Table of Contents
- PicWay’s Musical Way-Back Machine
- Nebaletan Word of the Day – Giamoke!
- Pizza Review – Grandpa Pizzi’s Place
This the 2nd of 3 parts about my first “real” job working at PicWay Shoe Mart.
PicWay’s Musical Way-Back Machine
The melodies that wove through PicWay—the soundtrack of my workday, the beat echoing all day long off shoe racks.
In the late 1970s, Ashtabula’s radio landscape was modest. AM stations like WREO (see here) and WAQI (see here) held sway. But, they lacked music. While Cleveland’s signals were iffy during the day, perhaps due to the old transistor stereos’ inability to filter electromagnetic interference.
And then there was Erie—the beacon of K-104 (WCCK), playing Top-40 hits all day over PicWay’s PA system. The rhythm of retail life!
The music, steeped in ’70s vibes, was the heart of my work routine. It helped to ease the boredom of re-arranging shoes. The shoes were often de-arranged by the cattle stampede. This refers to customers who didn’t have the same obsessive compulsion for perfect shoe placement as me. Top-40 hits on repeat. Every couple of hours, the same song would serenade me and ease the pain of shoe disorder. Those tunes etched themselves into memory as most songs do from one’s senior year of high school.
I can remember working on Bicentennial Day, July 4, 1976. We were open as was much of retail in Ashtabula Plaza. Most of our customer base would not be working. What the heck, why not go and buy a cheap pair of shoes?!
If you peruse the Top-40 chart from that day (Top Songs of 1976 – Top40weekly), you will find these songs. They were on consistent repetition on K-104. That repetition burned the words and melody of most into my brain! Two in particular—like old friends—stick with me, bridging the years and fill large holes within my grey matter.
and, altough I’m not a fan of Baltimore (like the Stillers, the Raisens suck too), I love this:
I’d be-bop around the store all day while singing under my breath and rearranging shoes after a customer “de-shelved” them!
Why these two in particular? Who knows? But, whenever they make their way through my 70’s playlists, I stop and say to Cathy “There’s another PicWay song!”
Nebaletan Word of the Day – Giamoke!
The other day, my buddies and I went out for about a 50-mile ride. From our homes, we typically head east to the neighboring county. This is Wayne County, also known as ‘315’ for its different area code. Wayne is mainly rural, with beautiful farms, rolling hills, and quintessential small Upstate towns that boast great coffee! Their population mostly borders our county, Monroe, which houses Rochester.
As we neared our return to our county, we were buzzed by some friggin’ 315 GIAMOKE! This friggin’ 315 GIAMOKE was driving a box truck that grazed my elbow while I was holding onto my handlebars! The same thing must have happened to my riding buddies. Before I knew it, we were all high-tailing it after that box truck.
The friggin’ 315 GIAMOKE then pulls into a nearby driveway and hops out, yelling at us.
So, my buddies and I followed him right into his friggin’ 315 GIAMOKE driveway and started yelling back. The friggin’ 315 GIAMOKE, sporting a camo Bills hat, approached us, raising his voice an octave. Not to be outdone, my buddies and I raised our voices another octave, almost in perfect harmony!
This brings us to the Nebaletan Word of the Day: Giamoke/Giamocc’/Jamoke—pronounced JAW-MOKE.
I don’t recall my immediate family using this word, although I remember Capo Carm and Capo Donnie did. So, I reached out to them for their families’ definitions. Their definitions included: idiot, chooch (see TOC for definition), lazy and unmotivated, big and lumbering.
So, who’s the most friggin’ of the friggin’ GIAMOKES? 315 or us? Given those definitions, I’d say the whole lot of us were friggin’ GIAMOKES that day!
Pizza Review – Grandpa Pizzi’s Place
158th pizza reviewed, 38th this year (see full list => click here)
In late July, I went on a bike ride from Ashtabula along Lake Erie to Conneaut. I wanted to get a picture of the Conneaut HS football field. It was the location the only quarterback hit of my HS “career”.
I wanted to play D more often. The coaches had other ideas. Figgin coaches! At least my parents never talked to the coach like happened to me many times during my long coaching tenure! Kids and parents have sure changed since “my” day!
Incidentally, why do we call it “my day” and a ‘high school career?’ It makes it feel like we’re at the end of the line at 18.
