The Top 10 food shows on YouTube : # 10 Barstool Pizza.
My first viewing of ‘One Bite Pizza Reviews (with Dave pageviews)’ reminded me of watching Spinal Tap for the first time. This was clearly a paradigm shifting take on the cliched camcorder food review. There were so many layers on what was ostensibly a pizza review, that my brain was sent into overdrive, craving immediate satirical enlightenment: ‘What does that reference mean?’ ‘Is that a joke within a joke?’ Is this guy really an irreverent millionaire, in leopard swim-shorts, eating pizza on 54th street?’ Dave’s swagger was all Jagger and he’s reviewing pizza!?’
It was like joining a conversation of cock-sure Oxford grads at a party, where you were never sure if they’re talking in the meta, beta or alpha, but you nod and laugh along anyway.
One Bite Pizza Reviews is the flagship YouTube show of the uber successful Barstool Sports pop and culture blog (worth an estimated $450 Million), founded by Dave Portnoy, who presents.
The basic premise of the show is deceptively simple: Man reviews pizza across America, of all shapes and sizes, scoring the ‘pies’ a number between 1-10 (no even ‘rookie’ even scores allowed). Dave tells stories about his encounters with the owners, engages with any onlooking public and spouts his opinions on the local football team. But this is so far from pizza-review takeaway trash. Dave, and camera man Frankie, have Malcolm Gladwell’ed the format, with over 600 reviews to date, sprawling across every nook of the upper and underbelly of the United States. They’ve even reviewed the pizza at the Ascot races in England, earning their stars and stripes, credibility and clout.
The more you watch the more idiosyncrasies are revealed. The reviews take place outside the pizzerias, often with the chef or owner looking on nervously. Everyone on the street seems to recognize him, whatever town they’re in, gathering round for pizza and selfies. The show’s catch phrase ‘one bite everyone knows the rules’ is never adhered to and yet it’s a vital part of the brand. And the show truly is a brand with a presence so big that A-listers join for pizza on the street to promote their latest film.
Dave is tough with his scoring and the viewers love him for this. He is amusingly unintimidated by any situation; whether the owner of the restaurant is part of the mob or he’s rinsing Tyson Fury for drowning his pizza in chilli oil, he never flinches.
Out of all their reviews only a select few make the upper echelon scores. The top-rated pizza are: Lucali’s, Best Pizza, John’s of Bleecker Street, Sally’s Apizza, Johnny’s Pizzeria, Prince Street Pizza, Pizza Shackamaxon and Chad’s Pizza and Restaurant.
Dave is brash, wears football tank tops and yet conversely erudite. His delivery is deep dish deadpan with extra abstract musings: “When I try to get my brain to work I just see palm trees with coconuts, senoritas and sweet breezes. I’m trying to think what does this pizza remind me of and all I see is a seagull and a coconut.” He makes no sense, until you watch more, and he makes all the sense in the world.
One Bite Pizza Reviews will polarise opinion. Frat boy humour or something more profound? You decide. I still don’t know if the joke’s on me, but frankly when it’s this fun, I don’t care.
Alright Frankie, let’s watch another one.
Best of Barstool Pizza Reviews 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrL2T8w68RU
A Lot of Chop 