Chicago's thin crust pizza is a joke! (NY Part 1)

I am back on time from New York City and it is a snowy New Year's Eve in Chicago. Coming home on Rt 59, a car in front of us skidded and we had to swerve to our left onto the median to avoid a crash. But let's go back to Friday.

First of all, I am quickly becoming addicted to Painted Yahtzee. Over the 3 days I was at his house, I played 10 games against Dad and won 6, including 3 on my final roll of the game! He took it well. But I don't think there's anyone he'd rather lose to than me.

I actually got two Whose Line Season One DVD's as a late Christmas gift! I'm very pumped up about that. Hopefully, the next few seasons will be out soon, particularly the episode with Richard Simmons...I really wanted to save some money instead of eating out at pricey restaurants so we made a boneless prime rib and I added some roasted potatoes and asparagus. His oven was built around the time gas burners were invented so it took a while to cook. Nonetheless, everything came out great. And he got some mini-cheesecakes from Junior's. The pumpkin was my fave.

Saturday was the big day. We took a 2:30 train into New York and got in a little after 3. Before the Ring of Honor show, we stopped at Tir na nog, where the post-show party was going to happen. Dad doesn't drink much, but we decided to stop in and get a drink. Much to my dismay, there was no Bass or Brooklyn Lager available, so I opted for a Smithwick's. I didn't remember that beer getting me so woozy! And Dad got the spiciest Bloody Mary he'd ever drank! So we walked by the Manhattan Center. I saw Sara Del Rey going in and said hi. We walked another 10 seconds and Claudio Castagnoli walks right by us! I wished him luck and he said thanks. He walked in and about 20 fans outside all went "Heeeeeeeeeeey!" Classic stuff.

So Dad and I started up 8th Avenue for the 11 block walk. It was a comfortable, cool, busy night in Manhattan. No wind, not too cold, no precipitation. 5 blocks in, we pass a Gray's Papaya, a famous NY hot dog joint that also serves tropical fruit drinks. The dogs are only $1.25, compared to $2.25 at Portillo's in Chicago. We each had a dog and I also had a pina colada (No alcohol in this one) drink. There was a spice to the frank that I just don't get in Chicago. They were marvelous. I used to say between the two towns, Chicago had the edge for hot dogs. Now I'd say they have the edge in toppings. We continued uptown to John's, right in the middle of the theater district. Right around us were Les Mis and the Phantom of the Opera. So we go inside into an absolutely packed waiting area. It was like a NY subway on a Monday morning rush hour. I figured we had a 90 minute wait ahead, but they told me 25 minutes and they were right. So we sat in this dining room that used to be a church and his been remodeled. The stained glass windows do give the place a very charming and relaxing feel. This is a shot of the famed ceiling.

We had to wait 10 minutes for a waiter, but we ordered a pizza that not only came out in about 5 minutes, but the taste absolutely amazed us. My half had sausage and mushrooms and Dad's side had sausage and ground beef with no cheese. The crust was crispy and chewy. The sauce was rich and very Italian. The sausage was well seasoned and tasted very fresh. Finishing my three slices was an absolute breeze. I give John's an A and I'm only taking the plus away because they don't offer free refills on drinks.

So we headed back downtown towards the Manhattan Center. On the way, Dad though he felt something on his shoe. He bent down to flick it off and felt the glass cut his index finger open.
We stopped at the New Yorker hotel (where ROH used to run shows by the way) and the doorguy was nice enough to give us bandages and Neosporin. So then we waited outside for about an hour to go in and I chatted with some NYC ROH fans and gave them the Chicago perspective. But the whole hour, I was terrified because I heard the security staff was going to check us with actual metal detectors. I had my digital camera and was very worried it was going to be confiscated. So I figured out a place to hide it and hoped and prayed for the best. Thankfully, I got it through. Then we had to climb seven flights of stairs to get to the Grand Ballroom. And Dad has a bad right knee and he wound up feeling the pain around flight #4. Finally we we reached the apex. Floor #7. Time for Ring of Honor.