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have pizza making questions?
At my old apartment, I broke the self cleaning lock on my oven and waited until the stone got up to 600 degrees. At my house now, I don't have that option. I put the stone about 6 inches from the broiler and broil it up to 600 degrees. I check the temperature with an infrared thermometer. I use the hot stone and the broiler to cook the pie. The broiler will finish the top first so you turn it off once the top looks done. Then, just let the stone finish the pie off on the bottom. The top won't overcook because the ambient temperature in the oven is usually pretty low since I heat up the stone with the broiler exclusively.
As far as preventing your basil from burning. Just take the leaves and soak them in the tomato sauce for about 10 minutes. It sweetens up the sauce and it hydrates them enough to prevent them from burning.
Ramen-Based Pizza Crust
omg, please don't do this ever again. I don't want to eat for 3 days now. That was disgusting.
No More CPK for Michelle Obama
CPK has slowly been destroying Pizza in America for the better part of this decade.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
Mangieri resorted to trash talking the day he wrote his menu. For all his talk, his delivery of product is sorely lacking, and it's easily reflected in negative online user reviews around the internet. Maybe he actually puts effort into it for food critics, but he treats regularly customers lousy and he overcharges for a product that falls short of the quality described on his menu. It's no surprise that he detests a place like Luzzos. They are only around the corner, and most people choose to hit them up instead. You would think Mangieri is some sort of veteran in the pizza business. His estalishment has only been in NY a few years and he owes 99% of his business to Ed Levine.
have pizza making questions?
At my old apartment, I broke the self cleaning lock on my oven and waited until the stone got up to 600 degrees. At my house now, I don't have that option. I put the stone about 6 inches from the broiler and broil it up to 600 degrees. I check the temperature with an infrared thermometer. I use the hot stone and the broiler to cook the pie. The broiler will finish the top first so you turn it off once the top looks done. Then, just let the stone finish the pie off on the bottom. The top won't overcook because the ambient temperature in the oven is usually pretty low since I heat up the stone with the broiler exclusively.
As far as preventing your basil from burning. Just take the leaves and soak them in the tomato sauce for about 10 minutes. It sweetens up the sauce and it hydrates them enough to prevent them from burning.
Ramen-Based Pizza Crust
omg, please don't do this ever again. I don't want to eat for 3 days now. That was disgusting.
No More CPK for Michelle Obama
CPK has slowly been destroying Pizza in America for the better part of this decade.
Dear Slice: Una Pizza Napoletana Ain't All That
hey moesizlacks, plenty of us do get it. We've been to all the great places. A lot of us think UPN isn't up there with them. Quit comparing people not liking UPN to the people that prefer McDonalds. It reeks of food snobbishness.
Dear Slice: Una Pizza Napoletana Ain't All That
go check out citysearch reviews on this place. This is nothing new.
Eat My Pix: White Rose System
White Rose only puts Lettuce and Tomatoes on it if you order the Cali burger. You can get just pickles and onions on it if you order the normal burger. Both a great burgers. It's a notch below the Manna though.
Dear Slice: 'You Have Not Tasted the Best'
I teach college and grade lab reports on a weekly basis. Her command of the English language is now commonplace. It's amazing to me that people can write something on paper and not realize that if they read it out loud, it would sound like jibberish.
Come Eat Pizza with Us for a Good Cause
sorry Ed, I won't be there. I bought your book and it was great. I've used it to seek out some real gems in the tri-state area. My personal favorite is Delorenzo's. My sister lives near Una Pizza Napoletana. But whenever I'm visiting, I prefer Luzzos. Keep up the good work. You are one of my favorite food critics out there.
Come Eat Pizza with Us for a Good Cause
Bo, I've paid plenty of attention. Mangieri treats all his customers differently. When I got a pizza from him, it had 4 cherry tomatoes on it and he must have not been looking when he put the olive oil on the pizza. When a food critic takes a picture, he gets about 12 to 15. Also, we watched him conveniently serve his friends right away before 5 tables that were seated 20 minutes before them. This is not a coincidence. Go read the customer reviews on an website and you see the same thing. He's got 2 levels of customers, food critics and friends, and then everybody else. Everybody else gets a half assed product while the people that matter to him get his best product. I don't doubt that Mangieri has the ability to make a great pie. He just chooses only to make it for people he likes or people that are going to write an article about him.
