Random thoughts for a Friday...

A couple of random thoughts/stories…

I ate a piece of pizza this Tuesday. It wasn’t good. Every Tuesday night I go from Duane and Hudson where I work all the way to East End Avenue and get my slice a slice of pizza on the way. I don’t normally consider a slice of pizza dinner, but on Tuesdays I eat it out of necessity so I won’t be having my final meal of the day when I get home at 930. Pizza is usually a safe enough choice with salty cheese and tomato sauce being pleasing to just about everyone.

The pizza I had this Tuesday was not very good. Normally I would just shrug it off and finish the pizza, but for some reason I found this pizza particularly offensive. It might be that I’ve been making relatively tasty pizza with the four year olds at my school and that I’ve been eating close to perfect pizza at Vinny’s in Carroll Gardens, but I couldn’t help but be terribly angry at the fact that I was eating bad pizza. There was a sorely disproportionate cheese to sauce ratio, with the extra cheese being slightly congealed and flavorless on top and the crust being somewhere in between burnt and densely soggy. I had two bites and a little of the crust and threw the slice out.

In terms of posting, this only comes to mind because I can’t remember being so offended by something I had eaten in recent times (my four year olds make much, much better pizza.) It wasn’t the fact that I spent money on the slice of the pizza, but that I was filling my belly with something that really was not worthy of consumption. I crave good food now more than ever.

I couldn’t help but think of this when reading the Augieland Blogs this evening. In a pizza theme post, he very accurately describes what it is that draw us to restaurants:

"I have not figured out a simple way to explain it, the closest I have come is that regular places feel like they are opened by people for whom it is the only thing they could imagine doing, while the rest of the places are there because people think they can make money. Legitimacy lies in the belief that talent will be the driving force behind success and the money it brings. JGV, Hearth, Boqueria, Lil Owl, and Bleecker Street Pizza win my allegiance and attention over Per Se, Morandi, the Waverly Inn, and the various Ray’s.

It is a certain je ne sais quoi I have yet to capture in description, but I know it when I feel it and try to relay it on this site. Is the waiter reciting a script or does he comprehend what makes this dish unique? Is the chef aping current trends trying to capture parts of the “food dollar” or is he making the dish he has had a thousand ways the way he individually can?
I find value in a place so unique in some aspect – ambiance, food, service, attention – that it becomes part of the experience. My friends and I are very enthusiastic diners that can find fun in almost any situation, so allegiance boils down to places that contribute to a good time. Could we have had the same time at a handful of other places based solely on our enthusiasm and, if so, why come to this one again? Lupa has it, Centovini doesn’t."

That brings me to The Little Owl…


Anyone who knows me knows that I love eating at the Little Owl. While it has always been fairly difficult to get a reservation there at any sort of decent time, it has grown even more difficult as of late. Perhaps it’s a result of the place’s popularity and the nicer weather (making it dining season) but I have become frustrated in my attempts at calling to eat there.

Last Thursday I called The Little Owl at 10 am when the phone lines open only to get a busy signal 8 times. One time I was lucky enough to get through and only got the answering machine which told me to call the number I had originally called to try to make a reservation. I tried telling the answering machine I tried that already but it just went on telling me how to reserve for a private party. I called back an hour and a half later to hear that every table at every time was booked for the date I had in mind which was a month in advance to the day.

As a result of all this frustration, I was happily surprised when I called the Little Owl this afternoon. Here is how the phone conversation went down:

Me: Hi, I was wondering if you have a table at any time between 630 and 9 for two or four people at any point in the next month. (I figured this would give me some openings)

Hostess (clearly a little taken aback by such an odd request): Umm…Were generally booked during those times.

Perhaps she didn’t want to flip through her book.

Do you have a particular date in mind?

Me: Nope no particular day in mind. Really any day over the next month works for me.

Hostess (seeming pleasantly surprised): Did you say four people would be ok?

Me: uh huh

Hostess: Well then we have a table for you at 730 on May 26th

Me: What day of the week is that?

It turned out to be a Saturday and I was all set. Who knew it could be that easy. In the future, perhaps if I give more restaurants the work of trying to find a time to fit me in, they’ll just give me a good time in lieu of having to do extra work. I now have the relatively easy task of finding three people to go to dinner with me.