I like Papa John.

There I said it.  I admitted my deep, dark secret.  I like Papa John's Pizza.  I really do.  It is the THICK, deep dish crust and that garlic butter dipping sauce that gets to me every time.  I will admit that I was embarrassed tonight as I carried the pepperoni pizza back home.  After all, I live in New York City.  New Yorkers brag about their pizza.  It's just one of those things, like the bagels, or street vendor hot dogs, or Mr. Softee.

Pizza shops are sprinkled throughout the city like red pepper flakes across mozzarella cheese. These are real pizza shops run by real Italians.  Fresh ingredients and fresh dough to make a real pizza.  And it's good pizza with translucently thin crust.  See, for me, the deep dish pizza is where it has always been.  I know, I know--- if I want to eat a wad of dough, I should eat a roll, or a muffin or a biscuit or something right? 

I felt like I was betraying my city by eating at $9.00 large pizza from Papa Johns.  I could have bought a slice downstairs for just $2 bucks.  But it wasn't what I had a hankering for. 

I hate to admit it, but it all started when I decided we'd have pizza and ice cream for dinner. (I've been in a junk food funk all day and even dove into Chris' Cool Ranch Doritos around 4:00 when I just couldn't take it any longer.) So, I, being the thrifty, money savvy, wife-on-a-budget that I am, decided to run to the grocery store and grab a Freschetta or DiGiorno (at the worst a Tostinos) for $5 or $6.  No big deal. Stuffed crust maybe.  Brick oven style.  Half pepperoni for Chris, half cheese for me.  I bopped into a large, well-known grocery store.  There were no frozen pizzas.  A single serving Lean Cuisine or a store brand microwavable pizza were the two options available.  I was shocked.  So, I made a second stop at the other grocery store in our neighborhood whereupon the selection was pretty much the same. (I think there may have been a Stouffer's French bread pizza-type thing too.)  No Tony's, No Red Barron smiling back at me.  

NEWS FLASH: don't expect to find frozen pizza's in your local grocers freezer in New York City.  Why?  No one eats them.  There is good pizza to be had on almost every street corner.

But, still.  I had a hankering.  So, I visited the Papa. And I will dive into my Bryer's Sara Lee Strawberry Cheesecake Ice-Cream without reservation later tonight!