Come Eat Pizza with Us for a Good Cause
I wonder if I went, if Mangieri would actually put some effort into making the pie. It seems he only makes good pizza when Ed Levine is there.
Thin-Crust Pizza in Chicago? Yes, and It's Outstanding at Vito & Nick's
secret dough recipe?
Flour, salt, yeast, water.
Pizzeria Bianco: The DJ Bubbles Drive-By
rofl, Simon tries to insult people from NJ, and posts a bunch of pictures of people from Staten Island, NY.
Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water
Newark NJ has the best water ever. Much better than NYC. I don't notice much of a difference in breads/pizza. The water theory is only partially valid. If you have water that tastes like crap (goto Vegas or Florida and you'll find out what I'm talking about), it makes the dough taste that bad. You have to remove the calcium and chlorine from the water. That's what Chris Bianco does by filtration. Aside from that, the yeast you use is way more important along with the rise time you use. You can make some really bland dough from NYC water and you can make some really tasty dough from any water. California may not have the great water but San Fran. sure has some tasty sourdough bread. That's because they use a good sourdough culture.
Lactose and My Adios
Baha, I have lactose intolerance too. The key is to learn how to release your gas rather than let it sit in you. Sad to say, but I can fart on command. It allows me to avoid all the pain that used to get to me after drinking milk.
Lactose and My Adios
haha, all lactose intolerance means is you fart after you eat some pizza. Small price to pay for the greatest food in the world.
Laser Pizza Slicer
heh, I just thought more about cooking pizza with an infrared laser. It would be the same thing as microwaving it. Not very good.
Laser Pizza Slicer
I would, but I'd totally get fired. And you couldn't cook a pizza with a laser. It's only about a millimeter in diamter. I'd need about 500 lasers to cook a pizza.
Laser Pizza Slicer
Heh, I work in a laser lab at a university. I'm gonna stick a slice in front of it and see if it can burn the pizza.
Pan-Fried Pizza
man, that pizza really looked mediocre. The best pizza's have a fine balance of ingredients. He had about an inch of cheese and toppings on that thing.
Pepe's: Coming to a College Town Near You?
Well, considering the quality of Pepe's has dropped off the mountain, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to duplicate their pies elsewhere anymore.
How to Find the Perfect Pizza
Some of the best pies I've had have come out of gas fired ovens. You can tell a great pie just by looking at it, and you can finally make judgment by tasting it. By the way, Mr. Mangieri's didn't cut the mustard in that whole taste category.
Stuffing My Face at Pizzeria Bianco
I disagree Mmm, I've been to both Pepe's and Sally's and they don't compare to places like Patsy's, Tottono's, Luzzo's, Angelo's, etc. The clam pie is good, but I've made a better one at home. And it's "Wooster St.", not Worcester. The pies are no more special than the generic thin crust pies that you find throughout New Jersey.
A Visit to Pizzeria Bianco
Phillip sounds like he popped his cherry in that youtube video.
From the Mailbag: 'The Definitive Top 10 List'
get una pizza napoletana off there. They are lucky to be a top 30 pizza in the city.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
Mangieri is just an arrogant SOB and nothing more. He makes good pizza, nothing spectacular like he believes as there are many in the NY area that do just as good if not better than him. The only reason he has the business he does is because Ed L. put him on the map otherwise he would probably been out of business by now. The guy talks like he has paid his dues and done this and done that but how long as he actually been making pizza in a resturant? His pies are not close to being in the same league as Chris Bianco's. He sounds more like a child that needs to grow up and stop putting other people down just do your own business and stop worrying about if anybody else's pies taste like shit. What does that have to do with you anyway.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
Looks like Tony Mangieri is trying to dethrone Francine Stephens and Andrew Feinberg as holders of the crown for most reviled pizza maker. That being said, I've never had an issue with the service at UPN, and they'll slice the pies for you there.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@pizzablogger
i know it's crazy right
and rents will go UP
cuz they are going to RAISE PROPERTY TAXES AGAIN
and guess who pays that? the tenants and businesses
and guess where the businesses get their extra money to pay for the taxes...front he consumer!!!!!!!!
