Finally! Mainstream press takes a realistic photo of the novelty president.

Do they pre-fold it for you?

What next Maud, an image involving watermelons?

Why is Muad trying to derail the thread? Doesn't he like pizza?

So I've never been to Italy, but I was one of only a handful of Americans living with a bunch of Italians for a bit. Decima Paracadutisti Divisione Pantere (I think that is correct) on FOB Lavarado in Sultan-i-Bakwa.

After a couple months I got to have pizza more than a few times.


FUCK.
ITALIAN.
PIZZA.



Horrible, horrible stuff. Too dry, too scarce on the cheese, too scarce on the toppings. I don't require a chicago style pie or anything, but a piece of toast with some cheese and a packet of ketchup sprinkled on top is no fucking god damn pizza!

Only thing worse than a Pizza night was a 'We're fucking Eye-Ties and wouldn't know a supply chain if we were beaten by it, so here, enjoy whatever we got in a can all mixed together, mmmmm rice/olives/rancid fish delite! My favorite! Good, b/c it's fucking lunch and dinner for the next four days!' Nothing like coming back from a couple days out all excited for hot chow and you get that mess.

Yeah, peperoni is sausage, not a pepper. And the best peperoni for pizzas is more dry than greasy. So dry that when it's cooked, it's almost a little "crunchy".

You're out of your mind.

I've actually never been in Fairway or Wegman's market before but I really wish those chains would start expanding west because it would great to get them out here. We share our cool markets with you guys, why don't you folks do the same for us?

Wow, NY has some messed up laws especially since TJ's wine section really shines though it's beer and liquor selection could be better. Still, it does offer some excellent values such as a 1L bottle of house vodka (made by gray goose of France) for $7.99, the various house beers with a six pack for $2.99 (your choice of about half a dozen different types), and the ever famous Two buck chuck for $1.99. I usually keep some in the cabinet just in case someone comes over unexpected.

The pizza looked pretty good on the old Anthony Bourdain's episode about Portland. He visited a pizza place out there where the guy does hand tossed crust (and only hand tossed crust), great local ingredients, and a wood fired oven. The owner seemed like a bit of a nazi though because he'd only allow three toppings on a pizza, only one of which could be a meat, and if you tried to order more he'd kick you out and tell you to leave. :jihad:
Still, the clam and basil pesto pizza looked amazing.

See, now I know you're fucking crazy.

You've obviously never had real Italian pizza.

That being said, I've been to some pretty awesome pizza places in NYC. John's near Times Square is very tasty and Ben's in Greenwich Village is pretty great ghetto pizza.

Fast food American pizza chains have absolutely ruined pizza. A purist knows there is only three or four kinds of pizza, and anything more than two toppings (in addition to the sauce and cheese) is a cardinal sin.

As a native Chicagoan, I have to agree. I'll never forget my deep dish roots, but NY style is a totally different animal altogether.

There's a spot here in the Bronx that specializes in grilled pizza. The crust is so delectable. I wish I could describe it to you.

If you're ever in town stop by Coals Pizza on Eastchester Avenue.



Now they have great pepperoni. It's sliced so thin that it grills up sort of like a spicy bacon on it's edges. I should stop by there tonight....

He's busy proving how he's reformed since giving up the grand wizardship.

Doesn't sound like you've had Italian pizza to me. Just some approximation.

You sound like Oldfella with his "I stayed at a base in England for a few years so I know everything English" bullshit.

I have been to Italy and the pizza is shit in some places, but the places where it is made properly is divine...and yes, it's thin crust.

I could have easily read this post from other others, but you I expected better from.

Sounds like they didn't really know how to make pizza or else didn't have access to quality ingredients. Italians do tend to go lighter on cheese and sauce, but they can make it work out really well. Having lived in a few places in Italy for a while (and even made Italian pizza myself), I know there can be a range in quality of pizza makers, and it usually depends on the quality of ingredients.

This isn't applicable in your situation, but for anyone visiting Italy: avoid the cheapo walk-up pizza joints. They're tourist traps and they just leave the pizza sitting out all day, waiting to heat it up for some tourists.

I disagree.

Chilling at Coals!!


The Brooklyn Brewery Lager microbrew!


The Margherita with Mozzarella, marinara and fresh basil!


The Rustic with Fontina, pecorino, mushrooms and truffle oil!

I've never heard of grilled pizza before but I'll give just about anything a try once. I've even tried Connecticut style coal fired pizza and while it was tasty it was a little too crisp if you know what I mean. At least to my tastes.

I grilled pizza once, and it was very good. But it-s also very easy to burn the crust. Usually I bake it on a stone.

I've tried grilling my own pizza a few times with poor to mediocre results. Like anything else, I think the key to success is persistence.

On my next attempt, I'm going to grill one side until done, flip it, then add my toppings to the done side.

I recently had the opportunity to go into a Trader Joe's for the first time. The pretentiousness was so staggering that it almost drove me to my knees.

I haven't spent much time at all in Trader Joe's stores, certainly not enough to have much of an independent opinion about them. They are however, by the accounts of people I know who do frequent them regularly, very good spots for cheap, drinkable wine. Except in New York, where retailing beer is more profitable and excludes retailing wine, resulting in disappointment upon a first visit to the local Trader Joe's. That's all I was really meaning by "experience."

Try eating at Panera Bread sometime...

Done, won't go back. I can get far better locally sourced food at a much, much, much, much more reasonable price elsewhere.

That's another problem and the fault of my taste buds alone. Outside of one local vineyard, all wine tastes like Grapico mixed with rubbing alcohol to me.

Guess that depends on location. Out here, Whole Foods holds the patent on pretentiousness. Some of TJ's customers may be the type who name their kids "Cedar" and "Anemone" and let them run up and down the aisles unchecked, but the staff are super-friendly, and the prices - for stuff you can't get anywhere else, even in this retail-dense environment - can't be beat.

The customers were the main problem for me. But, I didn't buy the folksy-faux-farmy attitude of the store. I can show you a farm. This isn't it. The bakery stuff looked good (for some reason, we don't have a good bakery here). But, I could get everything else I wanted cheaper elsewhere. I guess I'm spoiled by living in farm country and having farmer's markets fill up every Saturday.

As for Whole Foods, yes. I recently came into contact with a delicious line of cheese spreads from the mid-west. The mom-and-pop organization started making cheese spreads and selling them at farmer's markets. That turned into a sandwich shop (with some of the best sandwiches I've ever had) and semi-local marketing in about 30 supermarkets in three Birmingham-sized cities. They're trying to go national and Whole Foods wanted them on board. But, Whole Foods demanded that they change one ingredient. Hellman's. One of their eight cheese spreads used Hellman's. They refused to compromise on their product and Whole Foods refused to budge. Hey, the market at work.

But, I think WF made a huge blunder. If y'all can ever get your hands on this stuff, it's great.