Like everyone else, my teacher was caught up in Olympic frenzy and themed our 2-cake cake stand, “Vancouver 2010.” So after a week of pouring, pulling, and blowing sugar, when our hands were just blistered enough to weather ONE more project, we completed our sugar unit with these stands.
We were all incredibly bitchy. Who knows whether it was because it was our last day, because the project was challenging, or because as we pulled and blew fake Olympic sugar, the snowflakes of New York’s latest storm were gusting down hard – with absolutely NO chance of an earlier dismissal or cancelled class.
To release the stress of the day, (although I have to say that all our stand are really impressive considering we’ve only been working with sugar for SIX DAYS!), my friend Vanessa and I headed out into the winter wonderland to chase some pizza.
Pizza recently has gotten the press that burgers were getting last spring and this fall. In a city where there’s a pizza place on every corner, what makes something better than another? Is it the cheese? Nah, all cheese taste good. Is it the dough? Debatably. Is it the sauce? Possibly. Or is it just the flavor combination?
For me, it’s a little bit of all of them, with the focus on dough and sauce. As I kneaded my own dough the other day without as much success as I’d liked, I wanted so good pizza. We headed to Co., the west side artisanal pizza joint that just barely lost to Mortorino’s infamous spot in this year’s food buzz.
This pizza was PHENOMENAL. Out of this world. Vanessa is a food snob – more so than me – but not in a bad way. She just knows A LOT, and knows what she likes. So when her and I can both walk into a restaurant, whether it be for burger and beers or an eight-course tasting menu, and love everything about a pizza pie … that says a lot.
The Stracciatella Pizza was beyond. Beyond, beyond.
That, and we spent the entire next day drooling over it, thinking about it, and making plans to go back … that very day. And although we didn’t go, I’m sure there wouldn’t have been a moment of hesitation if I had said to her, “Wana go back when we get out of school?”
Hope everyone can learn to relax this lazy Friday, enjoy the snow, and embrace what winter is about. I know we’re all sick of it, but life’s too short, enjoy the day … and the snow! Maybe your nearest artisanal pizza place will still be delivering, worth a short right?