it's ridiculous!!!!!
you're right, it takes away from your family and for what??????
however just as a side not i wouldn't be surprised if those number
were UNDERreported
Gianluca
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
OMFG, the rents in New York City are INSANE.....and Motorino is not even in Manhattan.
Does anyone know if the $9,000/week in salary for 20 employees mentioned in that article includes any salary for Mathieu?
$90k a year is not a bad salary, but for the time, focus, passion and effort I would be compelled to lay on the line for the pizza, if I were to open my own pizzera (no one else would be cooking the pizzas), that's not that much at the end of the day....particulalry when considering education costs for a kid and the time away from my family the job would require.
My god, did I mention those rents are steep for a 1,400 square foot space?
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
what a putz- take your overpriced yuppy pizza and go straight to california, where they will surely appreciate an utter douche like this guy. This kind of attitude coming from a guy who told me to my face that Sally's and Pepe's in New Haven were both crap and Difara was overrated... and then proceeded to charge us $22 for a tiny, watery, runny, sad excuse for a pizza. oh, and i've eaten pizza in Napoli MANY times... sleeves and a bad attitude do not a great pizzialo make... a little humility would go a LONG way for this cat... good luck on the west coast! bye!
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
man.....pizza joints really don't make much money.......you gotta sell the liquor..........that's where the moolah is....!
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@nextgospel
I hear what you're saying Gianluca and yeah there is a trend of neapolitan at the moment which probably won't sustain (time will tell). Hopefully those 'true to the craft', of which I'm sure there are many, will stand the test of time.
With so many new fingers in the neapolitan pie atm - there is also the possibility of evolution - new styles, new ingredients. At least that's what I would hope the future brings. Too many pizzerias trying to make the same pizza can lead to stagnation* ... every pizzeria adding their own take on the original neapolitan leads to variety and growth - which can only be a good thing in the long run for pizza lovers!
FP
*not that it ever hurt anyone in Naples!
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@paulie: I dunno, $90k might not be ridiculous. It's probably low, but it's also easily manipulated. 10% profit would actually be incredible for a full service restaurant, but that brings me to the least likely part: for each pizza, this article claims only $1 of other revenue.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
$90,000 annual profit at Motorino? Who do they think we are, the IRS?
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@foolishpoolish
yeah i see what you're saying
no one obviously needs as much commitment as mangieri to appreciate
pizza...obviusoly cuz then it would be impossible to commit to many other things
but what i personally am saying, whether anyone including mangieri agrees with or not, is that now for instance it's all about neapolitan.
but the same enthusiasm can turn into abandonment.
it's like any trend.
then the middle ground gets lost
and we are left with extremes
there's a saying that" if you stand, stand. if you sit, sit. but for God's sake whatever you do don't wobble!!!"
and my fear is that poeple will wear the shit outta the "neapolitan thing" that's going on and then end up hating it...cuz in reality these people are really just disgusted with themselves, their lives, decisions, and behaviors.
it's EXACTLy like a troubled relationship with a partner.
i hope i got my point across :)
let me know
Gianluca
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@nextgospel
"it's like so much in life.
music, clothing, slang, whatever...every one is a johnny come lately.
it would be easier if at the very least those who start off something new don't meet such forceful resistance and ignorance by those very same people who turn around and copy years later.
AND worse...get loved by people who don't "get it".
cuz then those very same people can be influenced by someone or something else and they move on to that, totally forgetting or caring about the first thing."
Hey it's one thing for Anthony Mangieri to trash talk about other pizzerias. It's sad to hear him do that but I can sort of understand where he's coming from. However it's a whole different thing to making sweeping generalisations about the customers who frequent other 'tastes-like-shit' establishments.
