Sacco, a tale in 3 photos

Do you ever feel like social media unduly influences your behavior? I do. Sacco Pizza makes some fine old-school slices, but I often avoid it because I find it so dang hard to take a good photo there. If I can’t get a good photo, I don’t want to “waste” a lunch visit. Isn’t that messed up? (If a slice gets eaten in the forest and no one is there to Instagram it…)

But new year, new practices, right? And one resolution I made was to take a healthier approach to social media, both in time spent on it and in how mindful I am as to its effects.

Sacco is a 7-minute walk from my office. There is NO REASON I should not visit. Especially when the alternative is another workmanlike sandwich eaten at the desk.

Sacco Pizza Plain Slice
I always like to doctor my slices with a little red pepper, shakey cheese, and oregano. So sue me.

As expected, the photo I took above earlier this month is a lousy shot of a GREAT SLICE. The lighting and background do not do this slice justice.

Sacco’s slices are thinner than most, and have a nice helping of Parmesan or Romano—not sure what they use. The slices are generously cheesed, with enough sauce to balance it out. I caught a fresh slice at lunch, took a few bites, and knew I’d need a second one.

This was actually my first pizzeria slice of the year. And a fine start to 2018.

On Instagram, where this shot first appeared, I resolved to visit again to get a photo whose appearance matched the quality of its subject. It was in the comments there that longtime Slice/Serious Eats community member Simon Potter recommended getting a Sacco slice with extra cheese, so:

Sacco Pizza Slice with Extra Cheese
It looks underdone but isn’t. Not sure I’d always order this, but it was not bad.

Whoomp, there it is.

I’ve been enjoying the interaction on IG lately. It kinda feels a little like my old blog, Slice, back in the early days and has inspired me to take up pizza-blogging again after a bit of a false start last year.

I’m dubbing an extra-cheese slice here the “Simon Says” slice. 😂😂😂 Let’s see if we can make that stick.

And, hey, I got a much better photo this time than last! But I still wasn’t satisfied so, third time’s a charm…

Pizza Smartphonography 101

Sacco Pizza Pepperoni Slice
Sacco Pizza uses the standard lay-flat pepperoni that most New York slice joints use.

The best way to get a good picture of food is with natural light — DIFFUSE natural light, like on a cloudy day or through a gauzy white curtain. (You didn’t realize you’d be attending Food Photo School, did you? 😜)

When I first posted about Sacco on IG this month I complained about not getting a good photo inside. “GO OUTSIDE, DUMMY,” some connenters said.

Fine. I didn’t want to go out on the sidewalk and hand-hold, because I don’t like getting myself in the picture. I want viewers to imagine themselves eating the slices I ‘gram. YOU are there in the pizzeria, oven doors squeaking and slamming, the greasy smell of melting cheese and fragrant oregano wafting over the counter and up your nose. Centering a pizza photo on myself breaks that illusion.

But… 🤷🏻‍♂️ I wanted decent light on this pepperoni slice so I relented.

This photo quality here is better than the “Simon Says” slice above though still not amazing. Better luck next time. Until then, folks, hasta la pizza. 😊🍕✌

Sacco Pizza:819 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10019; 212-582-7765; saccopizza.com