with a Banana in His Ear here:
    http://www.marksverylarge.com/images/7310cover_l.jpg

    And welcome back, Colin.

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  4. picasso cut off van gough's ear in a drunken artist brawl, and somehow Slice, the perfect food came into possesion of it. they cloned it, and they use it in the sauce of their whatever they want to call it, you see...

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  5. With you: In 9th grade you would NEVER associate with a 7th grader.

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  6. I really like most of your reviews, but I have to take issue with this one. I worked near Picasso 13 years ago and it's awfulness stays with me so clearly so many years later that I call it one of the worst slices I've ever had. And that includes Dominos. I think this says it all: Never buy a slice from a Pizzaria named after a Spaniard.

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