I've done hot wing challenges when I lived back in Florida that nearly made me throw up. The kitchen staff cooks with gloves and masks and they open up every window and door in the joint. The hardest one I did was to eat a dozen wings in less than 10 minutes, and then you can't drink anything for 5 minutes afterwards. It's been a while since I've done one of these challenges, might be time to get back in the game.
Thanks for the post, I live a few blocks away and love Sam's. While the pizza is great, I go for the scungili fra diavola. Very few places serve this oh-so-often forgotten about dish. Just a plate of chopped up scungili with a spicy red sauce. Simple and perfect. The only other place I can think of right now that has the dish is Randazzo's on Sheepshead Bay, but even that is a bit different. Keep Sam's alive!
I grew up in Miami eating Mike's Pizza at least twice a week, and he always made his sicilian slices this way, I think it's the best
Visited 8/3/08; the whole meal took about an hour and a half (we ate the pizza during the last half hour). True to form it was delicious, and the secret to passing the time here would be to "sample" (rather than "peruse") the beer and wine menu.
My suggestion: get a Manhattan, delicious and stiff, really helps build up the appetite. Then go home and watch "Mad Men" to complete your time trip to the 1960's!
too bad the phaal has zero taste and only heat. and even the heat wasn't balanced, it only hit the back of the mouth
i ate one, but wasn't impressed
haha great story! Capsaicin in chillies is water insoluble so drinking water won't help. However, the good news is capsaicin is fat or alcohol soluble. So drinkin a glass of milk, yogurt, or even beer will help "wash" the nightmarish solution down and get your tongue ready for more! Love your stories!
@liwinegirl: I was feelin' pretty bubbly and felt like a dragon had breathed fire into my belly for two hours. Okay, maybe that's a little over-the-top... but it does stick with you for a bit, haha. All worth it for bragging rights, though!
@Moosie82: As I told my other friend who is Korean and was interested in trying it... "You already have a leg up by being Korean!" Hahaha.
Just moved in nearby and had our first visit to Sam's. It was hilarious. First the waiter asked us what we were doing there and told us they have terrible food. Multiple times he referred to Sam, who he called "Son of Sam", his father-in-law, the stooped old man who shuffled out from the kitchen at the end of our meal. He gave us his life story including how when he was dating his wife she left the country and he dated 11 of her best friends that summer.
He also told us that THE scene in the Godfather was filmed there - but not the part in the bathroom, that was filmed somewhere else.
Go for the stories and the scenery, not for the food. The crust on the pizza was great and salty, but we thought it was a little over-cheesed.
Emily, you make me proud to be Korean. :) Now I wonder if I can do it......
Emily, I think I am definitely up for the challenge, as I am drawn to spicy even when it hurts. I am also, however, curious about the after effects (even pepperoni on pizza gives me heartburn!). The thrill of victory aside, how were you holding up later on?
oh, wouldn't you know! i lived a ten minute walk from sam's for twelve years and only ate there once, and it wasn't pizza. now i live on the other side of the moon {washington heights}.
hey adam, i wanted to ask you if you were familiar with a slice place on 9th avenue in the 50's. it's on the west side of the street near alvin ailey dance studios. i had a slice of pizza there a few years ago and thought it was terrific. do you know it?
thanks!
Damn. This was just added to my ever shrinking "must visit". I have a feeling this is going to sneak into my top 10 5 Boroughs pies list.
@BrianPrestonCampbell: Probably more like an hour and a half to kill. ;) I think, all in, we were there about an hour and a quarter. You're a food stylist and obviously have an eye for photography, so I think you'd really appreciate the space for its visual appeal.
@Q80: Sadly, I would have had to have had the pizza here back in the day, when it was coal-fired, to make that comparison. I'd say that they're doing a great job of it with the gas-fired brick-oven pies but would love to see what they could do with coal. When I asked Louis about the oven, he said it was coal many years ago "but it's since been converted to clean natural gas." What's funny about that is that all these folks as of late are finding and restoring old coal ovens to working condition (like South Brooklyn Pizza several blocks down Court Street) while Louis almost seemed to point out with pride that Sam's oven had been converted the other way. I'm sure for Sam's it's much easier to pipe in gas rather than deal with coal delivery and the attendant stoking and ash removal, but it's like they're sitting on a goldmine back there—an oven many places would kill for—and they're content with the gas thing. Next time I go, I'll try to strike up a conversation with them on the oven history, etc., and ask why they changed and if they ever consider going back, but I'm sure they have their reasons and there ain't nothin' gonna change 'em.
@fishermb: That's not surprising that they do scungilli fra diavola there, then. Sam's is like the place that time forgot. And bless 'em for it.
@norman: "I gave back as good as I got ... " Hahahahah. That does not surprise me the least bit.
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