VIEW SLIDESHOW: Dear Slice: Dhorst's Syracuse Pizza Party

Reaching in to the Slice mailbag, we've got ... a pizza party report from dhorst!

On a recent Saturday night, people came from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rochester, the St. Lawrence River/Albany and the Adirondacks to make pizza at my place in Syracuse.  A couple of canine friends also came along and joined in on the fun, Red, "the official blog dog of Tupper Cooks!" and younger pup, Ellie, romped with Miss Ellie!  It was great seeing Glenn (Tupper Cooks!) and his wife, Nancy again!

We kept it pretty fast and loose, as far as what to bring. There was dmcavanagh's smoked cheddar, polish sausage, and Martin's handmade pretzels that Dave brought with him on his way down from his camp on the St. Lawrence.  He also brought a boat load of dough. Potato chips and some beautiful produce came up with Diane (diane2001v) from Pennsylvania.  Anne Marie and Jack Lewis brought some homemade Chardonnay, dough, and a wonderful tomato sauce. You may remember AMLewis's MPM submission of a Dutch oven pizza. Anne Marie and Jack are masters when it comes to cooking outside.

Jenny (creativecookinggf), brought some gluten free dough from Rhode Island and made a Buffalo chicken pizza.  We had her go first so it would be as gluten free as possible.  Her dad, Dave Manseau from Massachusetts brought along some Angry Orchard Cider and we showed off his master carpentry skills to folks.  He trimmed out our kitchen island for us and has helped us out with many other DIY projects through the years.  Deanah Kim, (deanadoll) and her fiance, Casey rolled in from Rochester with some great wines, terrific hummus, an eggplant spread and a fresh corn, green bean and tomato salad.  That's one gal who can cook!!  You should see some of her creations over on the FB SE Water Cooler.

Cheese curds and garlic scapes from the farmer's market.

We blabbed about dough, making a starter, cheese, and of course Adam, Slice, and SE.  Chichi also came up with her Nasty Bits column.  Deanah is quite knowledgeable in that regard and so is Dave Manseau, who spun a yarn about eating beaver tail.  Fishing and hunting also came up and there was some great talk about beer and wine making.  And then there was more talk about dough, stretching dough, how long people let it rise, methods, pizzamaking.com, Slice, Adam, Girl Slice and Baby Slice.

The non-food obsessed guests, a couple of neighbors and a couple from my husband's workplace were blown away by the food talk, the food, and the pizza.  Totally different culture than what they are used to and they thought it was amazing that we all got together to make pizza, eat, and talk about food even though some of us have never met in person before.  I've said to people that I like to think of each other as food focused pen pals who came together at a long running party that was hosted by Adam over in Slice and SE Talk.

My sons, Taylor (18) and Jacob (14), met everyone and found it funny to meet these wonderful people that they've heard me talk about.  They hid out in the basement, playing Call of Duty on Xbox and told me later that we were so loud with the laughter and talk that they couldn't hear each other.  Heh. About time considering how loud they get when playing Call of Duty!

DMC brought me a 25 lb. bag of Adirondack flour. He went home with some Wake Robin Farm cheese curds and just before he left for the night, he made a sopressata and mushroom pizza for his friend Karen, and managed to make it in time to Albany to get it to her for her dinner break.  Lead foot!!  Jars of secret dipping sauce also left the house with some of the guests, which were followed up with requests for the recipe over on "The Cooler."

All in all, a great friggin' time.  I can't wait until the next time we get together with fellow Slice'rs and SE folks.  Sounds like an early fall event may be in the works for Tupper Lake and there may be some SU hoops related events come winter! 

dhorst

You know how to throw one heck of a pizza party, Diana! Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great time was had by all. It's great to see the Slice and SE community get together in the real world!

Digging through the Slice mailbag we have a report on Porta National Park in Asbury Park from amusebouche1. As you may recall, this week's My Pie Monday included a Porta-inspired pie from tommyeats. Since this first report, amusebouche1 has made return visits with more intel here. For more pictures check out his blog.

[Photographs: Don Magee (aka amusebouche1)]

Porta has a lot going for it. First a great personable staff, two wood-fired Neapolitan ovens, they use Italian "00" flour and trained/visited with Roberto Caporuscio at Keste' on Bleecker Street in NYC. Keste' is the official location in the USA for APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani) whose mission is to protect and preserve the Neapolitan pizza tradition and promote the art of pizza making. The organization also certifies professional pizza makers in the tradition of Neapolitan Pizza. Roberto is President. I do not know if the staff is certified or just went for pizza and chatted.

