Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck
What can I write about Pizza that hasn’t already been written?
1. The history? Pizza is not Italian. At least not originally. Started in Greece… no tomatoes… Queen Margherita… colors of the Italian flag… WWII… Italian Immigrants… Pizza Hut… 30 minutes or your pizza is free… Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell. I covered everything right?
2. The best pizza in New York? I don’t even want to start that argument…
3. Tourists visiting New York eat at the worst pizza places. How else do you explain the existence of a Sbarro’s in Times Square? (It still amazes me every time I walk by that place and there are people eating in there)
The list could go on and on. The simple fact is, I’m not a pizza aficionado. Don’t misunderstand this for pizza hate… I love pizza just as much as the next guy- I’m just not a connoisseur. I guess some places are better then others, but I can’t really pinpoint exactly what I love and hate about each slice. If you’re into that sort of thing, there are plenty of blogs that talk about pizza… and only pizza.
But the truth is, pizza is one of those things that has so many different varieties that trying to determine the “best pizza” is futile… because everyone likes something different. You’ve got deep dish, thin “New York” style pizza, Sicilian, pizza with tons of toppings, pizza with no toppings, crunchy crust, floppy crust… it’s no wonder people love to argue about this crap.
Anyway, when talking about great pizza in Midtown, one name comes up all the time: Jiannetto’s Pizza Truck. I finally went last week to check it out, and found an amazing slice of “pizza” that will find just as many haters, as lovers.
The pictures, +/- and more… after the jump.
Posted by Zach at 8:34 am, August 28th, 2006 under 47th btw. Park+Mad, Jiannetto's Pizza Truck, Pizza.
When Chipotle opened up in the bottom of my building I spent a full week lamenting how bad Midtown (and even New York in general) had become for finding good Mexican food. Of course, “Good Mexican food” can mean alot of things to alot of different people. For me, it means there are a) no good burritos (hold the “cilantro and lime rice” please), and b) no good authentic tacos.
I must have walked by this place a million times in the past month and a half since it opened (it’s on the same street as 
Then of course there’s the fact that it shares a space with City Cafe. I don’t know what that is, or what their affiliation is with the other million places in Midtown with “City” or “Cafe” in their title, but if you do decide to check this place out you’ll be able to tell which part is the “City Cafe” by the generic salad bar and paninis behind the glass counter. Go directly past that counter, the Ranch 1 part is in the back… 
If you have ever been on a NYC food message board, then you know that nothing gets the troops riled up more then a post about “The Best” Hamburger in New York City. One thread, started two months ago, just got its 
So in my opinion to talk about “the best” or compare burger places across genres is really useless. If two places are right across the street from each other, and serve the same kind of burger at the same price- compare away. In ‘n Out is better then McDonald’s. But to compare Blue 9 Burger in the East Village to the burger at Spotted Pig is futile. (BTW, if you are a fan of In n Out, and are ever in the East Village check out Blue 9. It’s the closest thing to a good double double you’ll find in NYC.)
It was certainly a big week for vermin and feces in New York. Despite it not being in Midtown, many people wrote me this week about The Shake Shack, and how they failed their Health Inspection. Failed is actually an understatement for what they did… They got a 109 (anything over a 28 requires a re-inspection). To give you an idea of how gross that is, Variety Cafe was shut down last month for scoring a 95 (and they’re not even owned by Danny Meyer. You’d expect it in Midtown, but not the Flatiron District!) It just goes to show that long lines don’t ensure that cooks aren’t picking their noses while they make your food. (Ironically enough, despite Danny Meyer’s claim that 
A little over three weeks ago, New York Magazine released their 101 Best Cheap Eats issue and 
Work is tough. Work is not fun. And quite frankly, I don’t understand why more people don’t use their lunch break to relax- or even better, have some fun! Of course most people’s idea of fun is probably different from my idea of fun. My idea of fun, is lunch at Cafe Zaiya- the funnest restaurant in Midtown! (As declared by me of course… I’m clearly a very strange person.)
Cafe Zaiya is Japanese- but not in the way that probably first comes to mind. They are not a Ramen place, and they don’t specialize in sushi (although they do have sushi as an option). It’s more of a Japanese bakery, that also has a nice variety of bento boxes (or Japanese boxed lunches). Clearly their specialty is baked goods. They have Cream Puffs (or beard papas as they’re known by some) made fresh and filled right before your eyes. They also have Mochi Donuts, Yakimochi, Mont Blanc’s and other delicious looking Japanese Pastries and cakes.
Now for many of you, I’m sure delicious pastries is all you have to hear to make this place worthwhile. Lord knows I’m all for eating pastries as a substitute for real lunch. As a matter of fact, my dream lunch would be a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts if I thought I could do it without dying (either from stomach ache or sugar coma). But in reality, pastries and donuts a lunch does not make (did that make sense?).
