I am a high school art teacher in a Boston suburb. In my spare time I enjoy working on my bonsai trees, boomeranging, tasting (and trading) craft beers and, of course, traveling the country for amazing pizza.
Thanks everyone for the feedback!
My girlfriend and I ventured out to Roberta's this past weekend and were very impressed. After hearing from some that the best items on their menu were the non-pizza dishes, we ordered some salads and apps and split the Specken Wolf. Awesome stuff. Nice, tender, slightly smoky crust and fantastic quality, tasty toppings. I'd go back again just for the pies.
@Adam: I really appreciate the thorough list. Thanks. As for places I've been: Motorino, Keste, Paulie Gee's, Totonno's, Di Fara and Roberta's. It looks like I still have a lot more "research" to do. Next visit, L&B Spumoni Gardens will be on my list.
Pizza Barbone seems to be THE place to go for Neapolitan pies on the Cape. Meredith did a piece on them here on Slice last summer: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/07/the-bay-state-gets-its-first-stefano-ferrara-oven.html
Kenji raved about a place in New Bedford called Brick Pizzeria: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/11/great-pizza-in-new-bedford-ma-who-knew.html
New Bedford isn't quite the Cape, but perhaps it's worth a detour depending on where you're coming from.
FYI, NYC means all five boroughs. Also, if you feel compelled to make this a Top 10 list, go for it!
Ah, I see.
@TXCraig1: Forty-five seconds? Amazing! What are you doing to decrease you bake times?
@Norma427 and Adam Kuban: Beautiful looking Detroit-style pies! Is this going to be the next big trend in the pizza world? I sure hope so. Adam, love those crunchy, charred edges.
@Florida9: Solid looking pie. Then again, what pizza wouldn't look good next to a bottle of Zombie Dust? I hear it's amazing. How did it pair?
@millions: Nice leoparding. Your cornice looks shockingly similar to that of my pies. Was this a combination of TXCraig1's dough recipe and a super hot broiler in an electric oven? Just curious.
FWIW, Heady Topper is now the #1 rated beer in the world on BeerAdvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top
@Meredith: It'll be sad to see you go but best of luck! When Becky and I get that apartment in Arlington with the WFO in the back yard, we'll be sure to invite you over.
@ Nikki: Welcome!
@pauliegee: You must have tried the homemade squid ink pasta with ground squid and garlic at The Daily Catch, right? To die for. My deathbed meal however would be a lobster roll from Neptune Oyster (which is steps from TDC). Perhaps you should give it a shot next time you are in the North End. That followed by a cannoli, an espresso and a piece of torrone from Modern Pastry. Absolute heaven.
Thanks Kenji. An outstanding article. I can't wait to visit Naples and try a number of these places.
A fantastic article Kenji! It's nice to know that there are people out there who are as crazy (or even crazier) than myself. =)
Freshly shucked clams, chopped garlic, EVOO, a pinch of sea salt and then dusted post-bake with a handful of chopped parsley.
@Ev: Awesome looking crust. Exactly what type of oven are you using?
I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words about my pies. =)
@Norma: That Buddy's clone looks amazing! After Neapolitan and New Haven, I think "gloppy, goopey, saucey pizza with nice charred edges" is my next favorite style. I really need to get out to The D one day.
Oh, and just for the record, my father was actually the one to drive to that "god-forsaken" location in Connecticut to pick up the 1/2" steel plate. Thanks dad. I couldn't seem to get one here in the Boston area for under $100, not to mention the fact that few plan can or care to cut steel over 1/4".
Thanks Adam and Tupper! I submitted a photo of a clam pie from this past weekend's outing. IMO, it was my best pie to date. It should be making it onto MPM this coming week.
Yes Meredith, feel free to post pics of my totally jury-rigged oven setup. =)
The first game changer for me was also Pepe's. My family and I would make a few trips down to New Haven's Worcester Street each year for as long as I can remember. It was always a cheese pie and a plain pie for my mom, my sister and I, and either a clam or a chicken pie for my dad. Later, we'd hit up Libby's for a vaniglia ice. So good.
Another game changer for me was at the original Luna Pizza on Franklin Ave. in Hartford. Unlike the satellite versions that use a gas oven, the original had a WFO. Their pies were remarkably similar to those at Totonno's. It's a shame that this place is no longer around.
