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Friday, April 9, 2010

Al's New York Cafe #3 Combo Pizza


Al's New York Cafe large Combo #3

It's Friday night and for us tonight that means pizza! I'd never heard of Al's New York Cafe until a couple nights ago when I came across Kari O.'s Yelp review. After reading that 5-star review, I had to have me some Al's pizza. Looking Al's up online, I perused the pizza menu and opted for the large combo #3 as it's the closest thing to what we typically get.

After ordering we rolled on over to Al's New York Cafe, a small joint next to a 7-11 off of 17th Street. I liked the little sign they had on the building. Short and to the point. I didn't get all under the awning to read the top of the sign, but I get the impression it said something like "you've tried the others now try the best!" When we arrived the "open" neon sign was off and there were bags of trash out front. Evidently, it's closing time.

We brought the generic brown box home and I was impressed with what I saw -- the colors were fantastic! Looking at the pie, I could tell that the ingredients were fresh; the mushrooms didn't come from a can!


Rodney and I pulled a slice each and the tips were just slightly saggy. That could be from the weight of the toppings as they were primarily central in pie location. I prefer toppings to be evenly distributed. I'm a snob that way. Don't roll your eyes -- who likes to eat all the topping right at the tip and get to the crust and only have cheese, sauce, bread and a wayward pepperoni?


Looking at the paper on which the pie sat, it was evident there was a lot of moisture. I guess that is to be expected with fresh vegetables. It's likely that contributed to the slice-tip-sag.


Sure enough, just as expected for a #3 combo per the Al's site there were pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage chunks, fresh mushrooms, onions and green peppers and black olives. How fresh the black olives were, well, they're black olives.


All in all, a tasty pizza. Nothing about it really wowwed either of us. It tasted good, but wasn't exceptional. The crust, while light and sort of fluffy, wasn't at all exciting. The sauce served it's purpose, lubing the crust, but didn't provide any pizazz. The cheese, while very good, was put on with a slightly heavy hand. Vegetables were the highlight of the pie as they were indeed fresh.

Should we go meatless again in the future, I'll be ringing Al's for the #2 fresh veggie combo. I bet that's just slammin'!

Al's New York Cafe large #3 combo pizza is $17.50 or $19.03 with tax. Don't forget to leave a toke (which is a tip to you no-casino-frequenting folk).

1 comments:

Open Neon Sign said...

Friday nights and pizza are a match made in heaven! Your impromptu visit to Al's New York Cafe, sparked by a compelling Yelp review, evokes curiosity. Despite the minor setback of arriving at closing time, the anticipation for their combo #3 pizza builds excitement. The succinct signage hints at a promise of culinary excellence, leaving a lasting impression. Sometimes, the best pizza discoveries arise from unexpected adventures. Here's to hoping your next visit to Al's is met with the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked pies!