Day 15, 2005: Joe and Pat's (Staten Island, NY)

DAY 15: October 15th LOCATION: Joe and Pat's Restaurant and Pizzeria (1758 Victory Blvd near Manor Rd, STATEN ISLAND) GUEST(S): Angela Demanti ORDER: 3 slices of cheese PIZZA REPORT: Sauce-y! My favorite part of this pizza was the sauce. Lucky for me (and Angela and everyone else who eats here) the homemade sauce goes all the way out to the edge of the crust. And the crust is delicious as well. Their thin and crispy crust is cooked to perfection in a gas-powered convection oven. The mozzarella cheese is cut into cubes and scattered about the pie producing small exquisitely melted cheese patches. The combination of the homemade sauce, cheese patches, and the thin crust was worth the trip to Staten Island. MISC.: What was the trip to Staten Island? Well, first it started with a train ride from my apartment in Queens to what would normally be the ferry terminal but due to weekend construction only brought me to Canal St. From here there was a transfer to the 6 to Brooklyn Bridge then a transfer to the 4 to ferry, which I just missed. Eventually, I boarded the ferry and 30 minutes later I was in Staten Island, where I met Angela. A hop, skip, and a jump and a 20 minute bus ride later, we were at Joe and Pat's Pizzeria. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and if you haven't been on the ferry or in Staten Island on a nice day, I highly recommend it. After the pizza, I realized how contagiously polite Angela Demanti is. She thanks the bus driver in such a way that each and every passenger after her follows suit. I wonder if the bus driver had ever been thanked that much. I was amazed. Angela credits her upbringing but regarding bus driver thankyous, she said in Ireland 'not' thanking a bus driver is viewed as an insult. Speaking of Angela's family, if you ever want to see a photo of her and her two sisters, just ask her. She carries photos of them with her everywhere she goes. Angela also has a photo of a gigantic snowman. When I was talking to one of the cooks at Joe and Pat's about pizza specifics, he mentioned that I should vote for the store on Life dot com. I went to the site and sure enough, there is a battle of the boroughs for the quest for the best slice in New York City. Vote for your favorite here... http://www.life.com