Review In Absentia: Pinch

December 16, 2003 Since its doors opened last month, we've been aiming to make it to Park Ave. South (@28th) for a taste of Pinch: Pizza By the Inch. However, our skin tends to start itching by the time we ascend to 18th Street, and we're forced to retreat. Happily, Ken brought 24 inches of Pinch goodness to our poker game last night, so we gave it a go in the comfort of an East 12th Street apartment. Pinch's concept, similar to that of the East Village's Pie (which, on a recent visit, seemed to be slipping a little), is to measure out pizza in segment sizes of your choosing. The idea is to mix-and-match cuttings with interesting toppings to make a meal. Verdict: though the pizza we had suffered from transport fatigue, we found the hot sausage pie in particular very tasty. Hats off to our old college chum Matt Birnbaum and his brother (above), who run the place. We'll throw on the protective wear one of these days and make it into the actual restaurant, where they serve up not just pizza but pasta and other goodness, too. Pizza weblog SliceNY has already made the journey to Pinch [via nyceats] and seems to have survived with skin intact.