Year Of The Pizza

'lil bit

I had a nice Homeslice-related weekend with my friend Mike D, who was visiting from Texarkana. Friday night we went to Homeslice manager Nano Whitman‘s gig at Lambert’s.  It was packed and he rocked out, partnering for a few songs with Kat Edmondson, whose voice has a neat eerie yet soothing sound.  Mike D and I felt a little schlubby compared to the rest of the hip, well-dressed crowd.

There was a bunch of Homeslice folks at the show, including one of the owners.  I felt sorta awkward around them.  Do I sit down at their already-crowded corner booth and act like we’re old friends, or do I give them space since they’re off the clock and no longer obligated to bring me pizza and beer?

How about the owner lady, how should I act around her?  Should I take her to the bar and buy her dozens of shots?  What if she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, since I’m taking thousands of $$$ worth of pizza from her this year?

In the end, I decided to give the ‘Sliceys some space to enjoy a night out on their own.  They see me all the time anyway.

The next night, Mike D, Erin and I went to Homeslice.  Erin was working until 8:30, so when I went to put my name on the seating list, I told Clare (the super friendly hostess) that my girlfriend would be joining us a little late.  “Girlfriend?”  My fiance, she corrected me.  It just doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, and since I’ve called her my girlfriend for 8ish years, this whole fiance thing is a little new to me.

Other waitstaff who hadn’t seen us in a while (over a week) came by to congratulate us.  Erin commented that Homeslice really has turned into my “Cheers”.

Anyhoo, we were eventually seated, and I let Mike D choose the toppings.  He only wanted a few: kalamata olives, fried eggplant and mushrooms, thus abiding by the Homeslice principle of “less is more”.  I’m a “more is more” kinda guy and great derider of said principle, but he was the guest so I let it fly.  I did push hard for garlic though.

He hesitated because he had high hopes for the night ahead.  Being a liberal, Jewish, Manu Chao loving, save-the-world-through-healthcare-for-the-poor doctor slogging through his residency in Texarkana, he was hoping to hit it big with the brainy ladies of Austin.  After an awkward, quasi-hypothetical exchange with the waitress about whether Austin ladies view garlic breath as a make-out no-no, Mike D agreed to including garlic.  Her response was anything but encouraging, but Erin and I prodded him a little bit to add the deliciousness.

There was only one piece left over, and rather than cluttering up our apartment with yet another pizza box, we decided to wrap it up in a napkin, like a little afikomen.  It’s ironic because the last time Mike D rumbled through Austin was Passover, and when we went to pizza I scraped off all the toppings and sauce onto some matzah.

During this latest meal, Tara, Homeslice’s internetstress, passed me some disturbing gossip: someone she knows is taking three days off work to compete against me (and Erin) in this years Hands on an Eggplant Sub contest.  That sounds like formidable dedication.  Nothing Erin and I can’t handle though.  I hope…

Chris Floyd, Dominator

Just a couple of Homeslice-related news items:

• This is somewhat belated, but 3-peat Homeslice pizza-eating contest defending champ Chris Floyd won the cupcake eating contest at the Cupcake Smackdown 1.0 just before I left for Pecos.  Sometimes our paths enjoyably cross at Homeslice, but I hope to never face him in a competition.  His easygoing demeanor hides the intensity of a champion.  Congrats, Chris.  Keep on rocking in the free world.
• Homeslice manager Nano Whitman is playing a gig with Kat Edmondson at Lambert’s tonight and at the Tiniest Bar in Texas tomorrow night.  Cover is $5 tomorrow, not sure about TBiT.  Mike D is coming in town in the afternoon, we might go to tomorrow’s show if he’s feeling up to it after the drive.  I hope he is, Nano’s great, check out “Break It On Your Own Time” on Nano’s site or Myspace.

BTW, in black and white, Chris looks like Nano, except with more food in his mouth.

*SWOON*

I’m engaged again!  Same girl.  This time, Erin proposed to me!  While it was a little redundant (I proposed to her two weeks ago and she accepted), she had said that she wanted to propose back to me because it was fun to be asked.  She was right.

Last night was my first trip to Homeslice since I got back from the Pecos trip.  On a side note, the winning kid’s entry for Iron Chef Pecos (Group Mazow edition) was the “Pizzaco”, a pizza/quesadilla mashup.  While it was no match for assistant to the leader Steve Shulman’s “Big Salty Balls” (peanut butter balls coated in reduced cocoa mix / bisquick and dipped in crushed graham crackers), the pizzaco held off the pizza cravings for a little while.  Nevertheless I was ready to get back into the swing of things last night.

