New York State of Mind

My last blog post focused on a Saratoga Springs, NY area pizza and Post Offices. I continue in Albany, NY area in this post in Schenectady, NY because, like Billy Joel, I’m still in a New York State of Mind.

Table of Contents

As usual, let’s start with our Nebalatan Word of the Day and then the majestic Schenectady Post Office and Perreca’s Bakery Pizza!

Nebalatan Word of the Day – Ma, che bell’

Ma, che bell’ (pronounced – maa-KAY-bell) – why, how beautiful! (real Italian saying – ma, che bella) https://americanitalian.net/2009/04/14/italian/

Used in context with Paul, my first roommate, a Jew, when I moved to Rochester:
- Me – “Ma, che bell’!” as I googled over girl in the disco with flowing curly brown hair. “She’s Italian!“
- Paul – “No, she’s Jewish!”
- Me – repeating, “Italian!”
- Paul – insistently “Jewish!”

This would continue for a minute or two, with neither of us with the guts to ask her to dance!

Having grown up embedded in Italian-ism, I had little interface with Protestants, yet alone, a Jew. Rochester had, and still has, both large Italian and Jewish populations. Each has their high carb treat; be it a bagel or a pizza, but their approaches to family and life are amazingly similar.

Funny thing, I have another Jewish friend named Paul that I ride with nearly daily in NY.

Schenectady, NY Post Office

The last blog introduced the stunning Saratoga Spring, NY Post Office. Where Saratoga Springs was stunning, Schenectady’s PO is MAJESTIC!

Wikipedia – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_(Schenectady,_New_York). Wikipedia says the budding was built in 1912 but the cornerstone shows 1911. Either way, it was built just after Saratoga Springs by the same architect James Knox Taylor. But the Schenectady PO is MASSIVE when compared to the Saratoga Springs PO! The picture doesn’t do its size justice.

Front of Schenectady PO – the camera’s perspective does not capture the size

I had to use Pano mode on my camera to fit the entire building into a single picture, but “being so large “massiveness” causes the building to “bow” in the picture. The bowing is actually a flat frontal façade. The optical bowing of the façade makes it look a lot like Brooklyn’s former Ebbets Field (see Wikipedia – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebbets_Field). Whereas Ebbets is on a street corner with a rounded front entrance, the Schenectady PO has a flat front.

Like most early 1900 PO’s, the exterior details are AMAZING as indicated by the sconce at left. Also, the interior’s massive lobby with incredible detail such as the line of eagles as above.

Perreca’s Bakery (website) – Schenectady, NY – 5/19/23

Full Purchased Pizza Table of 93 Pizzeria Reviews (click here).

We’ve been here before. It was GREAT. It was GREAT again!

Style	Rating	Go Back?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Notes
Tomato Pie	GREAT	Yes	Nice dough/crust taste that you’d expect from a bakery	Incredibly rich and thick, like eating the essence of a tomato!	sprinkle of Romano (I believe) adds a nice bite, but not overly aggressive amount	waxed paper since we ordered 4 cuts versus a full sheet	We’ve been here before and it was one of my favorites – STILL A FAVORITE

Ah, Perreca’s Bakery in Schenectady, NY – a timeless pizza haven that we couldn’t resist revisiting. Perreca’s does not disappoint!

The star is their Tomato Pie. It’s like a masterpiece. The dough, oh the dough! Soft, yet with a satisfying chew, it tasted like it was baked with love and a century of baking expertise. And the sauce, the heart and soul of any great pizza – it’s a revelation! Thick, luscious, and bursting with the essence of ripe tomatoes, it was a sauce to write ballads about!

There’s more – the cheese! A hefty sprinkle of Romano cheese added just the right amount of zing, a perfect balance for the dough and sauce.

We couldn’t help but reminisce about our previous visit to this delightful establishment, and you know what? Our sentiments haven’t changed – it’s STILL one of our all-time favorites!

So, there you have it, folks – Perreca’s Bakery in all its Tomato Pie glory. A place where dough dreams come true, sauce fantasies become reality, and cheese reigns supreme. Can’t wait to go back!