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Adam Kuban

Adam Kuban

editor emeritus

Adam Kuban is the founder of Slice, where he has been writing about pizza since 2003. He also founded A Hamburger Today, but burgers don't really do much for him these days. You'll find Adam primarily on Slice, where he writes a weekly NYC pizza review, blogs about pizza miscellany, and does twisted things to pizza in his monthly Home Slice feature.

Here is Adam's list of top pizza spots in NYC. To narrow it down further, here's his "Great 8" at the moment.

  • Website
  • Location: Astoria, Queens, NYC
  • Favorite foods: pizza, bagels, dim sum, sushi, Japanese curry rice, cha siu bao
  • Last bite on earth: Some White Castle sliders (plain and cheese), a supreme pizza from Maria's Pizza in Milwaukee, oysters on the beach in Cancale, France.

Quick Game Day Appetizer: Garlic-Knot Monkey Bread

I've got to thank Kenji for this idea. He suggested a garlic-knot monkey bread as a Home Slice topic, saying it might be good to do before the big game on Sunday. The byword here is EASY. This is almost a twist-and-dump thing. You could make your own dough for this (here's a suitable recipe), but I just used store-bought pizza dough from the freezer section. You'll need 2 pounds. (Most store-bought pizza doughs I've seen come in 1-pound portions, often 2 to a package.) More

Paulie Gee to Open a Baltimore Location with 'Pizzablogger'

Popular Brooklyn pizzeria Paulie Gee's will open a branch in Baltimore in 2013, Slice has learned. Paul Giannone, whose transformation from IT manager to renowned pizza-maker is well-documented on this site (among many other places), is partnering with Baltimore local "Pizzablogger" (who asked to remain anonymous), at what will be called Paulie Gee's Hampden. More

Gift Guide: For the Pizza-Maker

Some of these are stocking-stuffers, some are pretty pricey, but most are somewhere in between. What they all have in common is that I have turned to these products again and again in my own pizza-making life. I hope your pizza obsessive—novice or veteran—appreciates them as much as I do. More

Pizza Is...

The slap of the dough on the table
More than the words on a label
Tomato sauce, cheese
Napkins and grease
A whole pie or more if you're able More

Brooklyn: New Franny's Going Strong

+ another 1 to cat_egg. But I think Americans have come to regard "bruschetta" as toasted bread with shit on top of it. I suppose that means you really have to read the menu. Gotta say, I kind of don't "get" bruschetta at a pizzeria. Same way I don't "get" dessert pizza. Who wants all that bread-based food. I don't "get" it and I certainly don't get get it.

@MRENG220: The not cutting thing. That's a Neapolitan thing that they're following here probably for the same reason. Pizza in Naples is served whole so that the watery elements of the pie remain on top until the customer cuts into the pizza. As soon as you cut the center, any watery elements (sauce, milky cheese) bleed through the slit and sog out the crust.

So This Exists: Ravioli Pizza at Rosa's in Huntington, Long Island

Too bad. I was hoping for great things here.

Pie & I: Giorgia Caporuscio

Early Word On Baking Steel: It Works

The folks on pizzamaking.com have a thread about it. Go search there. They are using A-36 cold-rolled steel, which is not stainless.

Either YOU are doing the work of making it cooking-ready or someone else (BakingSteel.com) is. From all the threads I've read, you have to put in some work to clean up a piece of steel from a metal fabricator. Odds are the piece you get is going to have mill scale and/or rust. You've got to put in some elbow grease to get rid of that stuff. If you go looking for "food-grade" steel, what you'll find (at least what I found) is VERY THIN steel sheeting for countertops and prep tables. And it's VERY expensive. Unless you have another source I couldn't find, which would be great, because then I'd love to have the link.

Passata for a Neopolitan style pizza?

Ah. I get it! I hope the passata works out.

Open Thread: What's the Quintissential New York Sandwich Shop?

@mepm231: OH, HELL YEAH, BAMBINO! Good call!

Open Thread: What's the Quintissential New York Sandwich Shop?

ASTORIA? QUEENS?

ROSARIO'S.

OH, THAT'S NOT ENUFF FOR YOU, SMARTASS? HERE: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2011/11/serious-eats-neighborhood-guides-best-restaurants-groceries-astoria-queens.html AND SCROLL THE F*** DOWN.

Passata for a Neopolitan style pizza?

CHuck: I'm confused. So the local "providore" makes and bottles their own. Where do they get the tomatoes? Are those Australian vine-ripened tomatoes you mention canned? If you can get your hands on the canned tomatoes, you could just skip buying from the providore. Or does the providore get the tomatoes fresh and then mill them into passata and jar them?

Open Thread: What's the Quintissential New York Sandwich Shop?

