This blog post explains another of our locker room slang “Chooch!” and there’s a new Great Pizza Search (GPS) #22 to Wiseguy Pizzeria in Hammondsport, NY.
“You Big Chooch”
Another locker room, and even high school hallway, slang was “you chooch!” or “you big chooch!” or “you choochadell!” This word had different meanings depending upon the context and location.
Chooch is an Neopolitan-American shortened version of the Tuscan (Formal Italian) word ciuccio which translates into “donkey.”
In the locker room, when I was called a chooch by a teammate, or even Coach Mel (more on Coach Mel in the future), I was being called an a$$ or a$$hole given that a donkey is an a$$. In this context, “chooch” would mean “stubborn or idiot!”
In the context of the hallways at school, many of my teammates (especially Carmen I.), or even friends, would routinely say “Hey, Choochadell!” “Choochadell” was a further Americanized take off of the word ciucciariello which means “little donkey” in Neapolitan.
“You, choochadell” you were being called “little donkey” or in other words “you, little a$$” or better translation would be “you, little sh$t!” For me, “choochadell” always felt like a term of endearment. I didn’t know why…but, now I might!
Way back in 1926, after some disasterous play, my beloved SSC Napoli, earned the name “I Ciucciarelli!” Whereas many teams in Serie A (the top Italian league) have nicknames like the Wolves and Witches, WE HAVE “I CIUCCIARELLI!”
Though the nickname has been largely replaced by “Gli Azzurri” (the Blues) or “Partenopei” (another, long Neapolitan story!), a donkey is still used today!
So, somewhere in the depths of my DNA was a soft spot for the word choochadell (ciuciariello) that likely spawned my love for SSC Napoli!
How I became such a big fan of SSC Napoli is also for another story, but suffice it to say, on Sundays, I have two large screens running in my house; one with the Browns and another with SSC Napoli! By Sunday evening, I’m hoarse, but very happy!
GPS #22 – Wiseguy Pizzeria, Hammondsport, NY
Last week, T texted and asked if I wanted to ride 50 +/- miles with him. I said, “Great. Let’s do one of the Finger Lakes!” He quickly agreed.
Given that T is still building up his mileage and time in the saddle, I suggested Keuka Lake since it’s a pretty flat, 45 mile loop. Strava Link Here.
I decided to go down early and get in another 17 mile loop north out of Penn Yan, NY to catch a PO that I’d not previously captured in Beltona, NY.
After my short loop, I met T back in Penn Yan, and we headed out on our loop around Keuka Lake. This route would add the Pulteney and Hammondsport PO’s. We had to climb a massive hill to get up to Pulteney and immediately descend the hill down into Hammondsport.
On the way into Hammondsport, T mentioned that he was hungry (which has been a normal saying in his 27 years!). So, thinking quickly, I said, “How about pizza?”
Again, a normal response from T when it comes to food, “Sure!”
A quick review of Google Maps, we discovered Wiseguy Pizzeria only a couple of doors from the PO.
Ambiance and Presentation
- From the outside, it’s a brick building, but it’s newish
- Inside had seating, but the tables were along the front window
- Thankfully, there were several picnic tables on the outside
- The pizza was presented to us on paper plates (at our request)
- Rating – not quite good, but better than MEH
Dough/Crust – Thin in the middle, thicker near the cornicione, soft, but no crunch. No crunch at Cornicione. Unfortunately, the pizza was a ittle greasy which might have caused the lack of crunch. Crust Rating – MEH
Cheese – there was lots of cheese which was tasty and added a nice salty taste. Cheese Rating – Good
Sauce – it wasn’t readily apparent, it seem lost in the abundance of cheese. Sauce Rating – MEH
Overall Rating – MEH
Would I Go Back? – only if I have to! Since it’s the only game in the town of Hammondsport, you’re kinda’ stuck 😦
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