John's Pizzeria 278 Bleecker St New York, NY 10014-4105 Phone: (212) 243-1680

Date and time of trip: October 11, 2003, 1:25 PM
People Present: Audrey, Tien, Guest Reviewers: Ingrid, Jessica, Rachelle
Pre-meal Events: Two openhousenewyork events.
Weather: sunny and 68°
Hunger Factors: Audrey - starving, Tien - hungry, Ingrid - hungry, Jessica- very hungry, Rachelle - kind of hungry (it should be noted that all guest reviewers were in bad shape with various maladies)

Pizza Ordered: 1 Large Pepperoni, 1 Large Plain
Beverages: Audrey - Water, Tien - Water, Ingrid - Coke, Jessica- Diet Coke, Rachelle - Diet Coke

Cost:
$16 for a large pepperoni pie, $14 for a large plain pie, $1.50 per drink

Review:
The crust at John's Pizzeria was chewy and thin, but almost too thin. With most of Tien's previous experiences at John's, the crust has been slightly burnt on one side, but on this day, it was not burnt at all. This led to a chewy crust and not a crisp one. The crust also seemed rather bland, which was only noticeable with the plain pie. The pepperoni added the requisite salt for Audrey, who restrained from adding salt. Rachelle, however, did add salt but she adds salt to everything. The pepperoni was the typical type you get from your local pizza place and not like Grimaldi's, but it was crisp and toasty which added to the pepperoni pie. Also like your regular pizza place was the sauce. While some of the other establishments on the Review Page use fresh tomatoes, it seems that the sauce at John's is just your normal everyday pizza sauce. Tien noted at the time that it "doesn't add or take away." One of the biggest issues for the people present was the cheese. Again, this was your normal cheese, it didn't seem like fresh mozzarella, which always makes a pizza better. The cheese pie was very cheesy, almost too cheesy in some people's opinion. Ingrid nearly choked on the plain slice twice. If you're a dining establishment, you never want your patrons to refer to the poster about choking on the walls. Rachelle's last slice was actually all cheese and no sauce.

The atmosphere at John's is a mix of old and new. The booths they have for seating are clearly older since they have been carved into by previous customers. Tien remembers the main dining area being the same from when he was a child. The new comes in the form of the top-40 radio station that they pump over their speakers, playing music by the likes of Dunkan Sheik and others. Service could have been faster, with the order, drinks, and drink refills taking a while. The pizza itself came rather quickly.

Comments to take away:
"Very Cheesy", "Somewhat Slow Service", "Location Adds to Popularity"

Overall Ratings (out of 5):
Audrey:
Tien:
Average:

For more comments, take a look at the CitySearch page for it.