As I tooled around Conneaut Harbor looking for that field, IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I SAW THIS!?!?!
From the start of this blog, the original Pizzi’s has been my definition of a JOINT! I’ve described it before. In my mind’s eye, a JOINT is a corner brick building. It has a central portico and sidelights housing booths on either side. Inside, it’s simple tables, a bar, some booths, and classic old-school USA pizza, more akin to NY Style than Neapolitan.
Frankly, I don’t recall the exact taste of the original Pizzi’s from my childhood, but I remember the EXPERIENCE! Though the precise flavor has faded, the memory of the experience lingers. I’m sure that I wouldn’t remember the experience so vividly if the pizza hadn’t been good.
In my mental Way-Back Machine, I can see myself walking through the doors of Pizzi’s with my parents and brother. We had likely gone to Conneaut on one of the treasure hunts. My mother (Grandma Joanne) took us on these hunts after hearing about a bargain on WREO’s Swap Shop.
I can still hear my father (Grandpa Tony) question, “Joanne, why do we need another kitchen table? We already have one in the kitchen AND THE BASEMENT!”
To which, her typical reply was, “Tony, let’s just go look. Ok?” Knowing full well we didn’t need another table.
When I first wanted to visit Pizzi’s a couple of years ago, I found that it was closed. I was crushed! I started this blog by lamenting the poor pizza situation in Rochester. Our old, original establishments (Bay-Goodman, the original Captain Tony’s, etc.) were closing. Some closures were due to children not taking over the business. Or when sold, the pizzerias didn’t have the same “umph” (read: passion) as the original owners. For the few originals still open, it seems some offspring lack that same passion.
Then, I saw these signs on the building! A family coming back to take over the business… GOOD FOR THEM!!!!
| Date | July 21, 2024 |
| Pizzeria | Grandpa Pizzi’s Place |
| City/Neighborhood | Conneaut, OH / Conneaut Harbor |
| Website | https://www.grandpapizzisplace.com/ |
| About Us | Our Story — Grandpa Pizzi’s Place (grandpapizzisplace.com) |
| Style | Other – like a Chicago Style, but not as deep of a dish |
| Ambiance | Restaurant/Bar The owner and her husband walked the floor and visited each table asking us about our experience. She spent at least 5 minutes at our table as I peppered her with questions. That is a great touch and fun! |
| Beverage Pairing | Cold, Lager Beer |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Round – served pre-cut into 8 slices in a semi-deep pan |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – Thin to medium-thin, not as thin as a Neapolitan Cook – Crispy, kind of like a Ritz cracker Flavor – Pastry crust buttery! There was definitely butter, Crisco, or lard in the dough making process. This results in the dough creating a pastry-like crust flavor profile ala Chicago style. I asked the owner if they included lard in the dough. She said no. But, there’s definitely one of those other fats. TASTY! Filling, but heavy. It’s a good thing that I didn’t ride my bike to the place. It would have been difficult to ride home after this pizza. |
| Cornicione | Crispy, thin raised lip, interesting and tasty, no char on the cornicione, more like a toasting |
| Toppings | We purchased 3 different pizzas, I will focus solely on the cheese, sauce, and basil pizza Fresh – Yes, basil direct from the garden behind the pizzeria |
| Sauce | WOW – very rich and thick with tangy tomato taste. It had the savory hints of garlic and onion. Seems like some there was some fat in the sauce like olive/vegetable oil. Slightly chunky of crushed tomato. |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Provolone, although not sharp or aged, definitely a richer flavor than moozedell, but since it was young cheese, the lack of sharpness was a disappointment Cheese Distribution – All over |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce – A lot Cheese – Medium to A lot Balance – good, the sauce slightly overpowered the cheese flavor |
| Value | $13! That’s a GREAT PRICE especially for North America! |
| Overall Rating | Good (although not great), but let me explain… The flavor profile was fresh and outstanding. This was due to the tasty crust, sauce, cheese, and fresh basil amalgamation. But, I’ve grown past these heavier types of dough/crust like Pizzi’s prefering much lighter and more easily digestible crusts. Pizzi’s crust is not as heavy as a Chicago Style crust. For me though, it’s heavy enough to hold Pizzi’s back from being great. |
| Would I Go Back? | Definitely yes – great value, nice taste profiles albeit the heavier crust. |
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