Lunch Hour

This afternoon I went to lunch at PINCH (416 Park Avenue South) across the street from my office, I had a craving for pizza coupled with a need to pay way more for pizza than anyone should. The concept is very kitschy and its nice think crust and the workers are always really friendly (I’ve gone a few times for their chopped salad as well as the walnut/apple/goat cheese salad). You order square pizza and you specify how many inches you want instead of a slice. I got some goat cheese and broccoli, so I knew I was delving into luxury. I will however I would rather do my best to find something else in the neighborhood that will satisfy my urge for pizza with a sloppy 2.00 piece or cheaper slice of square sicilian style heaven. I used to work in Soho when I first moved to NYC right next to the Original Rays pizza (now I know all of them say “original ray’s pizza” but this was the actual first one on Prince Street, they have the news paper articles to prove it! Regardless I will continue to believe they were the first), that pizza was amazing and cheap. Since I was a Soho shop girl slinging shoes for $10 an hour I was more than satisfied with that.

Regardless my original intention to bring up what I did on my lunch break was the rude intrusion to my day that I had over-hearing another patron’s impatience while waiting for his order. I was standing in line going over my endless combinations of what I could have on my 8” slice, so far size was all that I had decided on and the place is PACKED ! Lines and lines of people waiting to sit, waiting for their take out, and waiting to eat in at the take out/eat in tables they have available. I am talking tons of people waiting, why because its “take you child to work day”(which answered my question of why the hell there were 6 million little kids running around and why the hell they weren’t in school- because when corporate dad/mom has little jimmy with them at work and what are you going to do to shut him up when he says he is hungry and you have a TPS report to attach to something before you turn it in… you stuff his face with pizza…even if its over priced pizza). So visually picture lines of people and the staff behind the counter doing everything they can no to run into each other, and this guy just leans over and says to the man behind the counter who by some miracle has managed to take down 10 orders simultaneously with out screwing them up. Anyway the guy leans over and asks if his pizza is still coming. The absolute nerve! Do you not see the influx of people waiting as well for their orders? Do you believe if you ask this question it will speed up the cooking process. I just shook my head; with Eric working in the restaurant industry I hear countless stories of people and their attitudes when they come in to dine. I would have loved to stand over this dudes desk and ask him every 30 seconds if his report/email/anything was ready yet. From working as a hostess and waitress in my formative years of high school I could appreciate it when customers are kind and considerate, so I do my best to be patient as a customer. Lets not even get started on the patrons of park slope and other Brooklyn areas and their chips on the shoulders and need for superior attention whist eating when they have their scraming dirty-faced bratty children at the table with them. If I got started on the yuppie parents with obnoxious children phenomenon I would be ranting for hours.

Basically the man made me mad, be nice to your server be it as a pizza place to a 4 star restaurant. It’s their job to serve you your food not deal with your shitty attitude. I however may need to buck up just a little bit since I feel rushes of guilt when I get something burned or with meat when I asked for it to be vegetarian friendly and I have to red-faced ask for it to go back and be redone. Better that way than a pompous asshole that obviously enjoy digesting spit with his sandwich or else maybe he’d be a little sweeter.

Oh and by the way… an entire website dedicated to pizza in the city of NY. Hey why not.