Erin and I went to Homeslice, and once we were seated, she went to the bathroom, and said I should just order whatever toppings I felt like since she didn’t care.  I thought that was a little odd, but I went about my studious task.  I glanced up and saw Erin talking to Shauna, our fave waitress.  When Erin returned I asked her what she said and she slyly muttered “just girl talk”.  I should’ve been more suspicious, but I was hungry and unable to focus too far beyond my stomach.

We ordered the pizza from Alex (another goodie) and chit-chatted while we waited.  Then the pizza I ordered came, and like two seconds later, another pizza came out, the one you see above.  From my angle, I couldn’t see what it said, and after a painstaking long minute, Erin told me to stand up to read it better.  I finally got it and said it out loud.

Marry me.

Everyone in Homeslice started applauding on cue from the pizza cooks, who were eagerly awaiting my reaction.  Erin told me how much she loved me and wanted to spend the rest of her life with me.  We kissed to even more applause.

For the rest of the night, everyone kept making googly eyes at us.  We enjoyed some milk and cookies for dessert, and got the check.  My usual pizza deal entitles me to one free large pizza with unlimited toppings, with the total for that one being deducted at the bottom of the bill under the category “eating contest”.  Last night, the comp’d pizza was taken off under the usual heading, the engagement pizza or the milk and cookies weren’t even included, and “Homey” picked up Erin’s beer.  Total: $0.00.  Priceless.

At the bottom of each bill at Homeslice, it says “Pizza Is Love”.  I couldn’t have said it any better.

I gave her (and whoever bussed our table) my reply, written in the complimentary smarties that accompany each bill.

Hell to the...

*sniffle*

Why is Homeslice Pizza the greatest place in the history of great places?  Their pizza is bomb They close Homeslice for four days to take their employees to New York to eat pizza!  FOR FREE!  It must cost the owners at least $20k, not to mention the cost of being closed for four days (although I won’t be subtracting from the bottom line during those days, so that’s a plus).

25+ employees are given free airfare, accommodation and pizza to experience the glories of the pizza pantheon.  How amazing is that?  Free pizza trip to NYC is a mind-blowing benefit.  Who needs dental?

I know a little something about awesome employers giving incredible travel benefits to valued employees.  I blogged from India, China, Ecuador and Peru for Interplast, and I think it builds incredible loyalty.

Ever notice how the Homeslice employees are super happy to be there, despite being at work?  Free pizzacations to NYC (along with quaalude-laced wine in the break room) will do the trick.  Kudos to Homeslice for being super awesome.  *Hug*

Better Pizza Photos?

Just before leaving on the Pecos trip with my high school, I had pizza with Marshall Wright, who blogs and photographs at Eat This Lens.  We’d been trying to work it out for weeks, and finally made it happen.  He’s an incredible food photographer who was looking for lunch, and I was looking for some photo tips.  It was a match made in heaven/Homeslice.  Hopefully my pizza photography will improve thanks to Marshall.  If it doesn’t, it’s his fault!

If you want you some Homeslice, and you got you something to barter, lemme know, I’ll happily consider all offers.

A glimpse of the future?

I know what you’re thinking.  Seth, you just met this girl, don’t you think you should slow down a bit?  Maybe take some time to get to know her before jumping into this?

Well, I decided to throw caution to the wind and propose to Erin.  She accepted, so we’re engaged!  We’re taking a month-long moratorium on any talk of wedding plans, so we don’t have any who/what/when/where/why details (well, maybe the “why”).  But for now, we’re just really, really happy and in love.

That’s why I haven’t been pizza blogging much this week, and starting today I’m leading a group of incoming freshmen from my high school on a 9 day backpacking trip in northeastern New Mexico.  Since I will be unplugged from electricity and pizza, this blog will be temporarily unplugged as well.

Erin wrote an email to her family telling the story of our engagement from her perspective, you can read it after the jump if you want to get your mushy on.  See y’all in a couple weeks.

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Mary and T-Funk

Tiffany and Mary totally rule.  Their birthdays were a little while ago, and even though we celebrated at Ego’s that night while poring over an impressive collection of Lone Star cap puzzles, they had yet to claim their birthday pizza.

Somehow I got known in Mary and Tiffany’s Austin women’s rugby community as “Free Pizza Steve”.  I forget how it happened, but rubgy ladies are tough, so I didn’t question it too much.

