pizza thread

[AkSaber]

oh that's right
you actually legitimately live in Alaska

Hey I just don't sport the avatar for laughs you know.

[patrick1]

Train, having spent a good deal of time in Mass and RI I would leave them off. 95% of the pizza joints are terrible.

[angus]

a thread (not the Gallery) for arguing about pizza

Mushrooms and sausage.  Hand tossed.  Relatively thin crust.  Lots of crushed red pepper on top.

[Lief 🗽]

The crown jewel of pizza in Anchorage.

And beer too.

Kind of disappointed that none of the pizzas have moose meat on them.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

None of you have had real pizza if you ordered from a chain.  We have a Little Caesars in my hometown, and while their pizza is good, it's nothing special.  I've never had Domino's or Papa John's (although I wouldn't want to try Papa John's because their ads really creep me out.)  Probably the best chain pizza I've had would have to be Pizza Hut.  But if you want really, truly good pizza, you have to get it from the independent pizzerias, which are scattered here and there where I live, but are relatively scarce.

[PJ]

Phil and Antonio are correct. Stuffed crusts, thick bases and pineapples among other things, are  abominations.

[AkSaber]

Kind of disappointed that none of the pizzas have moose meat on them.

Cause of their name?

Actually I think they do have seasonal, or specialty runs of moose pizza. (To go along with some seasonal beers)

[angus]

Phil and Antonio are correct. Stuffed crusts, thick bases and pineapples among other things, are  abominations.

They're strange, and I don't like them either, but lots of folks do.  I even had peach pizza in Georgia.  (The one in the United States.)  It was okay, but like pineapple it wouldn't be something I'd ever order again.  Just not my thing.

Cheese, marinara sauce, ham, jalapeños, spinach, and sausage are all okay with me, but for the purist those are all abominations, really.  The original pizza, for the ancient Greeks and Romans, consisted of a crust of ground cassava beans (or chick peas), topped by olive oil, herbs, and occasionally olives or honey, and baked in a stone oven.  I knew a Palestinian in college who actually made homemade pizza this way.  It was pretty good, but I actually like mozarella cheese, tomato sauce, and some mushrooms and sausage and hot chilis on mine.  If someone likes stuffed crust or pineapples or peaches on his, that's okay too.  It's no less a bastardization than putting tomato sauce on it.

My son likes bacon and black olives.  That seems to be his favorite.  To each his own.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

My favorite was when I was in high school.  A place called Milano's pizza.  It still exists but I'm sure the old guy who owned it is long dead.

Thin crust, amazing sauce and herbs, and lots of cheese. The box was soaked through with the grease by the time you were done......OMG, amazing.  Back then at 125 pounds and the metabolism rate that roared like a jet engine, I could eat a whole large myself. 

I miss those days sometimes. 

[angus]

...I could eat a whole large myself. 

I miss those days sometimes. 

oh, yeah.  I could burn though a 16" pizza easily in my youth.  By the time I was in my 30s, I'd eat maybe 3/4 of a large pizza for a meal, and save the rest.  Nowadays, I become flatulent and lethargic even when I eat half of a large pizza.  I still do it, of course. 

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I could still eat a large pizza today if I wanted to, but I'd feel guilty after I did...

[© tweed]

I've never blown through more than six slices in a sitting, and that only on one or two occasions.  I usually stop at two or three or four slices.

[Keystone Phil]

I love the cafoni around here. "I could eat a whole pizza!" Well, yes, sillies. That's what you're supposed to do. Granted, I'm talking about a proper pizza.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I love the cafoni around here. "I could eat a whole pizza!" Well, yes, sillies. That's what you're supposed to do. Granted, I'm talking about a proper pizza.

Define proper, snob.  I'm hungry reading this thread. Ugh. 

[angus]

Proper is what you're used to.  

I've ordered pizzas in other countries and they were almost invariably bad.  I ordered a ham and mushroom pizza from Lee's in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and found that the crust is too dry and has a sweet taste.  Even in the fog of a Jamaica Vacation-induced haze, Jamaican pizza is not for me, yet Lee's was full of repeat customers.  In China I ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and found that the cheese is awfully meek and plasticky.  I'd never eat at a Chinese Pizza Hut again, yet that place was full of customers paying about three times what a Pizza Hut pizza costs in the U.S.  About ten years ago I ate at a Domino's in Guatemala City, Guatemala,  and I noticed that there's a bottle of ketchup at every table.  The Guatemalans pour it thick over each slice.  I won't say that I don't like Guatemalan pizza, though, because in another part of Guatemala, at another time, I had some of the best pizza I'd ever had in my life.  It was on the shores of Lago Peten Itza, in a little village called El Remate, where a retired Italian engineer has set up a restaurant called Las Orquideas, on the high dirt road to the biotopo.  I was introduced to the place by two roommates, Crazy Lou from Texas and his sidekick Pieter from Sweden, who usually rent bicycles to tourists.  As soon as we walked in the aroma of fresh basil and garlic immediately filled my nostrils.  The proprietor of Las Orquiedas is a short guy, about five feet tall and just as big in diameter, took my order himself, and began belting out Italian songs as he tossed the crust high.  "O Sole mio, sta nfronte a te!"  His wife then coats it with homemade marinara sauce and freshly grated mozarella and tops it with (in my case) mushrooms, sausage, eggplant, and a bit of green herbs and parmesan, and sticks that in an outside stone oven.  Mama mia!  Thasta good pizza!  And cheap!  Lou and Pieter and I split a very, very large rectangular pizza and each had a few pints of Gallo, the local cerveza, and the whole bill was around fifty quetzales.  

