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egadman

The Pizza Lab: Combine The KettlePizza and the Baking Steel For The Ultimate Home Pizza Setup

Matthew Yglesias on Slate thinks this whole thing is silly: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/04/16/home_cooked_pizza_don_t_try.html

I think he's missing the point.

How To Make Matzo Pizza

How to Make Matzo Pizza: don't. Just don't do it.

You can eat regular pizza again in a week. You can wait.

This Totally Exists: Hot Dog-Encrusted Shrimp Tempura Pizza with Mayonnaise

side effects may include: nightmares, tweeting, nausea, vomiting, erectile disfunction, and walking corpse syndrome.

Juliana's: Patsy Grimaldi's New Pizzeria in Search of a Legacy

I just love the feud. Yes, it's probably a bit psychologically harrowing for the Grimaldi and Ciolli families, but (a) it probably helps drive business and (b) what a great addition to NYC pizza lore. Seeing the duelling lines-out-the-door running into each other between Juliana's and Grimaldi's is kind of cool.

Pizza Obsessives: Niki 'Lady Slice' Achitoff-Gray

I'd say, "welcome," but it appears you've been here all along.

Apocalypse Pizza is amazeballs. Thank you.

I second darklighter's pizza challenge.

First Look: Handsome Pizza in Portland, OR

@AK. I know the shaker thing is a small thing. Having a second one has crossed my mind, but it doesn't solve the first problem of it not being put back, which is something I'll inevitably have to do myself. This doesn't really upset me, it's just a minor annoyance I'd rather not have to deal with. I'd much rather someone buy a pizza and not put back the shaker, than not buy a pizza.

@f r y: I agree with AK's incredulity here. You're making the rest of us look bad. I feel ashamed now.

First Look: Handsome Pizza in Portland, OR

I also want to give a shoutout to Familiar Studio, the very kind and talented folks who helped me rebrand this place Handsome Pizza. Without them it may have ended up Chotch McGotch Pizza and Soufflés with a logo of a spider-monkey, because coming up with terrible pizzeria names and bad design is my other hobby.

First Look: Handsome Pizza in Portland, OR

Most customers do clean up after themselves, but those who don't are the ones I remember. I do have dish bins labelled "dishes" and "recycling" and I think this helps. But every time someone takes the chili flake shaker and doesn't return it—it gets my back up.

Your anecdote about sincerity being mistaken for sarcasm is brutal. That hasn't happened to me yet, but I definitely got a less than stellar Yelp review after an interaction with a customer went unintentionally south because I was exhausted from the day and wasn't paying enough attention to how I presented myself.

Watch These Puppets Explain the Science Behind Slice-Folding

pizza has never looked so unappetizing. why? not because of math, but because of lighting (and weird rubber-gloved hands molesting the slices)... which i guess is probably math on some level. ok, so because of math. ugh, math... (i love you).

Video: Josh Ozersky on New York's Finest Pizza

I don't think anyone claimed that this video was about the best anything other than "pizza neighborhood".

Video: Josh Ozersky on New York's Finest Pizza

@tonycalzone: if this were facebook, that would get a little thumb-up.

Video: Josh Ozersky on New York's Finest Pizza

"Feel the hatred flowing through you!"

No love for the Ozersky, eh? I admire his enthusiasm at least. And case-by-case I agree with him on 50% of his review here (Motorino & the Artichoke square). I dunno where he picked up the VPN line on Motorino, but your average pizza eater won't know the difference anyway.

I'll say this though: Joe's is definitely a better NY slice that Stromboli's, John's has some of the best pizza and longest history in NYC, and Olio is actually VPN. So if you're looking for diversity, it's in the WV too.

7 Ice Cream Scoops We Love in Portland, Oregon

Two major misses here: Salted Caramel Stracciatella from Scoop (not What's the Scoop?) and pretty much everything at Lovely's Fifty-Fifty, which for my money is just better than everyone.

A Pizza My Mind: On Finding Good Pizza in Surprising Places

There are two killer Neapolitan-esque pizzerias in New Zealand of all places. Al Volo in Auckland and Pizza Pomodoro in Wellington. As far as I could tell they were the only two good spots in the entire country. But what blistery beauties they bake. It's worth the hunt.

What Is NYC's Best Pizza Neighborhood?

