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Pizza? Pizza. 5 Steps!

How to pick your perfect pizza place in South Brooklyn in 5 easy steps:

A. Know your neighborhood. What are your options? Make a check a list of each place and its various attributes:

How old is the pizzeria?

 -Is it brand new with a gourmet style pizza chef de cuisine?
-Has it been family owned and has a secret sauce you would need to marry into to find out the ingredients? (Think Sam’s, in Cobble Hill)
-Or are willing to try the neither “highly” reputable nor old place but has a several different options.
-Or is Dominos an acceptable choice? – No judgment, but you are at the end of my checklist.

 Does it deliver?

-Is it cold out? Will they come to you?
-Can you get a seat in the restaurant if you are trapped in a polar vortex?
-How long are you ready to wait for a table or conversely wait for it to be delivered?
-What is the risk of take out in terrible weather related conditions if the situation is that you have to leave to get your order?

Knowing the various styles and types you can find in Brooklyn is important. You have your pick of the litter here; knowing your brand is the only way to begin. You always have to know yourself, what are you willingly to do to get the pizza? Otherwise you’re opening yourself to a wormhole in which you will not be able to escape and end up eating Ramen for dinner.

B.  Know what you like. This one is very important, and may seem like style/type but is actually drastically different. Once you have made a choice from the four variables above, you then will have a multitude of options in which to choose. Here they are!:

    1. Are you a sauce person?
    2. Are you a cheese person?
    3. Are you a toppings person?
    4. Are you a bread person?

Now granted some of these categories overlap, I’m leaving it up to you to prioritize.  Personally I hate cheese, white pizza is never on the table for me, I know many of you will think I’m crazy for this; but I can only change so much about myself. Lets move on.

C.  Crust. You can never have too many crust varieties, but your choice can change everything. What sort of cheese you put on, or how much sauce there is -your options:

1. Thin – generally more calorie friendly. This choice lends itself to a sub-choice:

– Thin and crispy, more often than not using a coal oven in Brooklyn; you need to think about if you like burnt edge
-Thin and chewy

Both respectable but both have different sauce and cheese distribution.

2.  Regular, speaks for itself, New York style pizza
3. Deep dish, this Midwestern style pizza is harder to find in New York. Realistically you’ll find it at Dominos or a specialty pizzeria.
4. Sicilian, Grandma or any other such styles demand a completely separate check list and will not be discussed here

D. Know what you want. Is pizza your only choice? This isn’t about picking the perfect pizza; it’s about picking the perfect pizza place. I could even abbreviate that to #PPP.

Do you have any Vegans?
 Some of you may think this a strange thing to consider. But those Vegans don’t want any of your dairy. Not on their pizza, or salad or anywhere else for that matter. It’s your choice of company, but Vegan pizza exists, and it does deliver. That being said this is still number 3 because dairy is more than welcome in my apartment.

Do you want a salad? 

-Will house salad be acceptable with a mild and rather bland dressing? Loosely thrown olives with maybe an awkward cucumber on the top? This is once again is a household based decision.
-My household prefers a rich creamy Cesar that is in no way good for your diet but tastes amazing. If it’s a pretend diet day in my apartment, we like to choose the place with a rich Cesar salad. The more Parmesan cheese the better!

Are any other sides on the table?

Wings? This one is tough because wings can range from unseasoned frozen Purdue chicken nuggets posing as wings to smothered delicious meaty Buffalo wings.

Garlic bread?
-Parmesan Garlic Bread?
-Bruschetta Garlic Bread?
-Truffle oil Garlic Bread?

Pasta dishes? –If you have a family (or group of friends) full of young gentlemen, you may need more and different types of Pizza related foods.

E. Are you the only one ordering? The process I described above is my personal checklist for both my mood and setting. When you involve others, my list can be helpful – but it also takes some thoughtful negotiating. My personal advice for group ordering:

  1. Choose your (one and only) priority [see #2] and stand your ground with it. Don’t ruin the pizza for everyone, and don’t let anyone ruin it for you. Pizza should only be a joyful experience.
  2. Always order more. This nonsense is fine cold or fine after a fast broil in the oven.
  3. Toppings realistically should only be discussed amongst closest friends. Don’t be that guy who comes in strong with the anchovies, unless you know your peers.

Pizza is some of the best stuff we got – go in bite first and just enjoy the ride.

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Purposely played with formatting. Wanted to look at for a bit and see what I liked. As always, let me know your thoughts, suggestions or rationale. It’s all about the experience.

The Devil on your Left Shoulder

What can I really say about Brooklyn?

There is not much that hasn’t already been said, it’s a borough that is and has been filled with aspiring (and inspiring) writers. Writers who grew up with a Brooklyn voice, writers who let Brooklyn flood them with inspiration and writers who knew this borough was where they needed to be. 

But – its also trite, it’s a cliché, and its been done -especially by the Yupster.

What is there to say?

Who am I to say it?

Some of said residents have enough money to not do anything besides write, and I do not mean for work, but for pleasure – as in they receive no monetary gain for their writing. Imagine that voice that comes from pure creativity. Aside from the fact some of these writers can scribble, or type, away all day long – their craft is apart of them. It fills their lives. Their voice is Brooklyn.

I fill my head with thoughts that are far away from Brooklyn. 

I’m detached, not as focused. My voice withering away, if it ever existed. Not to be compared to those who live and breathe talking about #cobbled streets, artisan foods and the new fused specialty place that now sells cupcakes made with booze. I’m a fraud.

Authenticity, how can you tell if you have it? Can you find it? Can you gain it?

