Finding Good Pizza in NYC
Every year since I was a debut author, I go to NYC for ThrillerFest. This summer will be my third time. It will also be my first time going entirely alone. Since my husband and I are trying really hard to save money so we can go to Palestine and visit his parents, I've made the difficult choice to go alone. I decided to start planning my trip in the cheapest way possible and figuring out where I'd be eating while on my trip. Last year, my niece and I found this awesome pizza place that had two slices and a can of soda for $6. I couldn't remember the name of it, though.
Enter--Google Maps. I figured I could find it by wandering the streets of Manhattan via Street View. I'd made quick work of being able to find my way around the bustling city on my first trip there, so I reasoned I could find this place again. I knew which way we'd gone when we left the hotel, and that was right where I started.
First, we'd gone right--past Grand Central and toward the library on 5th Ave. I'd spotted a place I'd wanted to try up that way, but we wound up not eating there. If you haven't read it yet, that whole adventure was told in a previous blog. You can find it here. The pizza story starts about halfway down. When you see a huge "I'm socially awkward" you're in the right place.
I retrace my steps on Google Streetview and find the place where we were ignored, three blocks from the hotel. Hang a left on 5th Ave, go two blocks to E 40th St, take another left, and things are still looking familiar. There's the fruit stand where I bought a banana across the street from a line of Citi-bikes. We turned left on Madison Ave, still blindly trying to follow the GPS instead of using my brain to find the fucking address. We came to 41st and hung a right. I was finally remembering how to navigate by that point. I remember going past the back side of Pershing Square. Then I recognized the font over the doors, the gold decoration adorning the exterior walls, and I knew I was almost there. You know, in Street View. I saw a nail place right next to a pizza shop. That's it; I knew it.
Previti Pizza. Oh, yes, bitches. Okay, so I've found it. Now what? I won't even be there for another three months. Well, I zoomed out, you guys. On the map. And guess what? We didn't have to walk the nine blocks there, nor did we have to walk the seven blocks back. Previti Pizza is on the bottom floor of Chanin Building on E 41st St. Grand Hyatt is across the street from Chanin Building on 42nd. The pizza place I was hunting for is literally a block away from the hotel. Fuck. Oh, well. Now I know.
Sign outside of Previti Pizza
What's your favorite place to grab a quick bite in New York? I'm looking for suggestions so that I don't end up eating at the same places every day just because I know what to expect.
Now, for a bit of Easter silliness.
I know my coworkers don't read my blog, so I'm not worried about being busted on this. As we all know, Easter will be on April Fools Day. I will be injecting sriracha sauce into Peeps, then leave them in the office with a note that says they're for anyone. It should be fun now that no one who works there is allergic to hot peppers. I'd considered filling Twinkies with toothpaste, but I no longer have one of those little plastic sealers. I think they were called Euroseal or something. My whole family had them for a while about 20 years ago.
If Easter/April Fools Day had fallen on a day that was not my boss's day off, I would have hung as many plastic eggs from the ceiling as I could afford/had time to. But, luck is on his side. I'm the opening manager that day. I expect I'll have to clean up several hundred toy soldiers doing battle all over every flat surface in the restaurant. It's my own fault, though, for putting the idea into the heads of my shift managers.
What's you're best April Fools Day prank? Either that you've done, or that was done to you. Mine was helping my friend turn everything in her boyfriend's room upside down. Bed, couch, dresser, everything. It was fantastic.