On Wednesday, I got an email from my old high school and college buddy Bryan Sterling (middle, with me on the right and my buddy Rob on the left**), aka Creamy B. He said he had a business meeting in Philly on Thursday, and did I wanna grab lunch? So I though to myself, “I gotta get this guy in on the Great Pizza Hunt.” I wanted to go to Marra’s, at least partly because that was the name of a girl who broke both of our hearts in high school. But we didn’t have time, so we went to By George’s at the Reading Terminal. The pizza looked really nice, but it was completely unmemorable. Kind of bland, no real excitement. There are definitely better places to eat at the Market. Of course, before we headed back to the train station, I had to get him to try the Amish pretzels dipped in butter. Those things are freaking incredible. Anyway, here was Bryan’s take:
The “healthy” slice of pizza was surprisingly good. The whole wheat crust was delicious, but the chef pushed the envelope a little too far by topping this pizza with celery. Once I removed the celery this slice was quite enjoyable. My second slice of pizza was a more traditional pepperoni and sausage. Although I did not feel healthy eating it, it went down well and forced me to think about a third slice. I’d rate this pizza experience a 2.5 out of 5 pepperonis (vs. stars). The pizza was good but I know Philadelphia has much better pie to offer.
Yeah, I gotta go with Bryan on this one. 2.5 at best.
***About five years ago, Bryan, Rob, and I (photo, above), who all grew up within half an hour of each other, were all dating women who grew up along the New Hampshire/Mass. border, within 30 miles of each other, by sheer coincidence. The girls didn’t know each other beforehand. Rob and Bryan both got married to theirs. I eat a lot of Chinese takeout.
