Pizza Joint

If you are like me--and you probably are--then you have woken up at least once in a strange and unfamiliar corner of Manhattan. Be it the George Washington Bridge subway stop, beneath the Wall Street bull, or the stacks of the Law Library, what would collegiate life in New York City be without stories of outlandish awakenings?

As a veteran of numerous such occasions, I feel it is my duty to share a modicum of advice with those of you have not yet experienced the confusion that accompanies a prodding by one of New York's Finest. After returning to the conscious world, the first thing you must do is ascertain the time and the general region in which you find yourself. And if it is before 5 a.m. or after 8 a.m., and that general region is the Upper West Side, then you, my drunken friend, are in luck. The Pizza Joint, an offshoot of the enormously popular Big Nick's, will fill your stomach with delicious and tempting tasties 21 hours a day, seven days a week.

Like many other pizza shops, the Pizza Joint offers a variety of pizza by the slice or pie (three different sizes, as well as stuffed pizza and Sicilian). If you are feeling saucy, try the Athenian Attitude pie, stacked with feta cheese, black olives, and fresh tomato and onion. Or, if you would like to take a road significantly less traveled yet equally mouth-watering, request a Neptune Pizza (boasting baby shrimp, crab, clams, onions, mushrooms, cheese, and a Creole tomato sauce).

While the pizza at the Joint stands head and shoulders above any other pizza place on the Upper West Side, the pies are only the tip of a monolithic iceberg. For those cold wintry nights, try a crock of French onion soup for the unbeatable price of $3.00. Pasta dinners, veal cutlets, numerous chicken entrées, and Greek specialties such as souvlaki, spinach pies, and gyros complement a myriad of burger and sandwich options. From the vegetarian falafel ($3.65) to the almighty Sumo Burger (tipping the scales at over, that's right, over, 1 lb. of ground Angus steer), the Pizza Joint can provide hung over (or still drunk) college students with the material sustenance they require to make the long trek home. Do not fear the men behind the counter--they will not judge you, even if you wander into the Joint at 8:45 in the morning with toilet paper stuck to your head and a salmon pink dress shirt on top of green corduroy pants.

The Pizza Joint is not only the Mecca of late-night munchies and early morning hangover remedies, but also a great place to pop in for a quick bite before the movies or after a performance. And, for those of you health-conscious types out there, the Joint offers baked potatoes, numerous specialty salads (including the breathtaking Caesar Chicken Avocado Salad), and turkey burgers. The Joint also has beer on tap, sangria by the pitcher, and bottles of imports. In fact, there is little the Pizza Joint does not have, which is precisely why it makes such a perfect late-night spot--there is something for everyone.