Can I really understand the older authentic brownstone laden neighborhoods compared to the new ones created by a culture of shiny fresh high rises? I’ve barely been there a year; some people have never known anything but Brooklyn. Some could tell you that their family stepped into America and right into Brooklyn’s arms and never looked back. Or that their family has been making the same sauce in their restaurant for at least three generations. Authentic. This has never not been their lives, they can talk about it. Can I?

Who am I?

Brooklyn has a culture of arts and want-to-be artists who all want to talk about their new spaces, their new work – their new everything and anything.

My voice isn’t special. I’m not that interesting. I don’t have that much to contribute.

Where is the voice that is worth paying attention to? Do I even have it is as a writer, or at the very least as a person? My metaphorical voice that is, I am generally very vocal.

Or do I fall into the realm of other persona non grata that has flooded its buildings following the real artists in on their coattails? The shallow, the vain or those looking to pretend they have some to contribute to a vibrant community –the ones who are really just there for a flashy and hip zip code. Not there for the community.  Not there for the spirit, art, culture or dynamic that has shaped Brooklyn for all these years.

Who am I?

 

——-

This feels a little different than the assignment, but it was a post I was going to do on my own in the upcoming weeks. Or maybe I just freely interpreted the assignment. But I always tend to have both those Angels on my shoulders making me double think my choices. So let me just argue amongst my self doubt. 

Back to being #Cobbled

So we’re back to the Cobble Hill Towers. Frank Farella sees the possibility of these towers in the late 1970s/early 1980s – at a time when many people had given up on these once important now decrepitating gems.

He buys the Towers then goes into business with these guys, Hudson Inc. This company also saw the potential in revitalizing the New York skyline. And bringing back housing that wasn’t filled with prostitutes or drug users, but most importantly, was affordable.

These buildings were a bit of challenge though. They had gone through several rough decades, and had multiple apartments that were uninhabitable. A big reason for these destroyed apartments was the buildings original layout – it had been designed with open stair layout. This, back in the 1800s, was to prevent fires. In a crowed tenant with only one staircase – fire was a regular visitor and it quickly meant death.

But these apartments were costly “fixer-uppers”.

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But with the combination of a major NYC real estate group and a developer who saw both the potential and historical significance – the Cobble Hill Towers were born again.

The Towers are interesting not only for their long history and importance; but they were also one of the beginning projects for the Hudson group.  Hudson has had a significant impact not only on the Manhattan skyline, but has rapidly been increasing the Brooklyn one as well.

Bringing housing that is affordable, but also has proper living conditions is like giving a neighborhood a ridiculously good makeover – maybe one like Beyoncé would get on her day off.

This is what changes neighborhoods. This is how it begins. So I’m glad we got started. Let’s see what’s next.

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I’m thinking something about food. Anyone interested in a specialty? I’m kind of in the mood for some jalapeño maple corn bread… 

History (Resume)
Objective: All around learner of life, Sociologist at heart but thats a hard occupation to pay the bills with. Studier of people and the culture they surround themselves all while communicating with them effectively.
EXPERIENCE

Regional Hospital, January 2011 – Present, Marketing Novice
Hired into a new position, responsible for the creation of journal ads, community newspaper ads, invitations for our physician dinners, and creative design for community events. Extensive research projects with the goal of increasing community engagement and working to develop a better understanding of the markets we target.

Then in another – also new – position, responsibility additional to my ongoing creative projects with the expansion of larger ad campaigns, video editing for our social media pages, and departmental branding within multiple disciplines (microbranding based on departments’ wants and needs). Helped these departments create a well-rounded brand by designing flyers, brochures, and other advertorial materials.

Advertising Agency, Summer 2009, Marketing&Advertising Guppy
Nationally known full service advertising and marketing firm with 50 in house: account managers; graphic designers; print designers; TV and internet producers and website designers.
Worked with account executives as well as the creative team to throughout development of a variety of advertising campaigns. Part of a team that worked extensively to create a full campaigns from print to digital. Oversaw presentations to clients including creative design for both layout and front/back end coding for websites.        

Regional Law Frim, P.C. Summers 2004- 2008, Reoccurring Marketing Character 
Regional corporate law firm of 90 attorneys
Worked with the marketing department to develop intra-office websites and law blogs; conducted marketing research; organize seminars and outreach events; and created the firm’s first marketing video.

EDUCATION

The University of  the North East, BA – May 2010
Major: International Studies
Minor: Media

 

Auto-Bio

It’s odd to write an autobiography that is somewhat anonymous. This might be a check off on the bucket list for me.  So my sample piece was a little heavy, sorry about that, but the rest of these posts will be far from that.

I work in the marketing/public relations department in a relatively large company in an industry fairly new to social media. I went to college in the North East and graduated a couple years ago and have been with this company since then. I’ve learned a lot about communications, public relations, advertising and marketing functioning as a needed component within a larger company that has many departments. At times, my department almost serves as an internal agency for the larger whole of the company. It keeps my life interesting, and I have (and am) learned (ing) a lot.

I graduated from college in the height of the recession and like many of my peers wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I was happy to land my job and work for a bit and then make the decision to go back to school. I’m happy to be here, happy to know that I’m confident in this choice.

I’m a New Yorker, not a native city dweller, and possibly just a brief inhabitant of the Kings County borough (Brooklyn, NY & specifically the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill [Cobbled], Fort Greene, and The Heights) for now. Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I always pictured myself on a different coast; but am embracing the new findings in Brooklyn. You may have picked up on that by now, or I might be too vague for my own good.

My writing can be confusing, so my number one goal, well maybe top five goal, for the semester is to clarify more, if I am being honest. Constructive criticism is super welcome. (Did you hate that I used the word ‘super’? Let me know! And why!)

Happy to get to know you, no really I am.