I'd go back to Guatemala just for the pizza.  Hold the ketchup, please.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I love the cafoni around here. "I could eat a whole pizza!" Well, yes, sillies. That's what you're supposed to do. Granted, I'm talking about a proper pizza.

Haha, indeed!

[Sol]

To be honest, I'd say American pizza is a completely different food than Italian pizza, and comparing them is apples and oranges.

[Antonio the Sixth]

To be honest, I'd say American pizza is a completely different food than Italian pizza, and comparing them is apples and oranges.

Nah, "regular" American pizza is just a low-quality version of Italian pizza (which, it must be pointed out, applies to most pizzas outside of Italy and even some pizzas in Italy itself, as well). "Chicago-style" and affiliated "pizzas" on the other hand, are something utterly alien.

[RosettaStoned]

Very few here really know about pizza. Lock this thread.

 Like the fact that pizza originated in Spain?
 

[Ban my account ffs!]

To be honest, I'd say American pizza is a completely different food than Italian pizza, and comparing them is apples and oranges.

Yes.  The best pizza I've had, along with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and probably up to 15th best pizza I've had has been in the U.S.

Italian pizza was thin but floppy so the sauce and grease would sometimes leak through and make the crust almost soggy.  Plus I like pepperoni better than salami, which is completely different and should not serve as a substitute (though it does)

The best pizza I've had is from a local place called Dave's Pizza.  It's truly wonderful.  The Italian Combo with a big pitcher of beer in their kitschy dining room really brings up the nostalgia.



Cut into squares, of course.

The guy who owns this place was an olympic curler in Torino and told the local media he preferred his pizza over Italy's... which annoyed and surprised them.  But he's absolutely correct.

[Eraserhead]

Captain's Pizzeria, Morris Park, Da Bronx

[angus]

Yes.  The best pizza I've had, along with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and probably up to 15th best pizza I've had has been in the U.S.

Of course.  And of course it was from an independent proprietorship and not from a chain.  Why it has to be that way I don't know.  Still I bet there's a kick-ass pizza somewhere in China.  Seriously, it's the world's oldest and most populous society.  There must be a good pizza there somewhere.  Some little village, probably along Marco Polo's route, must hold a population of unusually hairy people with prominent noses who talk with their hands quite a bit, sing beautifully, engage in an unusual amount of domestic violence, and make really good pizza. 

To be fair, the worst--and most expensive--pizza I've ever had was made in the United States as well.  It's from a place called Caruso's Pizzeria in Neffsville, PA, about 2 miles from my house.  A 14-inch pizza costs 27 dollars, so you'd think it would be awesome, right?  Think again.  The cheese was properly moist, but undercooked.  The sauce was sweet, like ketchup.  The crust was the worst part, and far more offensive than any pizza crust I've ever tasted.  We just couldn't finish it.  I rarely waste pizza.  I even finished the Jamaican pizza, as bad as it was.  This one was just too horrible.  Somewhere in Ethiopia a child is going to bed hungry, and here I am throwing $13.50 worth of food in the garbage.  The service was bad too.  About ten minutes after we ordered, while we were sitting at the table thinking it'll be soon now, the waitress comes to the table and asks again what we'll have, apologizing for forgetting the first time.  Really?  Did that really happen?  Yes, boys and girls, that really happened.  The funny thing is that I'd gone on-line and read reviews of Caruso's before visiting.  Folks gave them horrible reviews, both for their food and their service.  I thought, "yeah, right.  How could it be so bad since it's so terribly expensive?"  I'm sure I still don't understand all that.

 

[opebo]

Still I bet there's a kick-ass pizza somewhere in China.  Seriously, it's the world's oldest and most populous society.  There must be a good pizza there somewhere.  Some little village, probably along Marco Polo's route, must hold a population of unusually hairy people with prominent noses who talk with their hands quite a bit, sing beautifully, engage in an unusual amount of domestic violence, and make really good pizza.

Haha, no.  Diversity is not the Chinamen's strong suit.

[Keystone Phil]

Very few here really know about pizza. Lock this thread.

 Like the fact that pizza originated in Spain?
 

Uh huh. And Greece. And China. Spare me.