“Um…excuse me…my name is not Steve…yeah…it’s Seth…and about my red stapler…?”

Mary was working late last night, so we agreed to meet at Homeslice just before 9 so we could be seated by 9:15.  Wrong!  I shoulda known by now, as I do go to Homeslice rather frequently.  Clare, my fave hostess, said it’d be an hour.  Whatever, I thought, it’s usually less because most people when confronted with an hour-long wait for dinner at 9pm say “Screw this, I don’t want delicious pizza THAT much” and then leave, opening up spots in line.  You see, most people have to pay for pizza, just like they would have to pay for whatever else they might eat.

Not last night.  It was over an hour, so when we sat down, we were hungry like the wolf.  After some hemming and hawing, we decided on spinach, fresh tomatoes, garlic, fried eggplant and extra cheese, with sausage on their half and green olives on Erin and I’s half.  Before the pizza came, Shauna (fave waitress!) came by and asked how we did in ordering.  We all mumbled something about not loading this one down and keeping it simple.  Five minutes later, the pizza came out, and the waitress was like “Y’all went crazy tonight!”

Now, I’ve had some good pizzas at Homeslice, and I’ve had some great pizzas at Homeslice, but this one was truly excellent.  Throughout the meal we kept commenting about how incredible the pizza tasted.  The toppings complemented each other nicely both in taste and texture, the crust was warm and tasty and there was an even distribution of sauce and cheese.  I don’t know if it was because it was 10:30 and we hadn’t eaten yet, the choice of toppings or an extra dose of love in this one, but it was one of the best.  I can’t decide if I want to try this combo again to see if it tastes as good or continue with my streak of different pizzas.

At the end of the meal I looked for the perfunctory take-out box that has become a permanent fixture in my fridge and recycle pile.  But with four of us, there was no box.  I felt sorta naked leaving.

Speaking of which, Tiffany is leaving Austin in about a month.  It’s really too bad, she’s one of the most fun people I know.  I don’t know what I’ll do without her.  Maybe I’ll have some pizza to console myself.

• Record the winning tune for Gatti’s pizza chain to win a free year of Gatti’s pizza, $10k cash and a website for your band.  While you might appear to be selling your artistic integrity for franchise-chain pizza, you will win lots of said pizza, thus making you a no-longer-starving artist.  Apparently the chain is based here in Austin, and most of the jingles so far are from Austin musicians.  If for nothing else, site worth going to for the flash image on the homepage of a pizza on a turntable.  Their emoticon looks suspiciously like mine, but I’ll let it slide.
• Pizza eating contest at Emo’s postponed to August 9.  It was supposed to be last Saturday, with a $400 prize and a $10 admission that went to charity.  Follow @emosaustin for details as they emerge.

Leo understands Spanish, Hebrew and Pizza

Paying Pizza Forward is a feature where I “buy” pizza for someone at Homeslice, we chat over lunch, and then they pick the next person to have pizza with me. Previously, I had pizza with the famous Leslie Cochran.

Leslie Outside Homeslice

Today I had pizza with Leo.  Leslie had originally chosen somebody else, who decided for whatever reason that she did not want free pizza, or at least not with me.  I didn’t really understand why, I said she could bring friends, husbands, etc, but she demurred and said she was busy.  That’s cool.  I told Leslie and he chose Leo instead.  I’m glad he did.

I was a little worried that no one could possibly be as interesting as Leslie, but Leo shined.  He’s absolutely fascinating.

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Don't mind if I do!

When I first moved to Austin last year after being out of the country for a while, I wandered into the Democratic county coordinated campaign with a resume and got a gig blogging for Turn Texas Blue (I was “The Early Bird“) under Matt Glazer, a local blogger, political consultant, and self-styled hack.  We’ve kept up, and met up for pizza not too long ago.

Most folks aren’t aware of my “pizza on me, beer on you” mantra.  I do a soft sell so the folks with a sense of humor and reciprocity will pick it up, but people who I don’t know too well won’t feel obligated to buy a $13 pitcher of beer for the privilege of free pizza.  Matt, however, was an eager adherent to the mantra, and wasted no time in ordering a pitcher of Fireman’s #4 for our weekday lunchdate.  That was fine by me.

We tried to beat the lunch rush but failed.  The work crowd made me feel a little more rushed than usual, but Matt’s a busy guy so it seemed to suit him fine.  We talked politics and teh interwebs and ate pizza on a crazy hot day.  He was impressed by my facial hair and pizza winnings, I was impressed by his career success.  Seemed like an equally mutual admiration to me.