Munch has always wondered if New Yorkers fold their slices of pizza so they can consume them in a New York minute.

It was the very question Munch was pondering just the other day on Carson Street when Munch and a Friend of Munch went out for a spontaneous lunch, one inspired by the deadline for the Munch column that had to be completed in close to a New York minute. What's quick? Munch wondered. Then the answer came like a flash: anything with New York in the name.

Thus Munch and FOM hopped in the munchmobile (which is way cooler than the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, mostly because it does not play that annoying jingle when traveling down the road) and headed off to Carson Street and the SouthSide Works.

Rosa Pizza is one of those rare commodities at SouthSide Works -- it's not a big chain. There are no Rosa Pizzas in Ohio: no Rosa Pizza happy meals (though the pizza did leave us happy); and no Rosa Pizza commercials featuring little cartoon characters.

Rosa Pizza may have New York Pizza, but it's a Pennsylvania original. The other Rosa Pizza is in Uniontown, which is not exactly New York, either.

There is one good-sized table at Rosa Pizza; the rest are a bunch of little shelf-like half-moons of tables that stick out from the wall with stools next to them. Come summer, when the doors are open and the place is open for sidewalk dining, Rosa Pizza will be a fine place to hang out, enjoying an evening and a couple of slices. Until then, Munch recommends takeout to avoid the repeated moments when the door opens and the blast of cold air comes in to chill not just the diners, but the food, too.

But Munch has been whining about cold air too much lately. That's because Munch is pining for a nice assignment that would involve sampling the food of Figi or Aruba, but instead, Munch gets New York, with a taste of a New York winter. If Munch really wanted to try to get the full New York experience, Munch would have tried to drive down Bates Street at 5:30 p.m. to get across the Hot Metal Bridge, now that the Birmingham Bridge is closed, but Munch is about the eating, not the traffic (Munchwagon notwithstanding).

So, what about the pizza? It was really good.

Let's face it, pizza is rarely bad. But it is often OK -- just OK.

Munch and FOM ordered the Rosa Supreme and the Brooklyn (both $7.99), each in the individual size and split them.

Now, you have to understand that ever since Munch could fit a lunch sack over this head, Munch has always folded pizza. But at Rosa Pizza, you have to fold the pizza to keep the toppings on and the crust from collapsing; now that's New York style.

The Rosa Supreme comes with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, black olives, onions and peppers. The Brooklyn had roasted green peppers, sausage and mozzarella. Both Munch and FOM loved that neither pizza was exactly circular. One was in a bit of an egg shape, the other had sort of a circular idea going, but wasn't quite there.

They both had the pizza thing down. The crust, though thin, never got gooey from the toppings. And, because it was thin, it wasn't overly filling.

No, this was good. Now, we didn't try the Sicilian-style thick-crusted square pizza, or the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, but there are always those summer nights to come. Then Munch and FOM will be able to sit at a table outside, enjoying our pizza and thinking about how glad we are that it isn't February anymore.

Rosa Pizza, 2767 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-431-7672 .