West Village gets my vote. Besides the aforementioned Joe's, Artichoke, Keste, John's, Bleecker, and Olio there's also No. 28, Arturos, and Pizza Mezzaluna which are all pretty solid.

Top This: Fior di Zucca (à la Nicoletta)

I respectfully disagree that zucchini or their blossoms make for great pizza toppings. Neither are particularly flavorful. Maybe if the zucchini was roasted first or marinated, it might hold up, but it's relatively delicate flavor would be totally lost next to a pesto and all that other stuff.

In my experience zucchini works well as a vessel for other flavors, like a pesto, but in this case, the pizza crust already acts as such. It can also be fantastic on its own, but it's still generally a fairly mildly flavored food.

As for the blossoms, as far as I can tell, they're pretty much flavorless after being baked on a pizza. They sure do look pretty though.

My suggestion? Skip the zucchini in the recipe above and save it to serve as a side, grilled or roasted with some garlic and olive oil.

Undercover Pizza Lover, Part III: Slingin' Slices

anytime you want to fill in for me at my place, you let me know. i could use a little vacation time...

Daily Slice: Kindle Kart, Portland, Oregon

These two comments seem at odds with each other:

"but the drawn-out wait time and awkward service had me questioning the overall worth of my journey to the edge of Portland's industrial Northwest neighborhood."

"Kindle Kart comes with the highest recommendation, and represents the evolution of Portland's food cart pizza quality."

The pizza looks great, by the way. I definitely need to check it out. I tried it out when it was on Mississippi about a year-and-a-half ago. But it looks like he has a completely new set-up.

What was awkward about the service and what were the circumstances surrounding the wait? And how long did you wait?

Daily Slice: Pizza Contadino, Portland, Oregon

I've only been able to try 'em out once for just a plain slice, but it was definitely some of the better pizza I've had in PDX.

@JB, if you have a chance to try out one of their simpler pies, take it.

Is Artichoke The Shake Shack of New York Pizza?

Artichoke square is definitely a yay. I would queue up for a good half hour (with friends to banter with) for that stuff.

Artichoke regular is a nay—the crust is too substantial and kinda makes the act of chewing my slice unpleasant.

Undercover Pizza Lover Part I: Working the Line at a Family Pizzeria in Las Vegas

I wish more people could experience a busy kitchen line. The first time I worked one, I got chest pains from the stress. It definitely gave me a newfound respect for line cooks and food service employees in general.

I'm definitely more sympathetic and patient as a customer to servers.

What threw me wasn't the centimeter measurement, it was the later use of the ounce. Now I don't know if he stretched 200 imperial dough skins or metric dough skins...

Portland, Oregon: Via Tribunali

@frizz: Here're my Portland picks:

1. Ken's Artisan Pizza or Apizza Scholls

The rest (not in any order):
Wy'east
Gladstone Street Pizza
Pizza Contadino
Pyro Pizza
Give Pizza A Chance

... haven't been yet to Oven & Shaker or Via Tribunali. I have a friend who was recently at Nostrana and said it was vastly improved over the last time we were there, which was a while ago.

Portland, Oregon: Via Tribunali

Garlic in the sauce maybe? Either way, looks like I'll have to make a trip sometime soon. I went to one in Seattle a while ago and wasn't impressed, but based on the review here, it definitely looks like the PDX version is worth some reconnaissance.

I know Schollls puts garlic on their version of the Margherita, but obvs not VPN there.

@JB: Also, you should try my Margherita sometime.

Pizza Style I'd Never Heard Of: 'Pizza di Sfrigole' from Italy's Abruzzo

this pizza is BALLS!

Pizza Hut's Un-American Hot Dog Stuffed-Crust Pizza

this pizza is NOT BALLS!

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The Pizza Lab: Bringing Neapolitan Pizza Home (aka 'The Skillet-Broiler Method')

Perfect Neapolitan pizza at home is a myth. It's a golden ring that can be strived for but never quite achieved. So where does that leave the rest of us home cooks? The ones who want to throw together a quick, really good pizza that doesn't require jury-rigging the oven? Lucky for us, really-really-good-but-not-quite-authentic-Neapolitan-pizza is not an unattainable goal. All you need is a skillet and your oven's broiler. More