Will S.
Yelp
You close your eyes, you're a young boy circa 1948 in Sicily. You're a good kid. A well respected kid with a strong family presence. But you like to get into mischief. You're a kid after all.
It's been a couple years since the war ended. Your life is beginning to take shape. It's finally time to live how a kid should. Free from worry, not a care in the world.
School ended early today so you and your pal Emilio go messing about in the fields behind the house. Mom got a new job working as a bank teller. Dad is working in the minds, has been for some time, won't be home til late. You know how hard he works and how little respect he gets. Deep down you admiring everything about him while at the same time wanting a better life for yourself.
You and Emilio hear a yell from the house. Not a frightened yell, a stern one. You know exactly what it's about. As you rush in the side door, an intoxicating aroma hits you all over (yes even down under). As you rush in, Grandma Angela (you call her Nona) yells at you to set the table. She's a stern woman, but very fair and very much ahead of her time. You set the table. It's hot inside. Only 1 small fan in the corner barely blowing. But it's a good kind of hot. The kind that makes you sweat a little bit but doesn't take your breath away.
And then Nona serves you both. "3 blows then bite" she says. You do exactly what you're told. The rest is magic.
Now open your eyes. We aren't in 1940s Sicily anymore. We're in a different time now, some may say a more dangerous time. There isn't much we have left to connect us to our ancestors, however Paulie Gees in Hampden serves as that bridge back to the past that is so rare to come by these days. You walk into an aesthetically pleasing restaurant. It feels like home. It feels like Nona, may she rest in peace (black lung disease). It's hot in there. But that hit of no artificial air or AC brings you back to childhood. Back when you didn't care about the rooms temperature, all you wanted was the food. And the food. My god. It's as if you're transported back to that old stone house, Nona telling stories about the war, about Pop and how brave he was (gunned down late by German forces)
The perfect ratio of cheese to sauce. The perfection seems accidental, in the best way possible. The pepperonis feel like they were taken right out of the towns butcher shop in '48. A couple old Italian hacks talking about the glory days and the women they met across the globe, before handing you a bushel of the most supple and delicious pepperonis you've ever tasted. Even the drinks. Cooled perfectly, clear ice, just like back home.
In a time where feeling that sensation of our history can be so rare, Paulie Gees hits you with a blast from the past, in all the right places.
#BmorePizzaTour