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Okay, so I’ve been a very bad blogger lately. Not posting consitently, neglecting my links, ignoring comment moderation…the list goes on. For that I appologize, but I do have a lot to talk about now, so let’s get started with Pizza from Pizza 33. Recently I checked out another of the pizza places on my list, Pizza 33 on 33rd and 3rd. In the name of brevity, I’ll get right into the review.

Pizza Quality:7

This pizza is delicious and light with a crunchy crust. Typically I don’t characterize pizza as a “light” food, but this slice has just the right balance of cheese and sauce that makes every bite almost melt in your mouth. My compatriot, Malcolm, went so far as to say “this is what good pizza should be.” Still, there is decidedly a difference between good pizza and truly fantastic pizza. While this slice delivered strong performance, there’s little to differentiate it and make it really stand out in terms of flavor or preparation, so I’ve given it an 7 rating to reflect what is essentially an excellent representation of a good New York slice.

Toppings:6

As you know, I’m fairly picky about toppings, and the first thing i look at is simply whether the topping is baked into the cheese, or thrown on the pie afterwards and reheated. To me, the latter shows the topping to be an afterthought in the pizza-making process rather than an integral part of the pie. The ingredients that pizza 33 offered on their slices were a little more limited than some pizza places i’ve been to in the city, but they were fresh and of a fairly high quality. Unfortunately, the pepperoni I ordered wasn’t thoroughly backed into the cheese, so they lost some points here.

Other:5

It’s a pretty standard New York City pizzeria in a location that’s convenient to several bars (including one of my favorites to date, Bar XII), but few subway lines. As a result, it’s open late, and the bar crowds that occasionally form can really clog up the place. You probably won’t have to wait very long for your slices, even at peak hours, but you definitely can’t sit when it’s really busy.

The Bottom Line

An excellent slice no matter how you cut it, this pizzeria will satisfy your needs whether you’re just dropping in for dinner or you need something to quell all that beer and liquor you’ve been drinking till 3am. Order up a couple of plain cheese slices and you’ll be good to go. Just don’t expect anything transcendental.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 17th, 2007 at 11:17 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.