Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pizza and Twitter

Typically, I am always surprised if anyone besides my mother reads what I write in this space. Twitter is a different beast. It is much more of an instant gratification medium. If you follow a local circle of people, you see their tweets to each other and you have the opportunity to chime in. And to make it even better, I have never met many of the people I talk to Twitter making it incredibly easy to essentially type your foot into your mouth.

Last Thursday, Daniel B. over at FUSSYlittleBLOG sent me a invitation to go out to dinner Saturday night. I was able to make it to the Northeast Dumpling House and had a very nice meal - Albany Jane wrote it up here.

Daniel was first to arrive and I was second. In our conversation, he mentioned that he was going to try to get to Pizza Town, USA on his way back to Princeton. He also mentioned that earlier in the day he had stopped by DC's Pizza to try a slice of their sausage pizza which was a runner up in the most recent Tournament of Pizza over at All Over Albany. Anyhow, on Monday morning, I was able to eavesdrop on this tweet:
 
 
 
 Well, now I had to chime in. After all, Daniel had just visited a place I recommended. So I wrote:

The conversation made me want to try DCs sausage pizza and it was lunchtime so I headed over to DC's on Western Ave and reported my experience to Daniel.


Alright, no doubt I'm being a pizza snob, but an honest snob. Here's the pizza a got at DC's slice of cheese and a slice of sausage.



Maybe I got some off slices at DCs. The sausage was good and well seasoned, but I didn't like the crust. Well, more than didn't like the crust. I've never understood why places use pizza screens (see the grid pattern). These slices of pizza made me wonder what made the judges in the tournament of pizza give the sausage pie a 78 - probably among the 10 highest scores given out in several years of tournament judging. Although in an earlier 2013 tournament round the same pizza got a 66. Daniel and I went back and forth about the crust a few times and then...


I got caught being a snob by the people I was criticizing. It was after midnight when I saw this tweet from DCs and I was tired and grumpy so I fired this off bit of snark.


I regretted it when I woke up in the morning. DC's pizza is better than Domino's and the comment wasn't intended as a comparison. I just meant that just because something has been around for a long time, doesn't make it good. But whoever runs DCs Twitter account is all class.


We went back and forth a few more times and it ended with me offering to have DC pizza over sometime after I learn how to use the wood fired oven I'm planning for the back yard. Now I've got to get some pizza making skills to back up my trash talk. And Albany Jane is invited over too.


4 comments:

  1. I w00t again!

    I think DC's has a good handle on their social media account. Honestly, their follow response to your response was a good way to recover from the initial "Sorry-not-sorry" style initial response. (If that makes any sense) It could have snowballed in a big way, but I think they get that you win more customers with honey than vinegar.

    Any way, I'll bring dessert - just let me know when dinner is!

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  2. I totally agree with you. Our exchange could have definitely gone in a bad direction and I'm glad it didn't. There are so many styles of pizza and what DCs is offering just isn't for me. Neither is deep dish or cracker style although I bet both could be delicious. I have absolutely no ill-will towards DCs and wish them the best.

    And you're not off the hook, AJ. You have to come over lots of times while I learn how to use the oven too. Practice, practice, practice...

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  3. I don't know what happened to the pizza judges this year. Joe and I would always tow the line on pizza screens.

    When there were only four judges, having two that cared deeply about a NY-style pizza being cooked directly on the oven floor mattered. That's not to say that I never found myself favoring the one cooked on a screen. Sometimes the strengths of a slice are able to overcome even its significant weaknesses (especially when put up against a lackluster competitor).

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  4. As a tournament specatator and fan, I'd say the judging has been pretty consistent. The 12 point swing was a surprise. Hard to say from the outside looking in if that was judging or quality. Albany Jane said quality and I have no reason to doubt her.

    I understand why places use screens but definitely agree cooking on the floor produces a better crust.

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