One of my favorite things in life is heading back to Connecticut to visit family and friends and making a pit stop at Sally's at some point along the way. It will be difficult seeing that first booth empty from now on.
BAR and Pinocchio's - I've been to these places multiple times, both while sober and in a state of complete inebriation. The pies have been amazing no matter my state of mind. Now THAT'S the true test of a great pizzeria!
I love it how so many people are suggesting to "just go out and buy an A36 hot rolled steel plate - it's so much cheaper." Sure, I went out and bought an A36 hot rolled steel plate a few months ago. This meant calling two dozen metal shops before finding one that would actually sell me a reasonably priced sized plate for under $100 (I paid $75 for my 14"X18" plate), going to some god-forsaken location to meet some guy who was ticked off to be doing me a "favor," getting home and first sanding the plate with a rotary sander and later scrubbing the plate with a steel brush and vinegar, only to find that a good amount of the oxide was still left on the plate - and that much of it that came off permanently stained my concrete balcony, and then lugging this 30 lb. plate in and out of my oven every time I wanted to make pizza. Awesome.
The Baking Steel is a godsend. I wish I knew about it four months ago because I definitely would not have gone through the trouble that I did. In fact, I might still go out and purchase one. The piece of mind of having "food grade steel" is reason enough for me. Plus, that carrying case is pretty nifty. My hardwood floors aren't big fans of my current plate.
Also, let's not forget that in New Haven ordering a "plain pie" will get you a pizza with NO cheese, except perhaps a bit of grated parm.
Agreed. This pie definitely tops my "Best of Boston Pizza" list as well. In fact, it's one of my favorite pies I've ever had. Even though most people consider the Margherita to be the benchmark pizza style, I think it should be the marinara (or, as they say in New Haven, the "plain pie.") So few pizzerias even have the balls to try to pull one off.
I'd say that a Bière de Champagne is the only truly fitting beer to have at a wedding. Most are quite expensive, but there is a new domestic version called Enlightenment Brut from Lowell, MA that isn't too pricey.
The cheese pairings you suggest are interesting but might be a bit much for those saisons. I'd recommend something a bit more tangy and dry. Saison Dupont and bucheron is a match made in heaven.
Nice piece, Andrew. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the Margherita on my last visit to Picco, the Alsatian (a pie topped with crème fraîche, caramelized onions and bacon) really stole the show. Also, I thought that their cinnamon ice cream was outstanding (and I too am a Toscanini's fanboy).
I saw this product on the Williams-Sonoma website and was wondering if anyone has used one: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-crispy-crust-pizza-maker/?bnrid=3101668&cm_ven=E3&cm_cat=EDM&cm_pla=0519_BrevillePizza&cm_ite=hero&cm_em=vanessabarneschi@comcast.net
It sounds pretty crazy.
My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to NYC this weekend and are trying to figure out what pizza place we should hit. Rather than going through the trouble of telling you where we've been and what you recommend, I thought it might be more fun to simply see what Slicers feel are the top 5 "must eat" pizzas/slices in NYC.
Just curious if anyone else caught Marnie and Charlie's quasi-breakup on the roof deck at Roberta's, followed by their subsequent makeup two minutes later out front.
