Interesting show on the Travel Channel this weekend, called "The Pizza
Wars", pitting Chicago style vs. NY style.

Watching it made me very very hungry for pizza, but it's too damn cold to go
out for it! Maybe tomorrow.....

They discussed the history of pizza in the US, and how it started at
Lombardi's in NYC in 1905. Well, that may be so for NY, but I heard
someplace that pizza in the US started in New Haven CT at Frank Pepe's.

Anyway, they showcased Lombardi's, Grimaldi's (That's the one not far from
Jacques Torres' chocolate shop in Brooklyn!), Patsy's, and the trio of Ray's
chains. I am a huge devotee of coal-fired or wood-fired oven pizza, and I'm
very lucky to have not one, but TWO wood-fired brick oven pizza joints
within a 5 minute drive of my apartment.

They also discussed Chicago style, deep-dish pizza.

The hour ended in a taste-test, three of them, actually.
They brought in NYC and Chicago pies to a fire station in Chicago and in
NYC, and of course, local preferences prevailed. Then as a tie breaker,
they went to a Los Angeles fire station and did the same test. Guess what?
NYC Style pizza won in LA. No big surprise, because all the nationwide pizza
chains make pies that are modeled on the NYC style. Note I said "modeled" on
it....how close they get is up for debate. I wouldn't mind a chain pizza,
if it's one of the Italian family run chains, such as Sbarro's, Famous
Ray's, RayBari, etc. Pizza Hut, Domino's and the other franchises are not
real pizza to me, but that prejudice is because I have a plenitude of REAL,
locally made pizza to choose from where I live. I realize there are places
that only have the chains, and that's what they know, so that's what they
like.

i find it curious what the Chicago firefighters said about the NY
pizza....they felt the Chicago style crust had more flavor, they preferred
all the toppings, heavier cheese, heavier sauce. To me, that's the
incredible beauty of pizza. It's 3 simple things, maybe four. It's
crust--flour, water, salt, sugar, yeast and maybe a bit of olive oil. It's
tomato sauce--it's cheese and maybe a topping of sausage or mushrooms or
what have you. I think it's simplicity exemplified. It's the perfect
example of "less is more". I've always been a fan of "plain" pizza, or one
topping, maybe two if they "go" together, like mushrooms and onions. Or
onions and peppers. Never gone for "extra cheese" or too many toppings.
It's like gilding the lily. It's why i don't go for sundaes, I prefer not to
hide my ice cream under all that other "stuff". Just give me good ice cream,
in a bowl or a cone, and I'm happy. I'd rather have one slice of perfect
brick oven "plain" pizza than 3 slices of Domino's, loaded with topping.

It's kind of odd, for me to realize that, because I don't like "plain" food,
I like seasoned foods with complex flavors, give me lots of onion and
garlic, herbs, etc. But with some things, simpler is better, and pizza is
definitely one of those things for me.

While I like Chicago style deep dish pizza, as it's own thing, when I want
pizza, I want thin crust pizza. They are two entirely different things.

Anyway, it was an interesting program. Made me hungry for thin-crust pizza.

"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
>>
> It's kind of odd, for me to realize that, because I don't like "plain"
food,
> I like seasoned foods with complex flavors, give me lots of onion and
> garlic, herbs, etc. But with some things, simpler is better, and pizza is
> definitely one of those things for me.
>

Like you, I enjoy the zen of a simple pie. I never order the 'garbage' pie,
that large combination with everything on it, but rather, just sausage or
just clams on a white pie or red pie. To me it's like a BLT; don't overdo
it and start adding turkey or avocado.

Jack Zen

PS Was in NH today and tried Modern Pizza for the first time. Right up
there with Pepe's and Sally's, although the white clam pie at Pepe's is the
true benchmark.

"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> Interesting show on the Travel Channel this weekend, called "The Pizza
> Wars", pitting Chicago style vs. NY style.
><snip>

While I like Chicago style deep dish pizza, as it's own thing, when I want
> pizza, I want thin crust pizza. They are two entirely different things.
>
> Anyway, it was an interesting program. Made me hungry for thin-crust
pizza.
>

I used to live in Chicago, and when I think of pizza, I think of thin-crust
neighborhood pizza, not thick-crust trendy pizza.

What passes for pizza around here is appalling.

