Addie Broyles Likes Anchovies Too!

2009 November 29
Addie Relishing Homeslice

Addie Relishing Homeslice

Addie Broyles, the food writer for the Statesman, messaged me on Twitter a few days ago asking what she had to do to score a free pizza invite.  I told her that she could either pay me $3000, invite me to some hoity-toity foodie events or buy alcohol to go with the pizza.  She chose the latter.

Addie is the godmother (more Corleone/Brando than Fairy/Disney) of the Austin foodie scene.  She’s pioneered its burgeoning and sometimes ridiculous proliferation.  So when I met her, I was taken aback by how down to Earth she was.  She blogs/tweets/writes very publicly, and is kind of a big deal.

I got to Homeslice before Addie and I realized that I’d forgotten my Year of the Pizza business cards, so I ran home to get them.  I know, I’m lame.  But when I don’t have a real job to provide me with business cards, I have to make my own.  If I didn’t have them, what else would I drop in the fishbowls at restaurants to get a shot at heavy-handed pitches for financial services free lunches?  Only unemployed losers don’t have business cards.  Sheesh.  They have photos from the blog on one side and my name, blog url, email address and twitter handle on the back.  As I was leaving I told the hostess that if a woman came in looking for me to please tell her that Homeslice was closed until I came back in five minutes.  She didn’t exactly agree per se, but when I returned, Homeslice had magically reopened and Addie was seated.

She was actually talking to the Soup Peddler, an iconic friend of a friend that has been something of a guiding light to me in my journey to Austin.  Our mutual friend first told me his quirky story, and I told myself that if a character like him can make his soup-delivery story a success in Austin, than I’d give the city a shot.  So it was really cool to meet him, I wish I had said something more cool than “I think you’re awesome…(pause)…here’s my card.”  Weak!

Addie perused the revamped wine menu, and our waitress Vanessa pointed out some of her faves.  I especially liked the description of the last one, which was something like “good enough for your daughter’s wedding, so do yourself a favor and get a glass”.  It’s these funny little details that make Homeslice so charming.  That, and the crazy-awesome pizza.

Jessica brought out the wine carafe and glasses, and noticed that the glasses were a little dirty.  She whisked them away immediately and brought out cleaner ones.  I don’t know if the ‘Sliceys recognized Addie and were more attentive because of her job, and I wondered if she frequently gets special treatment.  For the record, I’ve never had bad service at Homeslice, and I think they would’ve replaced dirty glasses if I was dining alone as well.

Addie quickly found a way to my heart by saying that she loves anchovies.  That’s rare in a pizza date.   She spent some time in Spain and told me about all the mouth-watering ways they use anchovies.

Mark (a waiter) always sees my pizzas a mile away by the tell-tale half anchovies, but not this time!  He did suggest that I should be training for a certain upcoming contest nothing in particular by eating while standing.  Maybe I should’ve sat at the bar and stood up the entire time.

The pizza and wine complemented each other really nicely, I should really break my beer habit more often at Homeslice.  The pungency of the anchovies, garlic and kalamata olives really mellowed with the wine.  Not that I’m too much of a vino connoisseur (evidence: had to use spellcheck to spell it), but I do enjoy a nice glass of wine with pizza.

She wanted to hear my story, so I told her everything except some of my training techniques.  We talked about social media, food, Homeslice, the HOES competition, travel, Yelp and Missouri.

We had half the pizza leftover, and I offered it to her as I do to all my guests.  I fully expected her to decline, as she probably has the most stocked fridge in Austin with freebies from all over town.  But to my surprise she took it.  Want proof that Homeslice makes amazing pizza?  A woman who has chefs all over town tripping over themselves to please took home the leftovers.

She asked if they took a check and I said I didn’t know.  We asked various waitstaff folks, and after some deliberation, they accepted it.  I don’t think I’ve ever been around someone younger than me who paid for anything with a check, except for things like rent or used cars.  But it’s how she rolls, so whatever.

We had a really nice time.  I was greeted with a handshake, but sent off with a hug.

Share the pizza:
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
3 Responses leave one →
  1. 2009 November 29

    How charming you make me sound! I enjoyed our pizza together, especially with the stinky fish. Great to hear your story over a slice. Good luck this weekend!

    I’ll post my version of our dinner this week on Relish Austin, but how can I beat the more Corleone than Disney line?

  2. 2009 November 30
    David Ansel permalink

    Thanks for the kind words, and: Ooh! Ooh! Me next! I’ll spill my guts for free pizza.

  3. 2010 January 21

    Seth, I’m personally stoked that you are, have been, and continue to write a great blog. I am commenting to weigh in on your wine comment. The wine really, truly does compliment the pizza in a symbiotic way that is pretty fricking awesome. I’ll buy you a glass of wine for every course if you allow me some suggestions next time I see you in.

Leave a Reply

Note: You can use basic XHTML in your comments. Your email address will never be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS