Pizza Judges Reunite

Recently there was some bad news for Albany pizza lovers. It was announced that Pasquale’s is up for sale.

Those from outside the region may not quite understand the magnitude of this bulletin. Pasquale’s was the reigning champion for two consecutive years in All Over Albany’s Tournament of Pizza. The first year it vanquished Pizza King’s chicken marsala pie, and the second year it bested the pizza pin-wheeled with nightshades from Nunzio’s in Saratoga Springs.

The third year it came out on top in the Albany bracket, only to lose in the semi-final veggie round based on too-large chunks of green bell pepper. After ten winning pies in a row, one came out that was less than extraordinary. I guess everyone can have a bad day.

Anyhow, upon hearing that this powerhouse of a pizza shop may no longer be with us for long, I tried to rally my fellow judges and favorite All Over Albany editors for a commemorative meal at one of the best pizza joints in the region.

Last night we descended, and I ate like a monster.

Seriously, there were eight adults and we ordered three large pies and one small pie. All the judges were there except for Albany Jane, so that means you will see no pictures from the night. You will just have to be satisfied with words.

One of the best scoring pies of all time in the Tournament of Pizza was Pasquale’s 2009 entry in the sausage round. They put some mighty fine loose ground sausage on their pizza. But last night the kitchen had an insufficient amount of the stuff. It was enough only to make one small pie.

I did get a little nibble of it, and it was even more intensely flavored than I had remembered. It’s great stuff. The best of the non-sausage pies were the margherita with its fresh bright basil and the onions and peppers.

Only after the fact did I realize we had ordered a topping (the green peppers) that we all had collectively been unhappy with in the past. Maybe that 2010 pizza was an anomaly; maybe our constructive criticism was heard and acted upon. But whatever the cause, these green peppers were sliced thin and well integrated into the rest of the pie.

But this night wasn’t really about the food.

In fact, it was a huge relief to be among these great fans of pizza and not have to talk about pizza. It was a lot of fun to sit and eat without having to deconstruct each slice and rate it on a scale of one to five. We could just eat this crispy, corn meal dusted, thin crust pizza, with its vibrant sauce and umami-licous cheese, and catch up with each other.

This night was about getting back to a place that I really have enjoyed but had not visited in an unspeakably long time. When I first heard the news of a potential sale, I blamed myself. I blamed myself for not going more. I blamed myself for not continuing to remind people about this great pizza here in Albany, as I continue on my explorations to find other new great things.

It seems like I was not the only one who felt the same way.

In the weeks since the announcement, apparently business has picked up at Pasquale’s. And maybe, just maybe, if people continue to come in with this increased frequency, the owner of Pasquale’s will find a rekindled enthusiasm to run the day-to-day operations of the place.

It would be a shame if her interpretation of pizza was no longer available in Albany at any price. In fact, I couldn’t even tell you where to go to get anything similar.

I may still have to get back one last time for a sausage pizza of my own, where I can eat all the sausage myself, and not have to share it with anyone. You should too.