As you can see from the picture, Porta is in an odd location and not welcoming from the outside. But it is one block from the boardwalk/beach and directly behind Asbury Park's legendary Stone Pony, once home to Bruce Springsteen. At one end of the space are three large garage doors that lead to an outside gravel patio with a bocce ball court. I imagine in the summer Porta will be packed.

The inside is also as industrial as the exterior. The walls are unpainted cinderblock, the floor is cement. The beams and duct work are exposed and even the bar feels handmade but not by a carpenter. The tables are picnic tables. It is cavernous and loud. The two ovens are located at the back as is the prep/serving area.

I have been there twice and both times I ordered a carbonara. It is topped with guanciale (cured pig jowl), Parmigiano Reggiano, roasted egg, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, black pepper $13. I had the Parmigiano replaced with fresh mozzarella.  The pies could not have been more different. Pie one was mostly crust with little mozzarella but nicely cooked. Pie two pictured below, was nicely cooked but suffered from too much cheese. But I liked both for different reasons.

My wife ordered a Margherita with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, basil $12. She felt the crust was under done. It was also a different diameter from mine. We noticed this was a trend at other tables. As for the crust, it contains no sugar or EVOO. It will char but not caramelize.

On my second visit a friend of mine ordered the Italian stallion, pictured below. It is topped with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, sweet Italian sausage, hot Italian roasters/peppers $16. It was good, but not great.

I will go back in a few weeks to see what has changed and order the arugula. It is topped with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, garlic, arugula, truffle oil $14 and a Verdi imperial stout (11.2 oz) $12. But I do think Porta National Park has all the correct pieces of the puzzle, the menu for me is happily edgy (guanciale where else?), but some pieces need a better fit.

Porta National Park

911 Kingsley Street, Asbury Park, NJ 07712 (map)
732-776-7661; pizzaporta.com

Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.

[Photographs: Hawk Krall]

The first time I had Paolo's Pizza was at Dirty Frank's, a Bukowski-esque dive bar around the corner that had 4 or 5 Paolo's pies up for grabs along the bar. They were delicious, but I knew needed to go back sober to try it again. I walked in the door literally five minutes after they opened, so the gourmet crazy topping slices (buffalo chicken, taco pizza, etc.) that they're known for weren't available yet, but the pies behind the glass pizza showcase were still hot from the oven.

This pepperoni slice really hit the spot; medium thick crust and really light on the sauce. These nice wide slices of pepperoni and come with a sprinkle of Parmesan and oregano on top. Definitely a notch or 3 above your standard philly slice joint, they also have a crazy sandwich menu and cheap six packs of beer.

Paolo Pizzeria

1334 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (map)
(215) 545-2482 ‎; paolo-pizza.com

We've some pizza gold from the Slice mailbox. If you saw our Pizza Obsessives interview with Lance yesterday, you'll have eagerly been awaiting the followup—Lance describes his visit to Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and gives us a first look at Flagstaff's Pizzicletta, which of course is the subject of Caleb Schiff's column "Building a Pizzeria". What I'm saying is that we have a cosmic pizza convergence here.

"You're driving to Phoenix... for pizza?" That's how everyone used to say it, with shock in their voice. But with all the press that my favorite place in the world, Pizzeria Bianco, has gotten the last couple years, it's morphed a little. Now it's, "You're driving to Phoenix for...pizza?" Like they're a little concerned for my sanity.  

Yes, my wife and I are driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix for pizza and pizza alone. And with the new lunch hours, the door is now open for us to up the ante, double down on the Bianco, and get our first taste of Caleb Schiff's Pizzicletta in Flagstaff, too.

DAY ONE

9AM - If we're going to make it to Pizzicletta for a second dinner we need to get into Bianco early, so we actually leave on time for once. With some help from our big three bands (Radiohead, Pavement and U2 if you're keeping score), 7.5 hours of driving fly by. As much as 7.5 hours through the desert can "fly by" that is.

