Poll: Pizza

[Morgan22]

I like many different styles of pizza.
But lately I've been searching out what we call South Shore Bar Pizza (south of Boston) which seems to fit the tavern pizza category. I monitor the Facebook group on this topic.

I'm also a fan of Neapolitan pizza even though I've not been to Naples quite yet...

I grew up in Mass in a suburb northwest of Boston and had never heard of South Shore pizza before until I moved back recently near the south shore area. Stumbled upon Charlie's Place in Wareham and discovered their "Brockton" south shore style bar pizza. I'm hooked. If you're ever driving towards the cape one day you should try it if you already haven't. When we're not traveling we either pick up a pizza or go there every other week.

 

[njhowie]

I like most kinds of pizza. Each has its own uniqueness - kind of like steaks.

For me, NY is "best" as far as consistency, taste, thickness, and crispiness...and there are a bunch of 99 cent/slice places in the city that I make a point of visiting when we go in for a show or something.

However, I have loved many specialty type pizza's over the years. When we were younger, we'd go to Uno's for their deep dish seafood scampi pizza - incredible. I also loved California Pizza Kitchen's Peking Duck pizza - but that disappeared over time.

These days, I'm more than happy with the major brands of frozen pizza - I'll just throw some extra toppings on it from whatever leftovers are in the fridge. I'm also just fine with Domino's and creating a Hawaiian pizza, chicken with barbecue sauce, or some other interesting creation.

 

[Sojourner]

I voted NY in the poll, but I think my actual answer would be pizza from an authentic "Napoletana pizzeria", whether in Italy or here in the U.S. We have several of these places around town here in the greater metro Atlanta area.

 

[Trailwalker]

I chose another type of pizza because I didn't recognize the type I like from the list. I like wood-fired pizza, thin crust, Neapolitan style, not too many ingredients, some char marks on the crust, about three minutes in a very hot oven.

 

[JoeWras]

I voted NY in the poll, but I think my actual answer would be pizza from an authentic "Napoletana pizzeria", whether in Italy or here in the U.S. We have several of these places around town here in the greater metro Atlanta area.

I voted Chicago because I grew up with it and love the ridiculous thick layer that will put 20lbs on you. But...

My cousin-in-law who has family roots in Italy built his own backyard wood fired pizza oven and went full on authentic in making pizza, trying to get as close as he could to the Napoletana, including sourcing a specific flour and imported cheese. I was amazed as he seemingly only "kissed" the oven, the bake time was so short (about 1 min).

I have to admit, it was wonderful. You can't get much farther away from Chicago deep dish than this. After that experience, NY pizza didn't seem as authentic, although I still like it.

I like 'em all, but dang, those pizzas he made with fresh basil just knocked my socks off.

 

[ERD50]

I voted Chicago because I grew up with it and love the ridiculous thick layer that will put 20lbs on you. But...

My cousin-in-law who has family roots in Italy built his own backyard wood fired pizza oven and went full on authentic in making pizza, trying to get as close as he could to the Napoletana, ...

A while back I came across a yotube video (that always seems redundant!) of a couple doing Italian cooking, the woman was from Italy, and as they traveled across the US, they sampled a Chicago Deep Dish. Not unexpectedly, she looked at it with a questioning expression "Theeez izzz pizzzza?".

But also unexpected, as she's looking more, and tasting, she says something about "Oh, this is (and I forget the name of the dish)". But there is an authentic Italian dish that is very similar to Chicago deep Dish, but they don't call it pizza.

Found it: Torta Salata @ 8:30

-ERD50

 

[Born2BRetd]

So many types of pizza and they are all delicious. Unfortunately, the only kind I can eat is the gluten free version .

 

[COcheesehead]

This link has pics of South Shore Bar Pizza which is the epitome of tavern style:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/southshorebarpizzasocialclub/

WHAT'S A BAR PIZZA?
Bar pizza is a style unique to the South Shore of Massachusetts, perfected in ``coastal`` towns such as Brockton, Randolph, and Stoughton. It has a cracker like crust, crushed tomato sauce and mostly cheddar cheese which is spread to the edge. It is baked in a 10 inch steel pan until the edges are crispy.

I never knew. Thank you.

 

[Chuckanut]

Which is kinda funny, it’s the original pizza. Major oversight and what is tavern style? Never in all my travels have I encountered that.

+1 ON tavern style. Perhaps it’s a regional term.

 

[MichaelB]

I suspect the option “I like many different styles” would have even more responses if it had been added from the beginning.

One takeaway is a poll just on pizza dough makes sense. It’s easier to identify and list the options.

I’m surprised Chicago deep dish got so many votes.

One thing I’ve enjoyed is pizza in other countries. There’s not so much difference in dough but ingredients and toppings are definitely influenced by local culture.

 

[Toast]

Our all time favorite is Flammkuchen. Perfect on a cold day eaten while strolling through a Christkindlmarkt.

 

[ERD50]

Our all time favorite is Flammkuchen. Perfect on a cold day eaten while strolling through a Christkindlmarkt.

