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$5 Pizza - The Seinfeld Way

Five bucks.

That’s all I paid for two slices of pizza, a hefty little salad, and a soda.

Taking the ancient revived 1946 trolley again, ending up at America Plaza.

Looked out the window. Wow. Another deal?

Jump off, and into a pizza joint right on the platform.

Looks new, specially after this ol' trolley...

The 1946 trolley at America Plaza

But turns out Giovanni’s has been quietly filling bellies for the past 2-1/2 years.

Giovanni's platform sign

Never mine, till now. Yes I’d noticed it, in a rush, and then forgot about it in a rush.

But here it is, Giovanni’s Trattoria (One, America Plaza, suite 150, right on the southbound platform, 600 W. Broadway, at Kettner, 619-595-1600).

And it's mid-afternoon, and I'm hungry.

What’s good is you can pretty much hop off the trolley, grab a slice, and get back on before it takes off again...Jes' like the Seinfeld episode this guy Luis R. talked about on Yelp. (Look for "Seinfeld – Gyros," YouTube.)

The Blue Line I'm transferring to has gawn already, so I get talking to Alain, behind the counter. He and the whole crew here are Assyrians from, like, Babylon, Nineveh, Ur. Talk about ancient! Assyrians have to be candidates for the most ancient peoples since civilizations started. Part of Iraq now, of course.

Alain says slices are $2.75, and specialties like calzone, stromboli (kinda rolled pizza crust with stuff inside), and other bolis like Italian or veggie) go for around $4.50, or $8.50 for large.

But he has that $5 special going. Two slices, salad, soda. And actually I am kinda pressed, so I go for it. Get a slice of pepperoni and a slice of chicken with buffalo BBQ sauce squirted in brown circles around it. Alain tosses them in the oven for a minute, then brings them over piping hot with the salad.

What $5 buys

Wow. The sweet taste that the chicken slice has going is great with the Coke I’ve poured myself. The pepperoni ain’t half bad either.

The pepperoni, and the chicken buffalo BBQ sauce slice

All in all I would never have even gotten my arm back in the trolley (see the Seinfeld), and actually miss an extra Blue Line.

But hey, that gives me fifteen minutes more to chat with Alain about what pizzas are like back where he - and I'm betting pizzas themselves - were born. ("Pizza," "pita:" coincidence? I think not.)

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Five bucks.

That’s all I paid for two slices of pizza, a hefty little salad, and a soda.

Taking the ancient revived 1946 trolley again, ending up at America Plaza.

Looked out the window. Wow. Another deal?

Jump off, and into a pizza joint right on the platform.

Looks new, specially after this ol' trolley...

The 1946 trolley at America Plaza

But turns out Giovanni’s has been quietly filling bellies for the past 2-1/2 years.

Giovanni's platform sign

Never mine, till now. Yes I’d noticed it, in a rush, and then forgot about it in a rush.

But here it is, Giovanni’s Trattoria (One, America Plaza, suite 150, right on the southbound platform, 600 W. Broadway, at Kettner, 619-595-1600).

And it's mid-afternoon, and I'm hungry.

What’s good is you can pretty much hop off the trolley, grab a slice, and get back on before it takes off again...Jes' like the Seinfeld episode this guy Luis R. talked about on Yelp. (Look for "Seinfeld – Gyros," YouTube.)

The Blue Line I'm transferring to has gawn already, so I get talking to Alain, behind the counter. He and the whole crew here are Assyrians from, like, Babylon, Nineveh, Ur. Talk about ancient! Assyrians have to be candidates for the most ancient peoples since civilizations started. Part of Iraq now, of course.

Alain says slices are $2.75, and specialties like calzone, stromboli (kinda rolled pizza crust with stuff inside), and other bolis like Italian or veggie) go for around $4.50, or $8.50 for large.

But he has that $5 special going. Two slices, salad, soda. And actually I am kinda pressed, so I go for it. Get a slice of pepperoni and a slice of chicken with buffalo BBQ sauce squirted in brown circles around it. Alain tosses them in the oven for a minute, then brings them over piping hot with the salad.

What $5 buys

Wow. The sweet taste that the chicken slice has going is great with the Coke I’ve poured myself. The pepperoni ain’t half bad either.

The pepperoni, and the chicken buffalo BBQ sauce slice

All in all I would never have even gotten my arm back in the trolley (see the Seinfeld), and actually miss an extra Blue Line.

But hey, that gives me fifteen minutes more to chat with Alain about what pizzas are like back where he - and I'm betting pizzas themselves - were born. ("Pizza," "pita:" coincidence? I think not.)

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This pizza counter keeps on going

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East Village: Country fried chicken for trolley watchers

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