4:30PM - We arrive in Phoenix. Chris had already stepped away from the oven the last time we were here, but the line was still godawful. This is a completely different experience. There's no line at all. Granted, it's Friday afternoon (and it's 109 degrees outside), but arriving at 4:30 used to mean you could expect to eat around 7. This new Pizzeria Bianco feels...strange. Like it's just another place to eat instead of pizza royalty.

Our appetizer, the Margherita, looks like it's the real deal but the crust is hollowed out and dry and the flavor is a little underwhelming by Bianco standards. The overall dryness saps some flavor from the delicate tomato sauce and the sparse (but still delicious) house-made mozzarella. I bite into another end and it shatters into a hundred little pieces. Something is wrong here.

The crust on the next two pies, the Biancoverde (fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, ricotta, arugula) and the Rosa (red onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, rosemary, AZ pistachios), is a little better. It's hard to argue with top notch cheeses mixing it up with olive oil or with my single favorite flavor combination ever created (The Rosa). But something is still off. It's all pretty good, but lauding Pizzeria Bianco for merely good pizza is like congratulating Superman on his victory in the 100-yard dash.

6PM - We get on the road to Flagstaff and I have an existential pizza crisis. Has the food suffered with Chris away from the ovens? Was it the heat? Have I had too many other amazing pizzas in other cities? Has my palate just gotten better? Was it ever really as good as I remembered? Did the fact that Chris was nowhere to be seen have an effect on my brain? Was I loving the experience of having a legend lording over my pies more than the pizza itself? I know this sounds ridiculous, but my world is rocked.

8:30PM - Flagstaff seemed like a quaint city in a surprisingly lush part of Arizona... until we turned on to Phoenix St. Then it looked like Austin, Texas, Jr. Lots of bars, music and people. That was the first of many surprises at Pizzicletta.

If you've read any of Caleb's blogs you know he's described his pizzeria as intimate. That's usually just a codeword for small, but in this case the intimacy is in the interaction you have with the pizzaiolo. No matter where you are, you just have to turn your head and Caleb's either making a pie a mere six feet from you or he's out in the dining area serving a pizza he just pulled from his beautiful Stefano Ferrara oven.

Here comes the pies. Caleb seems like one of the nicest people you're ever going to meet, but his pizzas are anything but laid back. They're bold... aggressive even. The tomato on his Margherita is robust and earthy—much more present and prevalent than you'd find on most Neapolitan pies. I quickly realize that the sauce needs to be that big to balance out the cornicone, which is large and in charge—in size as well as in flavor. Biting through a slightly crunchy, perfectly-charred outer layer, your mouth sinks into a big, airy pillow of bread that you feel like you could chew on for days. Then your taste buds get called up. Rustic and with more than a hint of grain, the crust has as much flavor as I can remember in a Neapolitan pie.

The Margherita was something I really enjoyed, but the next pie, the Amore Oi Mari was, without hesitation, one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten. First you get sweet marscarpone fusing with a sharp Pecorino Romano under bitter baby arugula and salty prosciutto... and then this incredible meyer lemon olive oil from Queen Creek, AZ, cuts through it all like a sword and scrambles the flavors into something new and completely refreshing. Caleb's got a great story about how he came upon the inspiration for the pizza, but trust me, it would be much better if you just let him give you the scoop as he's serving you your very own Amore.

I imagine that just about everybody coming in from out of town brings up Chris Bianco's name to Caleb. I know I did. With the Arizona connection, it probably can't be helped. But even though it's a grossly unfair to compare someone who's been open for a month with the most famous pizzamaker in the country, in this case... it makes perfect sense.  Caleb's this incredibly passionate guy who's chosen to express himself by serving his unique vision of pizza—just like another guy used to do 150 miles due south. And just like at Pizzeria Bianco, every part of Pizzicletta, from the space, to the service, to the food, feels like it's an extension of Caleb.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the pizza's pretty great, too.

DAY TWO

12:30PM - I've been to Phoenix five times, but this is the first time I've been able to get to Chris's sandwich (and now dinner) place, Pane Bianco. I don't have any pictures of the tomato, basil, mozzarella sandwich I had there because it's take-out only and I was afraid the cheese was going to melt as we dined in the 109 degree heat.  You'll just have to imagine an 8-inch wheel of Chris's amazing fresh mozzarella encased in a fresh, wood-fired flatbread.

It was imperative that I only eat half of the massive sandwich to save room for dinner, but five minutes after my first bite the whole thing was gone. Crap. Our appetites now blown, we went to the nearest air-conditioned mall and walked around for a couple hours in a desperate attempt to revive our hunger.

