Day 23, 2002: Frank's Pizza (Flatiron, NYC)

DAY 23: October 23rd LOCATION: Frank's Pizza (23rd St bet. Lex and Park Ave S, NYC) GUEST: Andrew Butterworth ORDER: 1 slice of cheese, 1 slice of Sicilian cheese PIZZA REPORT: Saucy but not quite good. I really enjoyed the tomato sauce on both slices, but the fatal flaw was 'the rest'. The crust was both undercooked and too thick. After supersaturating 5 napkins sopping up the puddle atop my pizza, I determined that these slices were also too greasy. The cheese, however, was the icing on the cake (only more like the ‘iced tea on the cake’). It looked, felt, and tasted like plastic. Looking at my uneaten slices I was reminded of a time when I used to work for Pizza Hut. We used to put these plastic box supports in the middle of the pie after it left the oven so the cheese wouldn't end up on the underside of the pizza box-top. Well, one time we wanted to see what would happen if we put the plastic box support on before the pie went into the oven so we did it. The box support melted into the cooked pizza giving the appearance of fresh mozzarella cheese in the center of the pie. We had a good laugh and began making a replacement but by that time, a driver had already cut it, boxed it, and walked out the door to deliver it. Anyway, the people that received this pizza probably ended up eating about an ounce and a half of plastic...much like I felt I did at Frank's pizza today. MISC.: Today marks the first time I was stood up by a friend for a pizza meal during pizza month. Apparently, this endeavor is more important to me than it is to my friend, Ilya Magazanin*. Luckily, Andy Butterworth stepped up when I needed him. He not only went to lunch with me but politely pointed out that the cheese on my Sicilian slice looked like a brain. *If anyone would like to send Ilya an anonymous msg, feel free to do so here: