Meng's Playground • Pizza After Dark at Pulino's

Pizza After Dark at Pulino’s

Party

You learn something new every day. Exactly one year ago on Friday October 1, 2010, I learned:

the importance of snagging an early reservation and shooting in RAW after a very dark meal at Graffiti and no discernible photos to show for it. If you don’t Foodspot it, it’s like it never happened.
that all my efforts at being green were offset by the carbon footprint of my daily commute. This Friday morning was particularly discouraging, having traveled only 8 miles in 56 minutes. Evidence here.
that my jogging to snacking ratio that’s supposed to occur precisely at a 1:1 ratio has sadly turned into more of a 1:∞ ratio. Sitting trapped on the parking lot that’s also known as the Long Island Expressway, I dreamt about lacing up and whizzing past all the other suckers stuck in their seats. Then I’d finally have a fighting chance of meeting my Nike+ goal of working out 10 times in 4 weeks, which my phone kindly reminded me was expiring in 7 days.

Andrew

What’s with all the reminiscing?

Because my friend Andrew got all sentimental on me two days ago on October 1, 2011 as he, Erica, Desmond and I walked down Houston on our way to the New York Wine & Food Festival event Pizza After Dark at Pulino’s. He had just gotten Foodspotting’s spotter’s digest, which chronicles each of our lives through:

your good eats this week (I hope we meet again, eggs benedict!)
an icebreaker to go on a Foodspotting adventure with new friends (who wants to try Robicelli’s Buffalo Chicken Cupcake with me?)
the dish you had exactly one year ago (Had I known my way around my camera last year, I would have been staring at Graffiti’s mighty yummy pickled ginger scallops served with candied red chili)

Pizza

It was that last section that almost brought on the waterworks for me. Within the last year, I went from a number-crunching road warrior who had just discovered a little website called Foodspotting, to a star-struck camera-wielding Foodspotter on her way to an #NYCWFF event with three incredible new friends.

Oven

Before I had a chance to get all warm and fuzzy and emotional, the party has started! The wine was flowing, the pizzas were spinning, and camera flashes from fans getting a peek at Spike Mendelsohn were blowing up Pulino’s.

While Erica and I stood in the antipasti line debating if we should intervene in an unabashed case of “Chat and Cut”, Andrew magically materializes with plates full of salami, prosciutto, and cheese. Then just as the thought enters our head to get a refreshment, Andrew again, comes to the rescue with our choice—red or white.

Drinks

Then comes the stuzzichini. Egg salad and pâté crostini, stuffed razor clam and mussels, and fried stuffed olives all found a comfortable home in my tummy.

Finally we’re on to the main attraction.

Erica and me with Spike

To some, the main course was Spike Mendelsohn, who graciously took photos of fans on the verge of swooning in his tasty presence (myself included).

Concord Grape Pizza

To others, it was the pizza dripping with cheese strings stretching from plate to plate. The juicy figs, the silky prosciutto, and the concord grapes bursting to fill your mouth with sweet winey juice—who knew nibbling pizza could be so erotic? Forget oysters, I’m advocating pizza for the new hot date aphrodisiac.

Kitchen

To me though, the night was made when I slipped into the kitchen behind the air of authority granted by my camera. Now I know exactly what it’s like to be Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas stumbling upon Santa’s workshop. As I’m humming What’s This, I’m snapping away furiously. Seeing the pizza dough flying through the air and the burn marks they proudly wore on their forearms made me want to throw on an apron to jump in and seize the moment! But learning from Jack’s disaster of hijacking Christmas, I stuck to my purpose: paparazzi-ing it up.

Throw

At the end of the night, the girl with the insatiable snacking appetite was finally satisfied with a belly full of food and a CF card full of memories. I’ve truly been the luckiest girl to have these incredible friends who’ve made the last year unforgettable—and I can’t wait for next year’s Spotter’s Digest on October 1, 2012 to remind me of tonight.

Want more action shots, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes from Pizza After Dark at Pulino’s? Check out my complete photo set on Flickr.

Mushroom Pizza

Places mentioned in this post:

Pulino’s
282 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
(212) 226-1966
www.pulinosny.com

Thank you, Chef!

PS. So now a year later after the lessons learned, I’m happy to report my progress:

Although I still learning to improve my photography, I’m proud to say those particular amateur errors no longer get the best of me.
I’ve traded my car for a new pair of city-tough walking shoes that take me gallivanting around town at 6 miles per hour (according to Nike+).
Though my consumption of snack foods is still disproportionately high compared to most present-day humans, I’m starting to get back in the butt busting routine of running and unabashedly wiping out on the monkey bars at bootcamp.