5PM - After just a half-hour wait (on a Saturday?!), we sit down for what I assume will be my last Pizzeria Bianco for a quite a while. There's no way I can put the miles in for "pretty good pizza".  The Rosa arrives to start things off and very quickly I realize... things are different. This crust has that same buoyant spring that I remember so well. And the flavor's different, now it's much more pronounced but it's blending in perfectly with the toppings. This is exactly how Bianco used to taste. Whoa. In Latin I believe the phrase is... "shit just got real".

Now the Wiseguy (fennel sausage, roasted onion, smoked mozzarella) and the Sonny Boy (mozzarella, salami, Gaeta olives, tomato) hit the table. The two pies are stacked with thick layers of intense flavors, but with the crust now firing on all cylinders, suddenly everything is working in concert to become something... more.  That's when I remember my favorite thing about Bianco—the balance. You never think about how good a single aspect of the pizza is, just how amazing these pies are as a whole.

As we walk out, I'm relieved. My favorite pizza in the world still exists. And it still resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

6PM - I measure the ride home and it's 700 percent less fun than the ride there. Then I start to think about how precarious pizza can be. How one questionable batch of dough can throw off even the best pizzerias. And then I think about how in awe I am of Caleb, that he can already be working at such a high level. He's chosen a long, tough road where you have to give it your all every day, but he's ready for the big time. There aren't any pizza trips to Phoenix anymore—just pizza trips to Arizona.

1AM - We're home. But after spending 18 of the last 36 hours in a car, I have one last thing to attend to before I crash. Five minutes later, I pull out the four slices of pizza we took home from Bianco.  They're piping hot.  People can argue all they want about who has the best pizza in Los Angeles, but tonight I'm fairly certain it's me, and me alone.

[Photograph: Lodge Cast Iron]

Dear Adam,
I have been reading your website. I found out about it recently, so I am quite new to it, but I love it. [Awww, thanks! —AK] Of everything I cook, pizzas are my favourite, which I have been doing for around eight years now, though until last year, I just was trying things in my own, just for fun, and this year, I decided I wanted to look for tips in the internet and books. That's when I found out about your blog.

Three months ago I started thinking that I needed to increase the heat transfer under the pizza, then I decided maybe putting a granite tile under and preheating the oven would be a good idea because hot air was too slow transfering heat to the pizza. Then I found out, half of the world who cooks pizzas at home already does that. I was pleased and surprised and happy to see that the idea I had was, in fact, good. My granite tile is 40 centimeters square by 3 centimeters high [16 inches square by 1.2 inches high].

The problem is, my pizza oven heats up to 250ºC (about 500ºF, I think). And the pizza does not get any char or black spots at the bottom, while the borders get too hard when cooked, like hard old bread. Which makes me think that the problem is that for when the bottom gets cooked enough, it was too long for the top. So the idea I am having now, would be to increase it even more, with a material, the same thickness but with better heat-conducting capabilities, like a metal. Some ideas would be iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, of about an inch thick. But to buy a tile like this, made of one of these metals, can be expensive, and I am not sure if anybody has done that before, and if the idea is just silly. Before investing, I would like to know what is your opinion about that.

Best regards,
Jorge R.
Spain

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Dear Jorge,

Thanks for writing in! Wow, someone from Spain reads Slice? ¡Que bueno!

Yes, I think you discovered on your own the problem that plagues many at-home pizzamakers — the disparity in getting adequate temperature to the bottom and top of the pizza simultaneously.

Regarding the metal surface, we have a few Slice'rs who swear by the cast-iron pizza pan made by Lodge (pictured above).

I think they preheat it in the oven for 30 to 60 minutes and then cook on that. I've never invested in one (but should) so I can't say from experience whether it will get you where you need to be, but perhaps folks here can chime in. I'm also not sure if it's available in Spain, but look around — maybe Amazon will ship there.

Additionally, there are some methods we've tried to better or lesser effect: The Cast-Iron Pizza Hack has you turning a large cast iron skillet upside down and heating it under the broiler, using its bottom as the cooking surface. Your pies will necessarily have to be smallish, and you'll have to worry about placing it carefully on the surface.

The Skillet-Broiler Method is also a great hack. I've used this to good effect — some of my best pizzas have come from this method.

