Jose Jimenez, Patsy's Pizzaiolo, Passes On

Jared Goldstein

Sheila Lukins, Dom DeLuise, Christian Albin, Gourmet -- 2009 can now add another member of the food world to its list of dearly departed: Jose Jimenez, the pizzaiolo at Patsy's on 118th Street and First Avenue, died last week.

Slice has learned that Jimenez, who had made the coal-oven pies at Patsy's since 1977, died on December 7. Jimenez, who had immigrated to New York from Ecuador, learned the trade from the restaurant's previous pizza master. He was known for his excellent pizzas, which, back in the 1980s, were just about the only ones available to the neighborhood, especially late at night.