Scott’s Pizza Tours
Monday, April 28th, 2008
Yesterday, I was very privileged to be a participant on the maiden voyage of Scott’s Pizza Tours. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say right up front that Scott Wiener is my friend and I want his tours to succeed beyond his wildest dreams. That being said, I had a fantastic (fantastic!!) time on the trip. As I lover of pizza (which is how Scott and I became friends, of course), I can say that it is a truly worthwhile experience and Scott has a vault of knowledge he’s ready to share with anyone and everyone.
Scott has designed tours that start in Manhattan and visit one of the outer boroughs. You are told where and when to meet, but he doesn’t tell you which borough - or which pizzerias - you’re going to … that is, until you’re headed there. I wasn’t sure how I felt about not knowing, but the element of surprise made it feel like a pizza treasure hunt. Perfect!
Every tour visits four pizzerias and everyone gets a slice of deliciousness from each location. Scott calls the pizzerias to let them know we’re coming - we don’t have time to wait around, after all. Depending on the style of the location, we sampled either a margherita or cheese pie to allow for proper comparisons. I’ll paraphrase him here: “Anyone can cover up crummy pizza with good toppings.”
Our tour met at Lombardi’s, America’s first licensed pizzeria. Scott had them ready for our arrival and we file inside to talk about their history and role in America’s pizza history. We were led to the back for a close look at their super old (and super hot!) coal burning behemoth. When you stand within a few feet of it, you can definitely feel the heat. I can hardly imagine sliding pizza in and out of this thing for a full shift.
Next, we moved on to a dining area and grabbed seats. In front of us, we found a Scott’s Pizza Tours goodie bag (which every customer receives). Inside was a mini pizza journal (for note taking), lemon candies (to cleanse the palette), Hersey’s Kisses and a gummy pizza cut into slices (so you can share it, Scott says). The goody bag is a great conversation starter and introductions from tour mates soon followed.
The first of our four pizza slices was Lombardi’s margherita. I’m going to stick brief reviews of each stop at the end of this post, but I will say that Lombardi’s was quite good. I had been there once prior (a year and a half ago-ish) and today’s was better than I remembered it. Off to a good start.
