The Lure of ($1) Pizza

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Scott Wiener L-O-V-E-S pizza ― and pizza could not have a better advocate.  He runs a pizza tour business in New York.  I’ve attended the tour and I’ve run into him conducting tours a number of times.  It's not just pizza the food he loves, it's also pizza technology and pizza history and pizza culture and really anything pizza.  Tell him about a restaurant with a destroyed coal oven buried in the sub-basement and he goes to investigate.  Bring up the absence of water buffalo in the United States (from whose milk mozzarella di bufala is made) and he cites economics: cows produce four times as much milk as buffalo.

So it was Scott's event, Slice Out Hunger, to which I eagerly headed this past Wednesday night.  Thirty-two New York pizzerias ― including many of the biggest in town ― donated a minimum of five pies each.  I delivered five pies from Di Fara and ten from Sam’s Restaurant.  But Jim Lahey’s Co. was there; Kesté and Don Antonio both represented (with owher Roberto Caporuscio himself serving slices); Arturo’s, Lombardi’s, Joe’s, and other classics ― plus some places I haven’t yet tried, like Cowboy Pizza and Farinella.

The money raised from the event ― $12,903 in total ― was donated to City Harvest, a non-profit that collects exceess food from restaurants and other food businesses and delivers it free of charge to community food programs throughout New York City.  Every dollar donated results in the collection and delivery of four pounds of food ― so that's over 50,000 pounds of food for people thanks to Slice out Hunger and the thirty-two pizzerias that participated!

I roved around with my Flip Video camera and documented the love people have for pizza ― love, of course, that is amplified due to the dollar price per slice, the good cause, and Scott Wiener’s vision, passion, and execution. Click top photo to watch the video.

I'll be there next year ― will you?

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Slice Out Hunger is Produced by Scott Wiener of Scott's Pizza Tours.
See Slice Out Hunger's Website for details.