Sheryl Rosen > wrote:
> Interesting show on the Travel Channel this weekend, called "The Pizza
> Wars", pitting Chicago style vs. NY style.

> Watching it made me very very hungry for pizza, but it's too damn cold to go
> out for it! Maybe tomorrow.....

Yeah, I saw this one a couple weeks ago. Made me hungry
for a real New York pizza. Too bad I don't live close
enough any more to be able to get one. Maybe next time
we go visit my wife's aunt in Queens.

> Anyway, it was an interesting program. Made me hungry for thin-crust pizza.

Me too.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> Interesting show on the Travel Channel this weekend, called "The Pizza
> Wars", pitting Chicago style vs. NY style.
>
> Watching it made me very very hungry for pizza, but it's too damn cold to
go
> out for it! Maybe tomorrow.....
>
> They discussed the history of pizza in the US, and how it started at
> Lombardi's in NYC in 1905. Well, that may be so for NY, but I heard
> someplace that pizza in the US started in New Haven CT at Frank Pepe's.
>
> Anyway, they showcased Lombardi's, Grimaldi's (That's the one not far from
> Jacques Torres' chocolate shop in Brooklyn!), Patsy's, and the trio of
Ray's
> chains. I am a huge devotee of coal-fired or wood-fired oven pizza, and
I'm
> very lucky to have not one, but TWO wood-fired brick oven pizza joints
> within a 5 minute drive of my apartment.
>
> They also discussed Chicago style, deep-dish pizza.
>
> The hour ended in a taste-test, three of them, actually.
> They brought in NYC and Chicago pies to a fire station in Chicago and in
> NYC, and of course, local preferences prevailed. Then as a tie breaker,
> they went to a Los Angeles fire station and did the same test. Guess
what?
> NYC Style pizza won in LA. No big surprise, because all the nationwide
pizza
> chains make pies that are modeled on the NYC style. Note I said "modeled"
on
> it....how close they get is up for debate. I wouldn't mind a chain pizza,
> if it's one of the Italian family run chains, such as Sbarro's, Famous
> Ray's, RayBari, etc. Pizza Hut, Domino's and the other franchises are not
> real pizza to me, but that prejudice is because I have a plenitude of
REAL,
> locally made pizza to choose from where I live. I realize there are places
> that only have the chains, and that's what they know, so that's what they
> like.
>
> i find it curious what the Chicago firefighters said about the NY
> pizza....they felt the Chicago style crust had more flavor, they preferred
> all the toppings, heavier cheese, heavier sauce. To me, that's the
> incredible beauty of pizza. It's 3 simple things, maybe four. It's
> crust--flour, water, salt, sugar, yeast and maybe a bit of olive oil. It's
> tomato sauce--it's cheese and maybe a topping of sausage or mushrooms or
> what have you. I think it's simplicity exemplified. It's the perfect
> example of "less is more". I've always been a fan of "plain" pizza, or
one
> topping, maybe two if they "go" together, like mushrooms and onions. Or
> onions and peppers. Never gone for "extra cheese" or too many toppings.
> It's like gilding the lily. It's why i don't go for sundaes, I prefer not
to
> hide my ice cream under all that other "stuff". Just give me good ice
cream,
> in a bowl or a cone, and I'm happy. I'd rather have one slice of perfect
> brick oven "plain" pizza than 3 slices of Domino's, loaded with topping.
>
> It's kind of odd, for me to realize that, because I don't like "plain"
food,
> I like seasoned foods with complex flavors, give me lots of onion and
> garlic, herbs, etc. But with some things, simpler is better, and pizza is
> definitely one of those things for me.

Agree on tastes. Pizza is one of those things that is so much better when it
is simple. We are fortunate because we have quite a few good pizza places
nearby (E PA). A number of them were immigrants who came over to NYC and
worked for places there and then moved here. A couple are wood fired but the
only coal fired place is a 3rd generation German bakery in my town. They
have an anthracite coal fired oven. Great bakery goods but no pizza.

One of the sad cases is a shop where the owner passed on and the kids took
over. The first thing they did was put an addition on the buiding and
started making "space pizza" complete with the conveyers and "air ovens".



>
> While I like Chicago style deep dish pizza, as it's own thing, when I want
> pizza, I want thin crust pizza. They are two entirely different things.
>
> Anyway, it was an interesting program. Made me hungry for thin-crust
pizza.
>