Paulie Gee Doc

@pizza80: The instructions are in each weekly installment of My Pie Monday:

If you're making pizza at home this week, be sure to send us a photo for our next round of My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm ET on Thursday night. Please make sure to include your Serious Eats username. Email the photo to: pizza@seriouseats.com
TL;DR: Email ONE (1) SINGLE photo (ideally 600px wide, landscape orientation) to pizza@seriouseats.com. Include up to 100 words explaining your pizza.

Passata for a Neopolitan style pizza?

Sounds great, Chuck. I hope the passata works out for you, then. Keep us filled in on how things are going.

Paulie Gee Doc

Don't mention it. Great video!

Paulie Gee Doc

Passata for a Neopolitan style pizza?

Does the passata taste good? Then use it.

I believe even folks who are Neapolitan/Italian would say (and I have heard many times), that the true Italian spirit/ethos of cooking is to use THE BEST OF WHAT IS NEARBY. What about trying the passata alongside some other tomato products? Have friends/family in for blind tastings and see what they prefer. If the passata holds its own, you have your answer. If not, then consider another non-local tomato product.

Whatever you do, good luck! Where in Australia are you looking to open?

25 Cocktails Everyone Should Know

Nice roundup. Really good stuff on SE Drinks lately.

Top This: The Hellboy (à la Paulie Gee's)

@pauliegee/@bkmatt: I think Fornino has a similar thing going on. IIRC, he uses the gas initially to fire the oven and bring it to temp, "uses wood for flavoring" from then on out.

My Pizza Oven: Mark Wilkie, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

@bkguy: You're in luck. Friend of Slice David Sheridan (whose backyard oven in Gravesend I wrote about here), told me when I talked to him about it that the city considers it to be roughly the same as a grill No permits needed. He said he called the city department of buildings, etc., finally found the right person to talk to, and the guy told him they considered it to be like one of those old-school brick-and-mortar patio grills you see in some 1950s/60s era homes.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/10/david-sheridans-backyard-gravesend-brooklyn-wood-fired-pizza-oven.html

Eat for Eight Bucks: Gai Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Chicken)

@thesu: I know this doesn't answer your question, but could you get a friend to decant a little bit of fish sauce into a small bottle for you? If you lived near us, I'd give you half our bottle. We rarely use it. Wonder if you could use soy sauce. Wouldn't hurt to try it.

It's time to open up a pizzeria!

Well put, JEL, on all points.

Eat for Eight Bucks: Gai Pad Krapow (Thai Basil Chicken)

WHY THE F*** DID I WAIT FOUR YEARS BEFORE TRYING THIS RECIPE!?!? OMG I AM EATING THE SHIT OUT OF THIS RIGHT NOW.

THIS IS GOING IN OUR REGULAR ROTATION STAT.

A++++++++++++++++++ SATISFIED EATER. WOULD MAKE AGAIN.

It's time to open up a pizzeria!

RE Neapolitan and the rules JEL mentions: yes, they are rules, but also maybe more like "parameters." There is still A LOT of leeway within those rules, and one VPN pizza may come up very different from another VPN pizza, even though they are both following the same set of rules. People like Anthony Mangieri "break" the rules because he thinks his pizza is more exacting than even the techniques and ingredients the VPN rules lay out.

Saveur Magazine Releases Special Pizza Issue

My Pie Monday: Smoked Pork Shoulder Pizza, Bulgogi-Pineapple Pie, BBQ Chicken, and More!

Oh, man. You all are killing me. These pies look great. Dellavecchia: the deep dish looks phenomenal. Millions: you have me wanting to try the Mozza recipe.

Damn I need to order a toaster oven stat so I can do summer pizza-ing.

New Haven Plain Pizza Recipe?

Also, be prepared for the eventuality that without a very-high-heat oven, your crust may not come out like Sally's or Pepe's.

New Haven Plain Pizza Recipe?

Pizza Is...

The slap of the dough on the table
More than the words on a label
Tomato sauce, cheese
Napkins and grease
A whole pie or more if you're able More

Bread Baking: Cocktail Rye Bread

In our house, cocktail rye was typically served as the base for chopped chicken livers or cream cheese, always served open-faced, kind of like the untoasted rye version of crostini. The smaller size of the loaf always made it seem fancier to me. More

Brooklyn: Everything On The Menu at Best Pizza

Opened just over a year ago, Best Pizza has fast become one of our favorite pizzerias in New York, and yeah, it's mostly because they serve some of the tastiest by-the-slice stuff around. Since opening the shop, the menu has expanded ever-so-slightly to include sandwiches and a single salad. But man, oh man what good sandwiches those are. Check out everything they've got on the menu. More

Bread Baking: Fast Buttery Buns

Bread snob that I am, there are times when all I need is something simple. Something that can be made quickly. But even when I'm in a hurry, I'd prefer that the resulting bread isn't completely bland. Sometimes that means I'm a little more generous with flavor enhancers. Like butter! Just a little extra. Y'all. More

What to Expect at a Neapolitan Pizzeria

Things I've overheard in a Neapolitan pizzeria lately:

  • "Oh, wow, there's not that much cheese on this."
  • "They're pretty small. You could probably eat one yourself." (Waitress to customer.)
  • "You can't really pick it up."