Just some ideas for you.

And, remember, we do a weekly series called My Pie Monday, in which we invite Slice'rs to send in a photo of their best recent homemade pizza. Consider sending one in when you get one you're happy with!

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

[Photograph: pizzacrustyeast.com]

Adam,
Tmayson here, long time lurker and big fan. I saw Fleischmann's has a special blend just for pizza—it doesn't bounce back when you stretch it, you can make pizza in an hour, no rise needed, faster, cheaper, blah, blah, blah.

I tried it and made the dough, following the directions EXACTLY—it made two rounds, enough for a thin-crust 16-inch pizza on my cast iron pizza stone, and I used it right after mixing with just a little kneading.

The result? Very small cornicione, not a lot of rise, very good browning (I do 10 minutes in a 500°F oven, no oven hacks or anything).

On her blog, Cookistry, Donna Currie put a sourdough crust (left) to the test against Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast (right). [Photographs: Donna Currie/Cookistry]

I think you would get more flavor and spring with a little bit of a rise, but that would defeat their marketing purpose. Still, for a near-instant pizza crust (the package brags that you can have pizza in a half hour), it was not bad. The yeast was on sale, but I wouldn't pay more money for it unless I HAD to have instant homemade pizza.

The second half of the dough is in the fridge and I will let you know the what the difference was when I make that tomorrow. I suspect that some slow rise in the refrigerator will improve my results a bit. Will send in pics for My Pie Monday

Keep up the great Slice work,
tmayson

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Dear tmayson,

You may have seen the blog post that we linked to last week — Donna Currie, over on Cookistry, put the Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast up against a crust made from one of her sourdough starters.

Having recently made some pizza from regular active dry yeast (with a 45-minute rise and then stretch and bake) and then later in the day some with my own sourdough crust, there's such a world of difference in terms of flavor that I don't know if I could ever go back to same-day dough, let alone the PCY.

Though, yeah, sometimes you just want to make some pizza ASAP.

Send in your pics when you can. Would love to see this in a My Pie Monday!

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

We saw this story about Takeru Kobayashi's failed attempt to break the Guinness record for fastest pizza-eating, but here's some more perspective on it courtesy of Slice'r Tommy, from New Zealand, home of the current record-holder. —AK

Hey, Adam,
Greetings from Wellington, New Zealand. You may have caught wind of this story already, but I thought i'd pass it on anyway: http://www.3news.co.nz/Japanese-eater-fails-to-beat-Kiwis-pizza-record/tabid/415/articleID/186429/Default.aspx/ I believe it has been reported in a few U.S. newspapers and websites also.

I make pizza for Scopa, the New Zealand restaurant that organised the competition that gave birth to the current Guinness record, and we're pretty happy it stood strong. Looks like Takeru Kobayashi tried to bite off more than he could chew—stick to the hotdogs, methinks. Josh (the record holder) will still be happily enjoying his free Scopa pizza for as long as the record stands!

Here's a YouTube vid of the competition we held back in 2008. Note that the rules are quite specific: knife and fork, finish each mouthful before starting the next, etc. It's a lot harder than you might think.

Oh, and for the record, the pies used in the competition were cooked in big batches and had sat around for a while before it all started; they are much better looking when made fresh for paying customers.

I hope this is of interest to some Slice'rs, particularly Paulie Gee, whom I was fortunate enough to apprentice under for a couple of months this year.

Cheers from Down Under, and keep up the good work.

—Tommy (aka tommygun)

So I hear you about Pepe's, Sally's, Modern, etc. All are great places to grab a slice. I am a little more curious about Colony Grill, because I have eaten there many times, and it has begun to lose it's appeal. First of all, they no longer serve Schaeffer beer on draft. That's strike one. It's ALWAYS packed with fat little kids and their fat parents. Strike two. You are likely to very nearly squirt-dump in your pants within hours of eating there. Strike three.

