We needed sustenance for another of CL's marathon editorial meetings, so we called up SoHo joint Gourmet Pizza for a few pies. Turns out Gourmet is running an election special:

The Barack Star — a white pizza (uhm?) with ricotta, tomato, feta and pesto;

The Meaty McCain, your typical meat-lover's special.

Gourmet will keep track of the sales and post a monthly victor on the restaurant's website.

This opens up a whole new, unwanted layer to the already tough pizza decision making process. What if I want the meat pizza, but don't want to throw in with McCain, or vice versa? Could I end up buying a pizza I don't want in a meaningless show of political solidarity with my chosen candidate? Sigh. I'll just take a plain cheese, thanks.

We actually ordered a bit of both. The McCain was fine, although the ham was a bit bland and chunky. The Barack was, well, odd. It tasted fine, creamy with a big hit of garlic, but the bright green pesto star in the center was a bit disconcerting. Draw your own conclusions.

Know about any other restaurants or stores running similar politico-gustatory polls?

This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2008.