Friday, January 18, 2008

A picture is worth almost half of one of my regular posts

So I'll give you two.


I really like this bridge. I wonder who owns it, and if they'd be willing to sell it?

The Brooklyn Bridge is a pretty cool landmark. Considering the job that brought me out here involves taking hundreds of high quality pictures with a digital camera every day, it seems like my photography skills should be better.

Here's a few shots of the view from the bridge.

You can hear the music, can't you? Duh-da-da-duh. Duh-da-da-duh. Duh-da-da-duh. Duh-di-da-duh. "Everywhere around the world.....they're comin' to America!"

"Today!"

I love that song.

I actually rode the subway to the Brooklyn side of the bridge so I could try the pizza at Grimaldi's, which came highly recommended by Kristina, then walk back over the bridge.

When I got there, it was obvious that Grimaldi's was at least very popular; I had to wait outside for about 45 minutes before I got in. Fortunately, just like at the Apollo, two guys got in line behind me who ended up being fun to talk to.

They were locals who complained that there wasn't a side entrance for "regulars." They described themselves as "pizza nerds" and recommended a few other places for me to try. (When they found out I was from Utah, one of them talked about the two Phish concerts he's been to at USANA.)

But the conversation really picked up when they started talking about a party they were at the night before, and one of them mentioned the bouncers were bigger than the wrestler Zeus, co-star of the "hit" movie No Holds Barred, which came out just after I started watching the WWF. I don't know which was more impressive: the fact that he knew who Zeus was, or the fact that he brought him up in a conversation in 2008.

This led us on to talk about American Gladiators, including the new incarnation of the show. We tried to name all of the original Gladiators. I don't think we got them all, but we did recall this immortal moment from all-time Gladiator great Malibu. Good times.

Postscript: the pizza was pretty good, especially the pepperoni, but there were some mitigating factors. For one, I generally prefer regular pizza to brick-oven style, as Grimaldi's is. Also, I don't know that it was worth waiting that long for, and it wasn't particularly fun eating by myself (especially since they don't sell individual slices like most pizza joints, and I had to buy a small pizza. I'll refrain from saying whether or not I needed a to-go box or not). But I'd probably go again if I had friends with me.

After crossing the bridge, I headed home...belly full and a greasy face...Jeffy's heart burning warm, Jeffy's heart burning warm...

TODAY!

8 comments:

Kristina said...

I'm glad you went to Grimaldi's. And walking back over the Brooklyn bridge became a tradition of Kurt and me last summer. I love the Brooklyn Bridge! I was sad to see it destroyed in Cloverfield. Oh well.

PS--there's a great ice cream place on the pier just across the street from Grimaldi's. It's pretty good stuff.

jeff said...

I actually got some of said ice cream after my pizza...I omitted this detail because I didn't want everyone to know I ate an entire pizza, then got ice cream too. If gospel rules against gluttony were as well defined as those against gambling/chastity/etc., I could be in trouble.

After I got my ice cream and was walking back past the line of people waiting to get into Grimaldi's, two cute girls near the back of the line stared hungrily at my two scoops of chocolate, and one of them mouthed the words "That looks so--%$#&ing--good." I offered her a bite, but she declined. Her loss.

Kristina said...

But the thing is, since the crust on Grimaldi's pizza is so thin, and then don't over-do the cheese, their pizzas are way less filling than the average pizza. So you should feel no shame in eating an entire one.
Besides, you burned off all those calories walking across the Brooklyn bridge!
..have you seen Cloverfield yet?

Anonymous said...

okay, i'm a little freaked out right now, lil bro! when you began this topic with lyrics to a song that is also one of my cheesy favorites, the phrase "jeffy's heart burning warm" instantly popped into my head. when i saw that you'd inserted that lovely prose at the end of your post, it scared me. i would chalk it up to great minds thinking alike, but it somehow seems a bit stranger than that...

Anonymous said...

one final note--the gladiators are another of my guilty pleasures, and i still enjoy watching reruns of the '80s version on ESPN classic. interestingly, the new "eliminator" seems less difficult than the old one; even though the original did not involve a swimming element (which does make the subsequent course more tricky to navigate by wet contenders), it had more obstacles and slightly harder ones to conquer (at least in my opinion). "assault" remains my favorite game--and the water element is fantastic in the renovated version!--and i am anxiously waiting to see if "atlasphere" returns, because even though it isn't particularly challenging, it is highly entertaining <=]

jeff said...

Haven't seen Cloverfield yet...

Wow, Lori, it's like you're blogging through me! Cut it out.

One Gladiators addendum: former host Mike Adamle has just been hired as an announcer for WWE! I guess he figured, "if Hulk Hogan can take my old job, I can interview the guys that took his old job." Go Mike!

Unknown said...

I came across your blog in a search for Apollo amateur night. I've never had Grimaldi's pizza, but have also heard good things....and I live in Brooklyn! You should try D'Faras though. Incredible, from the taste, to watching it being made.

jeff said...

Thanks for the tip, Joshua. I'm always excited to try new pizza places. And if you haven't been to Amateur Night, I recommend checking that out (or even auditioning) too.