[Photograph: DNAinfo/Chloe Riley]
Oh boy. This week has had some memorable pizza moments. Here's what's hitting the headlines:
- In Chicago, a pair of graffiti artists have combined my two favorite things in the whole wide world: Pizza and monkeys. Their new mural in Pilsen is pretty rad.
- Pizza bridged political divides (again) this week, in the form of a rather *cheesy* apology. According to this article in The New York Times, "In one heated meeting, a top Democratic immigration policy adviser yelled at another Senate aide, but Mr. McCain thought he was yelling at him. Mr. McCain exploded—and then bought the adviser a cheese pizza as an apology after he realized his mistake." Awwww.
- Pizza Sabotage? Michael Jordan's personal trainer has some 16-year-old breaking news you simply have to hear! Grover told ESPN's True Hoop TV that the basketball player's famed 1997 "Flu Game" was actually a case of food poisoning. From PIZZA! Even worse? That very same trainer had a bad feeling about it the whole time. GASP! You can watch the full video here or read the transcript, quoted below.
- Philly pizza institution Lorenzo & Sons, which suffered a debilitating fire last summer, is due to finally re-open in just two weeks, according to Philly.com.
Yes, 100 percent poisoned. Everyone called it a 'Flu Game,' but we sat there and we were in the room. We were in Park City, Utah, up in a hotel. Room service stopped at like nine o'clock. He got hungry and we really couldn't find any other place to eat. So we said eh, the only thing I can find is a pizza place. So we says all right, order pizza. We had been there for a while. Everybody knew what hotel. Park City was not many hotels back then. So everyone kind of knew where we were staying. So we order pizza. Five guys came to deliver this pizza. I take the pizza and I tell them: 'I've got a bad feeling about this. ... I've just got a bad feeling about this.' Out of everybody in the room, [MJ] was the only one who ate. Nobody else had it. And then 2 o'clock in the morning I get a call to my room. Come to the room. He's curled up in the fetal position. We're looking at him, finding the team physician at that time. Immediately I told him it's food poisoning. Not the flu."
About the author:Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.