I guess that even after the great pizza renaissance of the 2000s, Neapolitan pizza is still new to some folks. And, whatever, that's cools. I just figured I'd try to demystify it a bit if you've never had it.

Update/note: This post is geared toward folks in the U.S. or elsewhere who have never tried Neapolitan, Neapolitan-style, or Neapolitan-inspired pizza. It does not pertain to actual Neapolitan pizza in Naples, Italy.

More

5 Can't-Miss Korean Eating Experiences in Flushing

Visitors to Flushing, Queens might think of the neighborhood as primarily a Chinese food destination, but the world of Korean options is vast and diverse. Our intrepid Flushing explorer Chris Hansen has tracked down massive goat feasts, pork belly cooked on your table, killer Korean barbecue, and more. We asked him to pick his five favorite finds so far; check out his can't-miss Korean eating experiences in Flushing! More

Pizza Obsessives: Frank Pinello of Best Pizza

If you were at Sandwich Fest two weeks back, you most likely picked up an amazingly delicious meatball sub from Best Pizza. After running into Pizza Obsessive alum amusebouche1 at the festival, I couldn't get those hot seat questions out of my mind. Luckily, I was able to find a willing interviewee in pizzaiolo and Best Pizza (reviewed here) owner Frank Pinello. More

Building a Pizzeria: Closing in on Opening up

Building this pizzeria has been a complete whirlwind since June 1, and even as I type this post, my notepad is sitting next to my laptop, yearning for my attention. My apologies to all the Slicer's that have been following along and patiently waiting for my next post, but I should let you know this is very likely my last post before opening day, which is scheduled for... drum roll please, July 5th. More

Grilling: Roasted Corn Relish

I loved how this all came together. The first taste was of sweet and tangy corn, but the sweetness slowly fades, giving way to the heat from the jalapeno and an earthiness from the chili powder and cumin. The "relish" can double as a dip for tortilla chips, salad topping, or taco condiment—it'll add excellent flavor to whatever it touches. More

How to Make Pizza Monkey Bread

Monkey bread. Because kids go ape over it. You know what else they go ape for? Pizza. Let them help you make pizza monkey bread and they'll go positively King Kong in the kitchen. Making this stuff is way easier than making pizza, too, since you don't have to worry about stretching the dough or precise cook times. All you'll need are these recipes for dough and pizza sauce as well as and some Parmesan, mozzarella, and fresh basil. More

Koshary: Feeding a Revolution in Cairo

Liberation requires massive amounts of strength. Without discounting the passion that alone has fueled millions into a weeks-long protest, it is clear that Egyptians also rely on another direct source of energy. And that is a deceptively simple comfort food: koshary, the legendary dish that every Egyptian can both wax poetic on and furiously debate the merits of. More

Cook the Book: Pickled Ginger Peaches

To those of you not familiar with this classic Southern pickle, adding copious amounts of vinegar and sugar to perfectly ripe summer peaches might sound a little strange. But bear with me here—the combination of vinegar, sugar, and a few choice spices turn summer peaches in to a spectacular pickle that can be enjoyed well after peach season is over. More

Bread Baking: Peanut Butter Graham Crackers

While today's graham crackers aren't the same as ones promoted by 19th century diet reformer Sylvester Graham, they're still a relatively healthy option, with lots of fiber from the whole wheat. But that's not why I eat them. As far as I'm concerned, graham crackers are the perfect vehicle for peanut butter. The majority of graham crackers around here disappear under a smear of the stuff. To me, that's the perfect quick and satisfying snack. But why stop at putting peanut butter onto the graham crackers? Why not put some in the crackers as well? More

Where's the Beef?

The beef's right here, suckas! After lots of talk and little action, A Hamburger Today—in a bare-bones, not-much-to-look-at-yet version—is open for business. This is, in restaurant parlance, a soft opening, meaning that we'll be posting here on the down... More

Pizza Girl: Future Technology

Once upon a time, there was no GPS. This was before the "delivery fee" was even a twinkle in the Noid's eye. Cellphones were built like bricks, and pizza delivery dudes were all dudes. And in this land of my pizza-delivery forbears, drivers carried maps made of trees but most carried maps in their heads. I have no idea what technologies are to come and make delivery better, but here are some of my ideas (far-fetched or not) that would be cool. More