Not all Pizzas are created equal

[ERD50]

Yes, many different styles are good. I've got a fondness for Chicago Deep-dish (Lou Malnati's - the 'Big Lou' - dough, cheese, tomato, and spinach, and LOTS of garlic). Recently, we got carry out for out of town guests, and they were a little freaked out that we were getting only two pizzas for a group. Until I said, here, hold this while I get my car keys, and they couldn't believe how heavy a single pizza was. Next visit, they experienced 'Italian Beef', with hot giardineira. I didn't realize that people outside of Chicago were not familiar with hot giardineira.

Timely thread, though I love deep dish, it is winter 'comfort food' for us. I made a 'white pizza' on the grill tonight. Trader Joe's dough, lots of garlic infused olive oil - cook the dough on the grill a bit, then add goat cheese and fresh mozzarella, cooked shrimp and asparagus, spinach and basil, sprinkle with Parmesan. That was good. Tomato, cucumber and fennel salad on the side with a little olive oil and lemon juice for dressing. Sauvignon Blanc for DW, a home-brewed Kölsch (or two... or three) for myself.

-ERD50

 

[Elbata]

Best pizza I've ever had in my life was Ledo's Pizza (I believe it was in College Park MD).

It spawned a bunch of copy cats, but the original place was (of course my opinion only) the best pizza known to man.

I used to go 35 years ago, so no idea if they're even still there.

 

[keegs]

We built a pizza oven last summer, Neopolitano style, cooked quickly at about 850 degrees, takes about 3 minutes to cook a pizza. Dough is thin and you get some bubbles when cooking. Tomato based sauce, slightly sweet, plenty of cheese. For toppings, I like pepperoni and canadian bacon, DW likes pepperoni with mushrooms and olives.

It takes about 2 hours to fire up the oven but it stays hot enough to cook a whole chicken or bread the next morning, try to use it about every 10 days or so.

Will also eat some frozen pizzas, not the same but better than no pizza, I like Tombstone brand with added cheese and toppings.

A colleague at work made a pizza oven in his back yard a few years ago too. It was a lot of work building the base and forming the oven out of brick and mortar. He used a kit that he bought online that provided the form for the oven some instructions and some other (non masonry) parts.

It/he makes really good pizza.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Having spent a fair amount of time in Italy the past year, I find myself craving the wood fired, brick oven-baked pizzas I savored there...especially this Vesuvio pizza (thin crust with tomato sauce, grilled sliced eggplants, garlic, salami, then topped with slices of parmesan cheese once the pizza is retrieved from the brick oven).
I have tried NY pizzas and Chicago deep dish pizzas (won't go back for deep dish...pizzas in Italy are all thin crust)...I will save my pizza eating until I go back to Italy in a few months. In the meantime, I will just make my own pizzas using my own pizza sauce.

 

[MichaelB]

We like pizza but don't eat much anymore because it just doesn't like us back. No favorite for me, I enjoy all kinds. NY style, Chicago deep dish (Lou's), Anthony's coal fired, California style.

I've had pizza (and beer) in most of the countries I've visited, it's very interesting to see how other cultures take a common dish and make it uniquely local. I really can't choose one that I like most, but I do prefer fewer and fresher ingredients, and also individual size. There's no doubt that thin, cooked at very high temperature, makes a delicious crust.

 

[davemartin88]

A colleague at work made a pizza oven in his back yard a few years ago too. It was a lot of work building the base and forming the oven out of brick and mortar. He used a kit that he bought online that provided the form for the oven some instructions and some other (non masonry) parts.

It/he makes really good pizza.

We used a preformed kit from Forno Bravo which greatly simplified the process. Still had to build the base, stucco and form the outside of the oven but the oven itself was precast.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

I'm a thin-crust guy (why would I want more dough?), with everything but anchoivies (but please, no bacon either). Can't do the grocery store frozen ones anymore--just seems like cardboard. Daughter and son-in-law live in St. Louis, and there's a place called Lemon's. Probably the best I've ever had. Super thick crust and tons of cheese---believe me, one piece and you're done--I've never been able to eat 2 pieces one after the other.

 

[golfnut]

I am a Chicago guy and I much prefer thin crust (sausage, mrooms and onions, well done). Some of the best places were in the city (southside), carry -out back in the day.

That being said, I won't turn down deep dish.

 

[MRG]

I'm a thin-crust guy (why would I want more dough?), with everything but anchoivies (but please, no bacon either). Can't do the grocery store frozen ones anymore--just seems like cardboard. Daughter and son-in-law live in St. Louis, and there's a place called Lemon's. Probably the best I've ever had. Super thick crust and tons of cheese---believe me, one piece and you're done--I've never been able to eat 2 pieces one after the other.

Is it St. Louis style cheese? That is one of my favorite regional styles.

 

[hakuna matata]

But since I got my Big Green Egg a few years ago, I've learned that it's really not that hard to make your own pizza at home that is perfectly to your liking.

I should try this. I have the pizza stone for my Big Green Egg, but never tried to make pizza yet. What temperature do you get your Big Green Egg to?

 

[Wishing]

OK, I'm drooling on my keyboard, and it's messy. I adore pizza - any thickness will do and lots of cheese and rich sauce, please. Living in the middle of nowhere with mostly national chains, I tend to make my own. I'll occasionally do a Papa John's or Marco's if I'm lazy. I miss Papa Murphy's. Some of the best pizza I've eaten has been in Chicago and New England. Malnati's makes a great thin crust too. Pepperoni, mushrooms, black and green olives are the standards, but banana peppers and jalapenos are also welcome. Max's in Paducah Kentucky makes a mean wood-fired pizza, and I adore Erbelli's sauce (Kalamazoo, MI).