Here is where you need to go in Connecticut:

Bruce Park Grill in Greenwich for bar pizza. I recommend meatballs and hot cherry peppers, with a gorgonzola salad on the side. It's a great neighborhood place, with a lot of the charm of Colony, without the huge crowd, and it has a nice shuffleboard table, jukebox, etc. to pass the time. Also, the pizza is just better. [Bruce Park Grill: 231 Bruce Park Avenue, Greenwich CT 06830 (map); 203-869-8006]

Glenville Pizza in Greenwich (King Street exit off the Merritt Parkway). This is actually the first exit in Connecticut, and here you will find the best slice in Fairfield County. It is a little joint that hasn't changed since I was a kid. The picture of Ricky Schroeder is still on the wall, right next to Tim Teufel's. He rode on my bus to school when the pic was taken. Anyway, do yourself a favor and try the Sicilian. Getting a slice there is magical, but it is so good you probably will want to order a whole Sicilian pie. Do it. I don't get Sicilian or deep dish anything, ever. Except at Glenville. Their regular slice is delicious, as well, but they tend to be a little on the small side. So get two, and wash it down with a Strawberry Welch's. That's right. Strawberry. Welch's. [Glenville Pizza: 243 Glenville Road, Greenwich CT 06831 (map); 203-531-9852]

Just thought you should know that you don't have to drive up to New Haven or Manchester to get a good slice. And forget about Mystic already. That pizza is such crap, they should stuff the crust with toilet paper. Seriously, next time I get cornmeal anywhere NEAR my pizza, someone is getting choked out.

Enjoy your travels. You have a great website, and it's always an enjoyable read.

—Zino

Reaching in to the Slice mailbag, we've got ...

[Photograph: krzakptak on Flickr]

Adam,
Over the past year my obsession with cooking and baking has increased exponentially. My wife, God bless her, has been very patient and understanding as I spend hours in the kitchen working on the day's latest creation, more often than not lately it's been homemade pizza and sauces, etc.

Last night, though, I believe I hit a wall of sorts with my spouse. Sitting at the kitchen table, I told her I was going to run to the store.

"Why?" she asked.

"To get some rye flour," I answered.

"For what?"

"Uh, I found this pizza dough recipe by Alice Waters, and it calls for a quarter cup of rye flour," I said, trying to make it sound appealing.

Then the hammer dropped, she stared right into my eyes and said, "No, no pizza." Followed by, "You're obsessed with pizza, aren't you?"

My bubble having been burst, I took a moment for self-reflection and thought back over the past week or two—geez, I've only made pizza five or six times (not counting a stromboli).

So, I made Philly cheesesteaks and sweet potato fries, which were very good, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the dough with a quarter cup of rye flour and what it would taste like.

And tonight, come hell or high water, I'm making Alice Waters's dough.

Here's my question, which perhaps you could make into a poll.... [Done! --AK]

Fellow, Slice'rs: How many nights a week can you get away with making pizza for supper?

Thank you for hearing me out.

—Glenn (Tupper Cooks!)

Dear Slice,
I had my parents and older sister out for a visit this last week. I had been honing my pizza-making skills over the last few months in preparation for the visit, focusing on using the Kenji broiler technique. I considered making pizza for my family a "pizza lab practical" of sorts, and I passed with flying colors. I would venture to say that the five pies I produced were the best I've ever made — they certainly had the best cornicione I've done yet.

I made a mixture of pesto, white, and red pizzas all topped with dry shredded mozzarella, including: date and homemade pancetta (white), sausage and onion (red), butternut squash and sage walnut pesto, red pepper and mushroom (white), and seasoned hamburger and onion and red pepper (red).

Thanks again for all that you do, you inspired me to make quality pizzas at home, and I've achieved better and better results with practice.
—Kevin B.

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Dear Kevin,

Awww. Thanks for the nice email! We're happy to pass you with flying colors ... as soon as you share your pics of these pies with us! ;) (Were they better than this one that you shared recently for My Pie Monday?)

Seriously, though, this is great. I'm so happy that Slice'rs are getting good, practical use from the stuff that Slice puts out daily.

More important, how did your family react to the pizzas?

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

I'm bringing my family to New York in November. Would like really good pizza in the Midtown area, preferably in a clean (and pretty) restaurant or pizzeria. Any suggestions?

Slice hivemind, buzz away!

Very favorable first encounter. They favor a less puffy cornicione than Keste, to the benefit of a crisper undercarriage, while remaining extremely light. No tip sag or swampy middle whatsoever on my Margherita, even on the last slice. The crust achieves an excellent balance between shatteringly, audibly crisp, and light, airy, and delicate. No doughiness. A pleasant yeasty tang. Just enough salt. The tomato and cheese were good, not extraordinarily so, but of obvious quality. The star here is the crust. I have yet to try the other offerings, but from the benchmark test, which is the Margherita, I'd say it's very promising. If you're anywhere near the area, I'd very enthusiastically recommend eating here. Sorry no pics, I didn't bring a real camera and it's too dim on here for crappy iPhone pics.