The more people who fall in love with 'neapolitan style' (regardless of authenticity) the better for everyone...surely? Does it matter where they go to eat it? Or do we need the same level of commitment as M. Mangieri in order to 'truly appreciate' neapolitan pizza? If that's the case - I'll happily share a non-neapolitan pie with the other peeps who 'don't get it'.
FP
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@anthony a
i agree with your statement that roberto has passion and sticks to it
but i disagree with what you say about him adhering to VPN.
If anything, roberto is adhering to the traditional (and proven superior, if studied) way of doing things that the VPN is trying to implement!!!!
so it's actually the other way around.
I know roberto and his background. he has trained, learned from, and worked with starita who is treated and viewed as a scholar.
again full disclosure, i know him, so one could say i am being biased, but i am just being fair.
as for anthony mangieri, i also know him, he has always been nice and respectful...so i could only hope ny mag altered what he said.
when the ny times did an article on my father's life, they actually made up sentences he never said!!!! it left my father upset.
so i hope this is the case with the pizza comments.
in the end, guys, what does all this mean?
if God forbid, some disaster like 9/11 were to happen again
nobody would give a shit about dough and tomato sauce.
it's amazing the luxuries we (definitely including me) can afford ourselves.
so in the end, we are left with a few things left to care about.
and unfortunately only a few people who do the caring :(
Gianluca
http://www.pizzaandcoffee.com/
ps people may be wondering why i go on philosophical rants.
it's not necessarily pizza that i care about.
i just have a passion that runs through my veins
so i could easily spend the same amount of time talking about marxism, capitalism, art, and soccer
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
If he would have simply boasted about how he feels his pizza is the best I would take no issue with his comments.
But he somehow felt it necessary to impugn the integrity of all his competitors. Say what you want about Keste in terms of it's product, but Caporuscio is commited to the Platonic idea of producing a pure Neapolitan pie and ultimately this is the reason why I believe he does not produce the best pizza in NYC. He is so committed to the VPN dogma that he will not take a step back and consider making adjustments to his food or his practices.
I believe he is stubborn and a true believer in what he is doing and that was the reason he was asked to leave his prior venture (A Mano) in NJ. When asked to change the way he made pizza he refused and parted company with ownership and struck out on his own. These traits are not the earmarks of a cynical money grubber, but they are of someone that has a profound commitment to what he is doing.
There are plenty of ways to pay your dues, everyone has a different path and it doesn't necessarily encompass trying to make pizza in your parents fireplace like a moron.
Anthony Mangieri the Martyr of Modern Artisanal pizza movement. The whole angry young man act is wearing thin.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
“Where in New York do you walk in and feel, Wow, this is for real, this is not being run corporate? I don’t know any other place other than this, honestly. Do you?”
Does anyone else get the feeling that Anthony hasn't stepped foot in anyone else's pizzeria in a very long time? He certainly hasn't ever been to Roberta's or Lucali.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
@Everyone
hey listen guys
let's not trash the guy
if he named specific people then we can trash talk about him
but he trash talked pizzas and pizzerias
so to be fair he didn't cross "that" line
although i do respectfully disagree with what he said about keste
i love keste as i also do love una pizza napoletana
more (much more) importantly i appreciate anthony and roberto
as people and that matters more than a food product
Gianluca
http://www.pizzaandcoffee.com/
PS i'm supposed to avoid WHEAT and DAIRY
so if anyone should have people feel bad for them it's ME ha ha
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
I respect Anthony ALOT. he knows his stuff. However I always look at him as Neo-classical Art while the rest are Contemporary Art. All the same, all good yet different in their own way.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
Mangina sounds like he's just mad that other people can make pizza as good as or better than him, and can do it without an attitude. Screw that guy.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
West coast here, please keep him, we got all the fruits and nuts we can handle.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
that top 20 list has got to be the crappiest top anything list i've ever seen
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
wow, dude comes off like a complete douchebag. and he wants to move to the west coast because the lifestyle is more relaxed? good luck with that, it's obviously a good match with your personality.