 

[aja8888]

Papa Murphy's

I keep seeing Papa Murphy's mentioned and I known nothing of the chain. What's the hot thing about them vs all the other chains?

I also think they opened one near us now.

 

[Wishing]

Papa Murph's is a "take and bake" place - they don't bake the pizzas for you. Since they don't have a "kitchen" or pizza ovens, the store overhead is lower, and they can pass on the savings to the consumer. The pizzas are made on a special baking sheet to make the crust better in a standard home oven.

 

[braumeister]

What temperature do you get your Big Green Egg to?

Anywhere in the 600 - 700°F range. It's not really necessary to go that high; you can do perfectly fine pizzas at 425°F but I feel I get the best results up there.

Note: If you haven't already fried your gasket, these temps will do it for you. Then you can replace it with a Nomex gasket and quit worrying about it.

 

[aja8888]

Papa Murph's is a "take and bake" place - they don't bake the pizzas for you. Since they don't have a "kitchen" or pizza ovens, the store overhead is lower, and they can pass on the savings to the consumer. The pizzas are made on a special baking sheet to make the crust better in a standard home oven.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

 

[Keim]

Hawaiian pizza is one of my favorites, along with hamburger and mushrooms. To each their own. I don't really care for pepperonis.

If you're ever in Nebraska, try Valentino's. It's not quite like it was 30 years ago but still very good. For national chains, I really like Papa John's. Mellow Mushroom is another good chain, mostly in the southeast I think but expanding. But I agree with whoever said they make you thirsty. I'm afraid to check the salt content in those pizzas. That's one reason to make your own, to keep it healthier. Most of us can't each pizza like Aaron!

Want the best pizza? Spend the day in some really cold weather, then you could put ketchup on cardboard and it'll be the best ever. Twice I've had pizza after being out in -50+ wind chill for hours (once my car got stuck in snow and broke down, the other time was skiing) and the pizza I had (one in a restaurant, one homemade) was incredible. My ex- generally made good pizza but that time after skiing was either exceptionally good or we were very receptive to it.

Mmm... Valentinos. Grandma used to take me to one in Fremont, NE when I was a kid. That was about 30 years ago. She always said it wasn't as good once they moved their location to downtown Fremont.

 

[imoldernu]

Aldi - Mamma Cozzi's -9" -Party Classics - 14 min @400degrees -Choice of Pepperoni or Combination - $.99

 

[Walt34]

I used to go 35 years ago, so no idea if they're even still there.

Ledo is alive and doing quite well, with stores even here.

I too went to the College Park location once in a while. It wasn't local to me but we passed it on the way to visit some relatives and often stopped.

 

[MBAustin]

I made a 'white pizza' on the grill tonight. Trader Joe's dough, lots of garlic infused olive oil - cook the dough on the grill a bit, then add goat cheese and fresh mozzarella, cooked shrimp and asparagus, spinach and basil, sprinkle with Parmesan. That was good.
-ERD50

Last night I used Trader Joe's whole wheat dough for the first time (they just opened up a store close enough to buy refrigerated items) and did a similar approach although I'm not brave enough yet to try the grill so used the oven. Brushed the crust with olive oil and fresh pressed garlic, added some grated italian cheese, and topped it with thin sliced yellow tomatoes, halved artichoke hearts, leftover grilled peppers and eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. Yummy!

 

[Theseus]

One of the best pizzas I ever ate was cooked in a brick oven in Aviano, Italy. It was nothing like the "pizzas" we are used to in the states. Or at least in my experience. Of course, I've never eaten pizza in NY or Chicago.

That reminded me of some great tasting brick oven Pizzas we had in Cancun this January... of course checking the weather back home and feeling the nearly 100 degree temperature difference made everything so much better!

 

[molly]

Shakespeare's Pizza, Columbia, MO. #1 Pizza after the Today Show toured the country looking for the best. (They also raised their prices after becoming famous.)

 

[hakuna matata]

Shakespeare's Pizza, Columbia, MO. #1 Pizza after the Today Show toured the country looking for the best. (They also raised their prices after becoming famous.)

My wife went to school in Columbia and she ALWAYS mentions Shakespeare's Pizza. I guess next time I am back there with her I will check it out...if I can convince myself to not go for bbq while I am there.

 

[Chuckanut]

Shakespeare's Pizza, Columbia, MO. #1 Pizza after the Today Show toured the country looking for the best. (They also raised their prices after becoming famous.)

Tis an ill pizza cook, that cannot lick his own fingers.

 

[Ronstar]

I am a Chicago guy and I much prefer thin crust (sausage, mrooms and onions, well done). Some of the best places were in the city (southside), carry -out back in the day.

That being said, I won't turn down deep dish.

+1. I've gone full circle. I used to be a deep dish guy. DW only likes thin crust. So I've switched to thin and like the crust a little crunchy with sausage, mushrooms, onions and green pepper.

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Most of the small, indy chains in Chicagoland make a good pizza. I prefer thin crust, even though deep dish is the thing here.

I don't care for the limp NY style pizza especially if the Italian sausage is crumbled. That should earn a penalty flag! It needs to be healthy sized chunks.

There was a good pizza in the Bay Area, when we lived there. I think it was called Pacifica Pizza in Vallejo or Benicia.

Kansas City had the worst pizza of anywhere I've tried. Yuck!