John's Pizza: A Religious Experience? Or Carved Pews?

Strangely enough, I ended up at John's pizza for the first time ever on Monday. And then, within that same week, I ended up there again. Both times by chance, not by planning.

Monday night I attended the famous Window's on the World Wine tasting class. A bit middle-school esque, I left with no real complaints since the wines themselves were mostly delicious. Though, I will still argue that the dilemma with the Italian wines was not "aging" as the world-renowned instructor articulated, but rather the fact that the wines were bottled in 2004 from Tuscany. I happened to be living in Tuscany at the time and was told on many, many occasions that I should not drink wine from 2004 as it was a poor year for the soil. Moving along...

After the wine class, my roommate Dawson and I were feeling rather famished, so we headed to John's. The uptown version is owned by a different owner than the downtown establishment, and is considered to be more fancy (there are actually two uptown, both owned by the same owner). The one by the neon Square is inside an old cathedral, so it's shocking when you enter. From the outside, it seems as though it is any typical NYC hole-in-the-wall pizza joint, except for the rather large sign that states, "No slices." (Something they seem to be quite proud of.) Once you step inside, it's as though you're truly stepping into a different world--huge space, monstrous ceilings, all walks of life for clientele. Now, John's is known for their pizza, but we were both fiending for pasta, so that's what we ordered. My arrabiata was spicy, but the sauce was lacking. The pasta itself was obviously boxed and nothing special. We had a half carafe of chianti that, after our Italian and Spanish wine class, was rather "turned." Not great, but really cool atmosphere.

Then, I had the downtown experience. Walking around on a rainy day, this seemed a good place to warm up and enjoy some pizza and brew. Brad and I ordered the 14 inch meatball pizza, and I ordered a coke--not too much ice, so I was pleased. Brad ordered water. The pizza arrived swiftly, not giving us enough time to enjoy the carvings on the pew-like benches that we were perched on. I say perched because they were insanely uncomfortable, the backs were too straight and the seat was too narrow. The ceilings had the old tin roofs, popular for that neighborhood (Bleeker street, around West Village). On the wall was a mural of the grotto in Capri, known for the blue lights. The meatballs were delectable, sliced thin, offering just enough flavor without overpowering the rest of the pizza. Crust was thin and oven-burned. Neat fact, the oven inside this establishment is the same oven as when the joint opened in 1929. It's still working wonderfully, in my opinion. The cheese was perfectly proportioned, and the sauce was sweet and tangy and an amazing accomplice to the cheese, meatball, and crust. Made me completely forget that I was sitting on a rather uncomfortable wooden bench. We devoured the pizza in about five minutes (well, Brad in two), and felt satiated, but not too full.

Verdict: ORDER THE PIZZA. Downtown is a lot more chill and definitely more my style. (This place was used as a dining experience in the movie "Manhattan"). If they had added fresh basil (which you could order for about two dollars more), this may have been as good as Grimaldi's in Brooklyn (my favorite pizza place). Definitely a close second and something worth checking out, especially if you want something affordable in a crazily priced metropolis.