Sometimes I forget just how much I love Two Boots Pizzeria. It’s been almost three years now since they opened one up in my home turf of Nashville. I have paid it many visits, and some of their special pies even made it to my recent “I’m now really old” birthday party.
After a recent late night musical adventure in Manhattan, I was ready for bed, but still craved a quick slice of pie. Driving through the Village, instead of seeking something new like I usually do, I said to myself “Why not hit up the Two Boots on Seventh?”. Although I have walked by this place many times in the early morning, I’ve yet to give it, or any of the other Two Boots locations (which now total 15) a try.
I made my way up Sixth and turned left on 11th. Although late, it was a busy Wednesday evening and parking was tight. I managed to find a metered space right in front. I was boldly determined to see if I could get out quick without paying the $3.50 minimum charge to the nasty meter box. My plan was to eat at the counter by the window where I could keep an eye out for the parking police!
Inside the place was as cool and colorfully stimulating as the Music City location. It looked pretty much to be the same drill with the special slices having silly names tied to famous people. I stuck with my usual plain nameless cheese slice, but my hunger and excitement made me double my order ($5.71 including tax for the pair). My plan to monitor my parking situation however hit a roadblock when I discovered all the seats in the small room occupied. I made a quick decision at the counter to get my order to go.
They put my slices into a small pizza box that I took to my vehicle. Eating while driving was out of the question as most certainly was waiting until I got home. So I simply chose to eat behind the wheel while my car violated the law by parking without paying. However, I burned up scant time since these two delicious slices didn’t take long at all to devour. They were as fabulous as the ones I get at home.
Glancing at those two slices in the box on the passenger seat I noticed that they looked floppy (the crust), flowing (the oil) and flakey (the cornmeal crust). But, as expected, they were flavorfully fabulous!
I must confess though that these guys were a little hard to eat since the cheese did not balance well on the lightly-charred crust. My solution was to do an instant full-slice fold from the get-go. But, this could have been the most awkward-eating slice of pizza in history and I still would have cared less. It’s simply so stinking good. It was even nice and warm and not overly hot. Even the excess oil and flakey cornmeal making this a messy workout didn’t bother me. I’ll say it again—Two Boot pizza just tastes so darn good! (See my Nashville write-up for some more details about the pizza itself.)
For somebody who hates chains of any kind, not just pizza, I am in love with Two Boots. On top of their great and unique tasting pizza, each location is a unique spectacle in itself. And what I realized after this visit, I need to visit each and every one of their fun locations. I suggest that you too do the same—their delicious pizza is a hard one to pass up.
PIZZA SNOB RATING ***** Sets the Standard
Two Boots Pizzeria – West Village
201 West 11th Street (corner of 7th Avenue) New York, NY 10014
212-633-9096
www.twoboots.com