“Where in New York do you walk in and feel, Wow, this is for real, this is not being run corporate? I don’t know any other place other than this, honestly. Do you?”. way to insult almost every other independent restaurateur in the city. what an a-hole. good riddance.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
I was just thinking about how little mention Naples 45 gets anywhere.They've alledgedly been around since'96,and serve more Neapolitan style pizzas than any place I know of .You can debate the quality,but considering the volume and value,they deserve recognition,La Pizza Fresca opened a year later in '1997- again you can debate the quality.Una Pizza was a johnny come lately with a body of tattoos,balls the size of a water buffalo,and confidence (some would say arrogance ) to match.His cult following has endured in no small part by Ed Levine,Arthur Swartz and a the explosion of the internet.To read his rant is somewhat comical,as if he was the originator,when in fact he was a bright,young passionate (and shrewd ) bread baker turned pizza maker who demanded attention and took a gamble. It paid off....... for a few years.
2009 brings an onslaught of others.Who are they to question Mangieri and cast doubt? A cock sure Belgian with a Frenchmans ego? A bunch of Italians who claim superior knowledge ?A masturbaker with a fiery wit?
It's called evolution.Remember when a place called Two Boots was flavor of the day.Now that's hillarious.
'New York' Magazine Pizza Extravaganza
The whole "those new places didn't pay their dues like I did" is just stupid. Its the restaurant business not a gang. Competition is good it provides more selection and better prices. Mangieri comes off like sore loser in that article.
have pizza making questions?
@plowlady: Pizzamaking.com is a great resource (in fact, Prairie, who started this thread, is/was fairly active on those boards). I'm guessing you might find an answer/recipe in one or both of the following forums on that site:
Pizzamaking.com » Cracker Style
Pizzamaking.com » Chicago Style
This board has several thin-crust discussions and recipes as well as some info on cheese.
have pizza making questions?
My computer freaked out the first time I wrote this so I’m hoping I get to post this comment:
With that said my question is about 00 flour. I’ve heard that it is the best flour to use, but to be honest I usually feed my sourdough starter (16 years old) with the stuff, it makes it happy and it seems to do better. I’m thinking because it’s easier for the starter to feed because it’s so finely ground. But it is rather expensive the cheapest I can find it is $1.99 per kilo, so I’m not so keen on trying something that in the end would not really change the pizza. BTW I have worked hard to prefect my pizza’s and I love my pizza both my NY and my Chicago style.
So do you think it’s worth a try?
have pizza making questions?
One of the secrets to great crust, especially if you have an oven that only goes to 500° or 550°, is to use a very high hydration dough. In addition to allowing fantastic gluten development (without much work), and big airy bubbles, it keeps the dough from drying and toughening during the longer baking times in a low oven.
My baking times at 550 are between 7 and 8 minutes; way longer than what you'd get in a wood or coal oven. But the results are still airy and light, with just the right amount (IMO) of crunch and chew.
The catch is that the dough is VERY hard to handle. Think glue. The best solution I've found is to use a flat baking sheet for a peel, and to build and bake the pie on a sheet of parchment. This is non-traditional, but it works brilliantly. The parchment just slides in. Only drawbacks are very slightly less char on the bottom, and the mess of blackened paper on the floor of the oven.
My techniques are a mix of Peter Reinhart's and Jeff Varasano's. I've written them out in painful detail here: www.under-belly.org/recipes/pizza.pdf
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Mangieri resorted to trash talking the day he wrote his menu. For all his talk, his delivery of product is sorely lacking, and it's easily reflected in negative online user reviews around the internet. Maybe he actually puts effort into it for food critics, but he treats regularly customers lousy and he overcharges for a product that falls short of the quality described on his menu. It's no surprise that he detests a place like Luzzos. They are only around the corner, and most people choose to hit them up instead. You would think Mangieri is some sort of veteran in the pizza business. His estalishment has only been in NY a few years and he owes 99% of his business to Ed Levine.