In this episode of Slice's The Pieman's Craft, we visit Roberto Caporuscio of Kesté Pizzeria & Vino in New York City as he makes a batch of dough for the restaurant's celebrated Neapolitan pizza. Caporuscio takes us from flour-water-salt to dough to finished pizza. More
A sourdough starter is a simple concept—let some flour and water hang around for a while, and almost magically, the correct combination of yeast and bacteria will take up residence. Over the next many days, I'll be posting daily updates on a new sourdough starter that I've got growing. Today is Day Zero, i.e., your materials list. Read this, gather your supplies (most of which you probably already have), and then come back tomorrow! More
[Photograph: Foolish Poolish] From a name I know you know, Foolish Poolish: For your new feature, "My Pie Monday," a Margherita pulled from the oven about half an hour ago. Not my best pie by a long shot, but still tasty.Toppings are fairly self-explanatory (foodie specifics: S@n M@#!$&o tomatoes, Sicilian sea salt, fior di latte blah blah blah :) ).Oh, and sorry about the terrible photo quality...I'd blame the kitchen lighting, but, honestly, my photography sucks. I tried to fiddle with the colour in iPhoto but probably made it worse."... More
If you missed this thread over on Serious Eats Talk, it's worth visiting: Dear Slicer's: What's your favorite pizza dough recipe? Simon asks: It's been far too long since I've made pizza at home. I have a new oven with a top broiler (instead of the kind all the way in the bottom with the pull out drawer), and would like to put it, and my stone, to good use. I can get it REALLY hot in there with the broiler on. (about 650*)I'm curious to know what your favorite dough recipes are. I'm not scared of yeast, not scared... More
I know a lot of people reading the My Pizza Oven series on Slice are salivating at the beautiful ovens depicted. Judging by the comments, a lot of folks want to build ovens of their own. A masonry oven might be a large undertaking for some, both in terms of project skill level and money. But Ziggy over on The Year of Mud gives a breakdown on building an oven from cob, a building material similar to adobe. Best part: It costs just $20. More
Click me bigger! [Every Day with Rachael Ray] Some of you may have seen the stuff on the various Grub Street blogs, the Eater blogs, Village Voice/Fork in the Road, on the Chicago Tribune's Stew blog, in the New York Post, etc. The news that Rachael Ray has found the best pizza in the country. Yes and no. Every Day with Rachael Ray *magazine,* for the March issue, pegs a best-pizza-in-the-country story to college basketball's March Madness. The story will feature a 64-entrant mad-good-pizza bracket. I'm told that subscribers should be getting theirs as early as today; the issue... More
[Photograph: Adam Kuban] Our man Ed Levine just got off the phone with Totonno's owner Lawrence Ciminieri, who tells us that Totonno's is reopening next Wednesday, February 10 at noon. Ciminieri says he himself will be making the pies that day. We're confident that this is the real deal this time. Ciminieri says he will have the necessary permits in place, and that the pizzeria will be ready to go on Wednesday.... More
Looks like Pure and Simple, that short documentary on Una Pizza Napoletana that we blogged about last summer when it appeared in the NYC Food Film Festival, is finally available in its entirety online, thanks to New York magazine's Vulture Picture Palace. It follows obsessive pizzaiolo Anthony Mangieri through one day in the life of his renown Naples-style pizzeria. At nine minutes, it's a bit longer than most web video we bring you, but it's the weekend. It ain't gonna kill you to watch. And, who knows, you might learn something.... More
And so starts the first of Slice's Q&A's with folks who are mad about pizza. This week, we talk to someone whose screen name you might recognize. Without futher ado... Name: Foolish Poolish Location: England Website: Foolish Poolish Bakes; Flickr What type of pizza do you prefer? It's all good! (oh, boy, what a cop-out). OK, I'll sort of justify that by throwing up a link to a TED talk about the nature of choice and pursuit of the "perfect spaghetti sauce": http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html Truthfully, I haven't eaten nearly enough pizza or sampled adequate variety to give an informed opinion. Generally,... More
I've been sleeping on this story for a while, and for that I must apologize to you, dear reader, and to the Pizza Hacker, a pizza street vendor who I've known about for a couple months but haven't yet blogged about. The Pizza Hacker, based in San Francisco, uses a modified 22.5-inch Weber kettle grill that he's fitted with fire bricks. To mimic a traditional pizza oven, whose shape is ideal for cooking a pizza, he used the original lid to mold an oven dome from refractory cement and perlite. Pizza Hacker shows up at various locations throughout SF... More
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Neapolitan style pizzas do not use a pre-cooked tomato sauce, as canned tomatoes are always "cooked" prior to canning. I'm pretty certain that the same can be said of New Haven style pies. To get that bright, fresh tomato flavor, minimal cooking is critical.
To the best of my knowledge, the only pizza styles that use a "twice cooked" (one prior to canning and one prior to pizza application) sauce are those that require a more stew-like, concentrated flavor (i.e. Sicilian pies, deep dish pizzas, etc.).
Sally's uses barely any parmesan cheese on their plain pies, if any at all. Pepe's, on the other hand, uses a much heavier hand of parm. If you're baking your plain pies in a home oven and decide to add parm on them, I would definitely grate it onto the pie immediately after coming out of the oven.