Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of pizza “officially” being in America. On November 14th, 1905 New York City granted Lombardi’s Brick Oven Pizzeria a license to operate, making it the first pizzeria not only in New York City but in all of America as well. I for one love pizza and think that this auspicious occasion should be celebrated by one and all. Here are a few reasons why:

• It is everywhere, its quick and its convenient. Doesn’t matter what time of day it is – if you are hungry, there is a pizzeria nearby and you’ll have a slice in your belly in no time flat.
• It is like sex – even when its bad its good.
• It contains all 5 food groups in one tasty slice: grains (the dough), fruits & vegetables (the sauce), dairy and calcium-rich foods (the cheese), proteins (if in fact you get sausage, pepperoni or chicken on your slice) and fats and oils (the stuff that turns 2-3 napkins translucent).
• It is the perfect compromise: “You want to cook?” “Not really.” “You want Chinese?” “Nah.” “Thai?” “Nah.” “Italian?” “Eh, not really.” “Well, what about just pizza then?” “Pizza? Yeah, I can do that…”
• It is a good indicator of inflation. A slice of pizza almost always mirrors the cost of a subway ride. Going back to when a slice was a nickel, economists have shown that the slice of a piece of pizza and a ride on the subway have remained almost equal for the last 100 years. When you see a slice of regular pizza hit $2.25 or $2.50, look out for an MTA fare hike. For about a year a plain slice was $2.00 while the subway was only $1.50 a ride so I knew something was coming and sure enough, the MTA raised the fares. Coincidence? I think not.
• Some of the best commercials have been for pizza. Any of these ring a bell? “Avoid the Noid.” “Regular price, Four bucks, Four bucks.” “Its not delivery, its DiGiorno.” And don’t get me started on the Little Caesar’s commercials. In fact, I’m going to try and hunt down my favorite pizza commercials and post them here.

If you have any other reasons why you think pizza is so fantastic, post a comment and let me know. If you don’t like pizza, I want to hear from you too because I just don’t see how that is possible…