Pizza disappointment

I bought a slice of pepperoni/pineapple "NY-style" pizza today at a pizzeria that's moving to the other side of the Rio Grande, so for old time's sake I bought a slice for the first time in about a decade.

I almost choked when the price was $7 for one slice. But the big disappointment was the taste--flavorless (even the pineapple) with a meh crust. NY-style it wasn't. I could have bought two low-end frozen pizzas and they would've been better. And I remember it being so good, I recommended it to people. So typical anymore. What happened?

We had something of a pizza renaissance here a number of years back when a couple of really good Neapolitan places opened up. Others followed suit and we now have a pretty thriving pizza culture. The regular old American-style places, like Round Table, do just fine (if you ask me). We have a couple of New York style places which make what I consider to be good pizza.although I don't know how true to New York they are. There's a Detroit style place opening up any day now, and the really good Neapolitan place is still here. And then there's Zelda's, which purports to be Chicago style but which is not at all like Giordano's or Uno's. It's pan pizza, but it's nowhere near as loaded with sauce and cheese as pizzas from those two places. It's maybe half the height, but what really sets it apart is the crust. I'm pretty sure there's cornmeal in it, and it's a bit flaky rather than doughy. One piece is still a calorie bomb but it doesn't come off as a casserole, and their pesto pizza is to die for.

In New England the most common style of pizza is Greek. There was a Greek American soldier from the Norwich CT area who was stationed in Italy during WW II. He became fond of pizza and brought the recipe back with him. He opened a pizzeria and used it to get permanent residency (green card) for some of his Greek relatives. He turned this into a turn-key pizzeria business. He had instructions on how to rent property, pizzeria floor plans, contacts with the companies for ovens, tables, etc. He even supplied pizza sauce, cheese, and flour. Many Greek families in the area followed his lead and opened pizzerias as a way to get relatives permanent US residence. You can tell these pizzerias--they all have the same floor plan and menu items. One big tip-off is that they all sell spinach pizza and Greek salads and many of them sell gyros.

New Haven, CT is famous for its local style of pizza. There is a superb pizza joint, Santarpio's, in East Boston.

-Paul W.

I live in NY and have sympathy for all y'all.

[Jenise]

Speaking of pizza, at Costco the other day I sampled a vegetarian one with a cauliflower crust. Expected to dislike or at least be ambivalent about it, but in fact I thought it quite good. Won't be a customer, but it's credible.

Speaking of pizza, at Costco the other day I sampled a vegetarian one with a cauliflower crust. Expected to dislike or at least be ambivalent about it, but in fact I thought it quite good. Won't be a customer, but it's credible.

Same here. I thought it was kinda okay.

I live in NY and have sympathy for all y'all.

Yes, Nyc is booming with high quality pizza these days. And I think the rest of the country/world is as well, as everyone fetishizes affordable luxuries. (Plus it's damned delicious) But of course there is still plenty of bad pizza out there, as Larry G knows!

Tonight I finally went to Ceres, the hot place in Nyc opened by former chefs from Eleven Madison Park. One year later the lines have calmed down enough. Very high quality stuff. Not cheap, $40 for cheese pie and $68 for nduja/tomato/burrata/balsamico pie, but large pies that have 8 slices, so not that much more than the terrible slice for Larry G!

I was particularly impressed with the cheese pie that was so fragrant and flavorful of high quality olive oil, but without any grease. The opposite of a recent pie from Pepe's in CT, which was greasy without flavor!

In New England the most common style of pizza is Greek..

What is the Greek style?

I've been buying a frozen Margherita pizza that I like, has a nice crust, and I add turkey pepperoni, pickled peppers, fresh tomatoes, and Penzeys frozen pizza spice. I usually buy it on sale, so I cannot complain. It is ok for me, and I enjoy it. Safeway also has its own brand of pizzas that I have tried, and it was very good. I always add something to any frozen pizza that I buy.

New England Greek-style pizza has a thick crust (although not as thick as Sicilian-style) with a crispy bottom. The cheese topping is typically a mozzarella/cheddar mix. I personally prefer the New York style. I'm also fond of the Uno's deep-dish style. There are several Uno's restaurants in New England, although there are now only two left in New Hampshire.

-Paul W.

New England Greek-style pizza... mozzarella/cheddar mix...

So I guess it's more of a Greek immigrant thing as opposed to what they eat in Greece. Neither mozzarella nor cheddar sound very Greek! (Although I know they make their related variants in Greece)

Make your own!

pizza.jpg

Here's mine.

That looks very yummy, Peter...

Make your own!

Congrats, Peter.

I do when I have the time and energy (which seems to be more finite lately). And when I do, I think it's better than any pizza shop's here. I have an incredible baking stone* I use, but I wish I could have higher oven temps.

*I had a custom kiln shelf made to fit my oven on top of a rack with space at each end for circulation. Probably weighs 20 lbs.

It's definitely a Greek-American thing. As I said, a Greek-American soldier discovered pizza while stationed in Italy in WW II, liked it, and opened a pizzeria as a way to get residency permits for family members living in Greece. That idea was successful and he turned it into a sort of franchising operation. New England Greek-style pizzerias usually offer spinach pizza as sort of a riff on spanakopita. Many serve gyros and lamb skewers as well.

-Paul W.

here. I have an incredible baking stone* I use, but I wish I could have higher oven temps.
.

I could do with both.

We used to go regularly to a local pizzeria, but then they changed the wooden tables for marble topped, took out the carpet and the noise level went up and they encouraged families with young kids and so there was screaming and so much noise it wasn't a pleasant evening any more - we couldn't hear each other.

here. I have an incredible baking stone* I use, but I wish I could have higher oven temps.
.

I could do with both.

We used to go regularly to a local pizzeria, but then they changed the wooden tables for marble topped, took out the carpet and the noise level went up and they encouraged families with young kids and so there was screaming and so much noise it wasn't a pleasant evening any more - we couldn't hear each other.

I feel your pain. Too-noisy restaurants are not my cup of tea. Especially with loud music increasing the din.

Many years ago, there was a seafood restaurant here that was always packed with people. The noise level was excruciating. All hard surfaces, plus a tin ceiling. You literally had to yell at the person next to you to be heard. And, of course, everyone else had to yell, too, as a result. Painful.