We the Displeased

Having raved about former Top Chef contender Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery earlier this week, I went to try his newest establishment, We The Pizza, last night. With high hopes of being transported into happy town, I was underwhelmed and frustrated with his New York-style pizzeria. Located right next door to Good Stuff, the place appeared to be set up similary on the inside. Seating upstairs, big menu displayed on the wall above the counter, and open kitchen.

But the service and the food itself left much to be desired. When I arrived with friends Julie and Laura, there wasn't much of a line yet. And behind the counter and display glass, there were at least ten people working, if not more: a few spinning raw dough and adding toppings to new pies, a few working the registers, a few pulling pies in and out of the oven, a soda maker and two people handling the order buzzers and handing out of food.

Then why did it take forever for them to serve us our already-baked slices of pie? How long does it take to toss a chopped salad together? If only they would've spent all that time making sure the food had more flavor, then the wait would've been worth it. Instead I was left with settling for an OK meal. It wasn't terrible, but I expected more from Spike.

Here's the Chop Salad. Complete with sundried tomatoes, chopped ice berg, red onion and slices of salami, ham and provolone, it could've used much more vinegar, or salt even in the dressing. The red-wine vinaigrette was over-used and tasted like plain vegetable oil.

The pepperoni were great, but the piece itself was crunchy on bottom due to reheating and slightly charring. I thought it tasted fine, albeit somewhat bland. I would have to say I prefer Sbarro's over this. Though, presentation wise, it looked like a winner.

Last and least was the white pizza. It tasted like plain American cheese on bread. The bottom was very crunchy, but burned black like a piece of charcoal. There wasn't even a hint of garlic and zero punch from the some of the sharp white cheeses they used.

Here's to hoping that these are just "kinks" that can be worked out over time. I will go back to try a different slice of pizza and the spaghetti and meatballs. I haven't given up completely, yet