Wow! I had that many years ago at the Chicago Christkindlmarkt. Didn't know what it was called, wasn't sure if it was really as good as I remembered, or one of those nice "time and place" things that made it seem so good.

I never thought of it as 'pizza', but that seems to be accepted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammekueche

The dish was created by German farmers from Alsace, Baden and the Palatinate who used to bake bread once a week. The Flammekueche was originally a homemade dish which did not make its urban restaurant debut until the "pizza craze" of the 1960s. A Flammekueche would be used to test the heat of the farmers'wood-fired ovens. At the peak of its temperature, the oven would also have the ideal conditions in which to bake a Flammekueche. The embers would be pushed aside to make room for the cake in the middle of the oven, and the intense heat would be able to bake it in 1 or 2 minutes. The crust that forms the border of the Flammekueche would be nearly burned by the flames.[5] The result resembles a thin pizza.

https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/flammkuchen-german-pizza/

When most people think pizza, they think Italy, but Flammkuchen (also called Flammekueche or tarte flambé in French), the crispy and smoky pizza from the France / Germany border, is definitely worth your time!

Pizza dough rolled very thin, crème fraîche and nutmeg for the ‘sauce’, bacon and onions. Man, I gotta make this.

Thanks for bringing this one up!

-ERD50

 

[TheWizard]

I'll be trying a New Haven style pizza for late lunch tomorrow over at Frank Pepe's in Burlington.
I'm thinking a simple Margherita pizza to see how they do with the basics...

 

[GrayHare]

True: One doctor told me pizza is the absolute worst thing I could eat. Not True: after that, I tripled my daily consumption of Twinkies.

 

[TheWizard]

True: One doctor told me pizza is the absolute worst thing I could eat. Not True: after that, I tripled my daily consumption of Twinkies.

Ok, but have you ever tried deep fried Twinkies, in lard?
Sliced Twinkies on a pizza might work too...

 

[sparky08]

I chose Tavern, because I grew up in Northern Wisconsin. Stopping at a tavern often meant getting Tomestone pizza, and yes, it was cut into little squares.

The Tombstone brand of pizza is nothing like it used to be, before the company was bought by Kraft.

 

[TheWizard]

I chose Tavern, because I grew up in Northern Wisconsin. Stopping at a tavern often meant getting Tomestone pizza, and yes, it was cut into little squares.

The Tombstone brand of pizza is nothing like it used to be, before the company was bought by Kraft.

Kraft = Velveeta...

 

[Flyfish1]

My wife is obsessed with Pepe's from New Haven, I think that is part of the reason we retired to coastal CT...

 

[Chuckanut]

True: One doctor told me pizza is the absolute worst thing I could eat. Not True: after that, I tripled my daily consumption of Twinkies.

There's pizza as defined by frozen pizzas and fast food take out pizzas. Then there is Pizza as defined by a good pizzeria or a good home cook.

I challenge your doctor to see what goes into my pizza and make the same comment. Unless he/she is a die-hard low-fat diet person, or a vegan, the combination of my whole wheat crust, home made sauce, and assorted veggies and meats on the pizza is pretty good stuff.

 

[nvestysly]

There are several on the list that I really like but don't have an opportunity to eat them often. I voted NY because that's most readily available in my neck of the woods.

 

[Ian S]

My cousin-in-law who has family roots in Italy built his own backyard wood fired pizza oven and went full on authentic in making pizza, trying to get as close as he could to the Napoletana, including sourcing a specific flour and imported cheese. I was amazed as he seemingly only "kissed" the oven, the bake time was so short (about 1 min).

I have to admit, it was wonderful. You can't get much farther away from Chicago deep dish than this. After that experience, NY pizza didn't seem as authentic, although I still like it.

Maybe I missed it but I haven't seen the Oooni pizza ovens for the home mentioned yet. It took my brother some time to master this little wood pellet fired outdoor portable oven but the cooking time is only a minute or so and I guess many of his initial attempts got pretty charred. Anyway, the pizzas done this way reminded me of the wood fired pizza we had in Naples last May. For authentic Neapolitan pizza, I guess you also need to use San Marzano tomatoes.

 

[aaronc879]

True: One doctor told me pizza is the absolute worst thing I could eat. Not True: after that, I tripled my daily consumption of Twinkies.

You need a new doctor. Plenty of things worse to eat than pizza.

 

[Dtail]

Ok, but have you ever tried deep fried Twinkies, in lard?
Sliced Twinkies on a pizza might work too...

I did have deep fried cookie dough. Delicious, but passed on the deep fried butter.

 

[MarieIG]

I haven't had pizza in a while - but when I was growing up, it was pizza either from Brooklyn or LI, from an Italian run pizzeria, fresh ingredients, made in front of you while you waited. We had some neighbors from the old country (one couple who owned a restaurant and fed the neighborhood kids) and there was much discussion on the proper way to make sauce. I also had an Italian aunt, whose cooking was out of this world good.

 

[FlaMariner]

Missing a category for "homemade"?

Her Majesty makes a pepperoni pizza that beats what we get when we go out....It's made in a cast iron skillet and is delicious.