Buca Pizza

201 103rd Street, New York NY 10025 (Broadway/Amsterdam; map)

Reaching in to the Slice mailbag, we've got some intel from Simon on a new pizzeria just about to open on the Upper West Side on 103rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.

[Photographs: simon]

Buca Pizza is for real! I wrote to you about this a while ago, and nothing seemed to be happening there — until tonight, when I thought I'd see if there was any activity. Lo and behold, she's almost ready to open. And it looks and sounds promising. Wood-burning oven. Homemade pasta specials. Owner, a really nice, really Italian guy named Sebastiano, hopes to open next Wednesday. All dishes will be fired in the oven. Salads, pizzas, pastas, and meats. Looks like it seats about 10 to 12 people. I'm very excited! Thought you may want this on your radar. I'll report back with any new intel.

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Dear Simon,

Let's hope this works out and that the pizza is good. The UWS is sort of devoid of this style of pizza. If anyone is still looking to open a wood-fired Neapolitan joint in a city that's littered with them, the UWS is still virgin territory.

Thanks for the intel!

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

Reaching in to the Slice mailbag, we've got ...

Old-school pizza date night! [Photograph: Life/Google]

Egg on pizza? No way. I'm sorry, I think I am just too old school. Using the Pizza Cognition Theory and my memory as best I can, my family lived on Ocean Avenue and Avenue J in Brooklyn from 1958 to 1961. Avenue J was our main shopping area. As a young child I had my first and maybe the first in the area slice of pizza at what is now Di Fara. I remember the owners were Italian and right from Italy. I can still remember eating a hot slice right out of the oven on a cold winter day and getting pizza mouth. From that day I have been hooked on pizza.

But back to old school; to this day the only thing I would put on pizza is onion, and not caramelized. As time has gone on I see where pizza has become a depository for everything in the fridge or where pizza places can make a few extra dollars. Putting all kinds of toppings on pizza, I feel, just dilutes and disguises what pizza really is.

And white pizza? Come on! Pizza is about crust, cheese, and sauce.

When we start talking about toppings it reminds me of bagels. Is a blueberry bagel really a bagel? Sun-dried tomato bagel?

I have always considered myself somewhat liberal, but at the end of the day I guess I am just a purist and "old school."

Just give me a good "Slice," hot out of the oven, the hotter the better. Cold pizza? for college mornings.

Sincerely,
Alan M.

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Dear Alan,

Thanks for taking the time to write in. I'm sure there are many old-schoolers reading this now. You are their champion.

Given that it's Slice's birth month, I'll do some reminiscing myself. When I started the site, I was pretty much a purist, too, and routinely avoided toppings beyond my favorites — sausage-and-onion (not caramelized; I'm with you there), maybe pepperoni. But after years of eating pizza in the service of this beast of a website, I started to get a little tired of plain pies. I know the toppings aren't for everyone, but I've happily joined the explore-it-all camp. Sometimes you find something amazing.

[Photograph: Adam Kuban]

As for white pies, personally I find it depends on what it is. There's the old-school corner-joint-pizzeria white pie, which has no sauce and often is only mozzarella, ricotta, and pepper — and then there are white pies that are "white pies" by virtue of having no tomato sauce but that might be wildly different from the old-school white pies (think: the brussels sprout pizza at Motorino, which combines both things you rail against here). As Cosimo Tiso of Louie & Ernie's in the Bronx pointed out when I talked to him earlier this year, "You either grew up eating white pies or you didn't. If you didn't, it's not your thing."

I'm afraid I didn't grow up eating the old-school white pies, so I rarely order them. They're not my thing.

Anyway, just my two cents. Thanks again for taking the time to write!

Hasta la pizza,
Adam

From Slice'r Jeff R. comes this news:

FYI, we saw that a new Grimaldi's [Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria] opened up in Highlands, New Jersey at 123 Bay Avenue. They built a huge coal-fired oven and had a soft opening last week. The official opening date is sometime this week.

Grimaldi's (Highlands)

123 Bay Street, Highlands NJ 07732 (map)