Day 14, 2003: New York Pizza Factory (Financial District, NYC)

DAY 14: October 14th LOCATION: New York Pizza Factory (30 Water St. at Whitehall St., NYC) GUEST(S): Danielle Zeghbib ORDER: 1 slice of fresh mozzarella, 1 square of Sicilian PIZZA REPORT: Factory-like. The NY Pizza Factory is probably named for its ability to churn out a lot of brick oven pizza in a short amount ot time. Of course, quality is sacrificed in the interest of quantity. This is not to say the pizza was bad, it just had room for improvement. Of the two slices, I preferred the fresh mozzarella. The cheese:sauce ratio was just right - but the sauce, itself, was not. Maybe some spices would have livened up the strong tomato after-taste of the sauce. The crust on both slices was a bit too crispy to eat entirely. This is a common side effect of brick oven pizza. Because the oven burns so hot, the slices must be eaten quickly or the bread will harden. A substantial portion of my Sicilian slice remained uneaten for this reason. MISC.: For the first time I can remember, I did NOT get lost in the business district of Manhattan due to the brilliant directions given to me by Danielle. The directions included the car I should ride in on the train, the exit I should leave towards, and even the staircase I take. Danielle's attention to detail came in handy a second time when after I had returned to work, she had emailed me recapping the finer points of our lunchtime discussion including the name of her cat, Zeno and a link to whom he was named after Zeno of Citium.