so yes totally edible rind.
@fattyboombatty it's an ash-ripened cheese (no penicillin cultures are used a la brie/camembert) The fresh cheese is coated with ash to bring up the pH and allow geo to develop.
I think this article vastly over-romanticizes the term "cheesemonger" who apparently lives in that make-believe neighborhood populated by non-profit-motivated artisanal producers who sell their local, organic produce at the daily farmer's market where everybody knows your name. Is that overly harsh? Perhaps. But it should be pointed out there are just as many so-called cheese "mongers" touting overly-ambitious ranges of poor-condition cheeses with little regard for affiance at trumped up prices (typically reflecting absurd disregard for geography or season).
Michael White (yes, that Michael White) also opened up Al Molo in HK which does pizza (+ pasta). Technically it was his first pizza venture as it opened before Nicoletta in NYC.
There's also roman-style thin crust pizza at piccolo pizzeria in HK (couple of branches. one in kennedy town).
Pizzas are baked in a gas-assisted "charcoal" oven.
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=75012
HK has another place offering authentic Neapolitan Pizza with a built-on-site (although not Ferrara) WFO: Duecento Otto (208). It's been open since 2010.
Fascinating and illuminating post, Scott. Definitely puts some perspective on the "everything was better in the old days" mentality - a reminder that there is no single "golden age" but rather a lineage stretching all the way back.
to clarify:
snide comments coming from pizzamaking members when someone doesn't agree with their "expertise". That's true on pizzamaking and recently on slice too. Sometimes from the same people.
Then the link should have been to a picture not the review.
Here's a good example of what goes on on Pizzamaking in "reviews":
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13157.60.html
There we have a prolific pizza making member pestering several well-respected pizzaiolos all the while never having actually tried the pizza itself. Same argument about fermentation time. Sorry, imo that sort of thing is really disrespectful.
I don't have a username at pizzamaking. Frankly, and this is just my opinion mind, it's the last place I'd post anything pizza-related. I find the sort of snide commenting that comes from not agreeing with the status quo and group-think dynamic that goes on there is crazy.
"The name of the pizzeria was only mentioned one time, late in the discussion, and it was in passing. "
C'mon now you're splitting hairs. The first post in that thread linked directly to this review.
Instead of owning up and admitting it was bad form to slam a pizzeria that none of the people in that thread have yet visited, we have pizza making members getting on their high horse talking about the "1000s" they've helped. Sound familiar? yeah I thought so.
It's not my (or Kenji or Adam's) imagination re: pizzamaking. That place has got out of control recently. I've seen too many threads where condescending, shit-talking, nitpicking and worse has gone on from some of the most vocal members there. I'm not saying there aren't also some fantastic contributions from thoroughly decent people but imho the forum as a whole has become a really unpleasant place in the last few months.
Thanks Adam for trying this. I think it needs meatballs. ;)
agreed re: haters and their Napologetics
Oversized crusts that threaten to dwarf the toppings.
@Scott123
Yeah the whole DIY steel thing is a valid opinion but please try to remember that the original topic was a review of The Baking Steel.
Seems to be a trend on Slice recently that any time a new product is reviewed, someone's gotta steamroller the comments section, badmouthing the product/person-making-the-product because you can make a cheaper product yourself. Same happened with Kenji's review(s) of the Pizza Grill insert.
By that same logic, why don't you go and comment on all the restauarant reviews about how you can make the same food at home for cheaper?
Did anyone actually read the original article?
It's not just the Valoriani that's gonna be handling cooking duties. They've got two "fire pits" outside which are planned to also make pizza. I'm guessing Jeff's main input is with the outdoor facilities (possibly some version of his pizza forge?) as well as the pizza dough which again was mentioned in the article.
But yeah - people gotta hate I guess...
perpetrated*
"Having people misrepresent the issue in their posts, pretending there's a danger that doesn't really exist, doesn't reflect well on the product."
Are you suggesting a conspiracy perpetared by Andris Lagsdin via a number of trusted, regular posters on Slice acting as shills for the product? Otherwise I'm not sure I see how individual opinion has anything to do with the product itself considering no one except Kenji has actually used the damn thing yet.
disaccharide*
On a related note:
http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2011/sep/walkers#.UErHKUL3AUs
regarding misprinted ingredient list on Walker's packaging.
Erm. when was lactose "creamy" or "cheesy" tasting? Just because it's a sugar found in milk doesn't mean it tastes LIKE milk. It's a dissacharide of glucose and galactose and unsurprisingly tastes....sweet.
"If I walk into a slice place and see the term 'Margherita,' I immediately walk out. If coal or wood places want to use the term, I have no problem with it, but in the context of a low brow NY slice, it's hyperpretentious."
Walking out of a slice place because they use the term Margherita but deeming it acceptable for "coal or wood places". Now THAT is pretentious.
Please make "Sandwiches" a separate SE site already!
Record shopping in Soho? Ah I remember Nicky Blackmarket selling Congo Natty promos out of the basement of Blackmarket records back in my "yoof".
This isn't Michael White's first foray into pizza. Al Molo opened last year in Hong Kong and features pizza on the menu.
Hey SE,
I love a good sandwich as much as the next person and there's no denying that you have some of the most comprehensive coverage of bread+fillings on the internet.
Have you considered moving all the sandwich posts into a separate website in the same vein as AHT and Slice?
conaglio hasn't favorited a post yet.
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Hmmm. Not sure about that recommendation of Crottin on pizza.
One of my favourite cheeses on pizza is Gubbeen. Melts beautifully.