end of day adventure

Today was mostly uneventful, but the end was filled with a pizza adventure. I went into school around noon to do some research, then grouped up with my studio team at 3pm to finalize our portion of the class' project background. After I printed my sheets, I headed to a coffee shop and read some of Jane Jacobs' Death and Life of Great American Cities, a book I've had on my list for some time.

After reading for about an hour and a half, I met up with J to try out a place called Coalfire Pizza. A friend, Kim, recommended it a few days prior. We decided to just get a cheese pizza, but there were two options on the menu: a regular one and a fresh mozzarella one. When our waitress came over to take our order, we asked her what you got if you didn't get fresh mozzarella...frozen cheese? She explained that it had to do with how the cheese was sliced, stored and the layering of sauce vs. cheese on the pizza. Then we followed that question up with, "we heard that your pizza is a little like NY style pizza. Which one would be more like NY style." She wasn't sure, so she asked the manager, who wasn't sure either, so he got the owner, who happened to be there. Well, the owner quickly came over, pulled out a chair and asked us, "what exactly do you mean by NY style?" This led into a whole conversation between Brooklyn-born J and the owner about Coney Island pizza vs. Brooklyn Pizza vs. the joint down the street where you get a huge slice at 4am. After this entertaining conversation, we went with the fresh mozzarella pizza which was delicious, and the owner also brought us a complimentary caprese salad so we could try the mozzarella. Yummy.

After the whole ordeal, I asked J if he thought the owner--who was talking pretty intensely--was upset by our question or just challenged. J responded, "I think he's just reeeally serious about his pizza."