We’re visiting California, frequenting our favorite haunts from days gone by. Last night we stopped for pizza at Wise Guys - the best pizza I have ever eaten anywhere, including Italy.

They make a thick crust pizza - crisp on the bottom but fluffy, with a generous smear of sauce, and a whole lot of stringy cheese. My favorite is the Flamethrower which has pepper jack, jalapeños, hatch chilis, onions, and hot sausage. There isn’t a pizza like it anywhere in NE Ohio.

Ohio pizzas are dry yet greasy affairs, thin crust, light cheese, light sauce, lots of nasty little pepperonis. Everyone loves them except me.

So I ask you. What makes a proper pizza?

Well, New York is famous for its pizza. It tends to be thin-crust with minimal toppings, but the quality of the crust is the big deal. (We’re not talking about the greasy joint on the corner, but the good places). The local tap water is a factor. Some NY places open branches in different states, but import New York water for authenticity.

You could argue all day about the various pizzerias in all the boroughs.

But New Haven, CT gets lots of accolades. It is not the same, but many consider it superior. I’ve never had it.

I remember eating pizza in Manhattan at “Original Rays”. Several of them actually; each one swearing that they are the original, original Rays. We didn’t get a pizza, we got a slice.

Perfect walking pizza. Thin crust but not dry. We could fold it up and be on our way. Not really dinner pizza but lots of herbs and really tasty.

Crust. Tomato sauce. Mozzarella cheese. Something delicious on top of that, and lots of it.

My current favorite pizza is from Dove Vivi here in Portland. It has a cornmeal crust that is just fabulous. And my favorite pizza on that crust is their veggie: mozzarella, roasted eggplant, marinated green peppers, caramelized onions, marinated mushrooms, tomato sauce. Divine.

My previous favorite pizza places seem to be skimping on toppings lately. Disappointing.

I don't get the fuss about NYC pizza. But I am not a huge fan of pizza anyway. Mostly greasy, gloppy and disgusting.

For Ohio, try Jet's 8 corner pizza. Detroit style thick, crispy on the outside, pretty fluffy inside. Great stuff.

I like a good Neapolitan pie, but they are small places and hard to find.

For me, the crust has to be chewy and flavorful, not just a place to plop ingredients. I like them lightly dressed, less is more.

Also Dewey's Pizza, Cincinnati based small chain. There's one in Cleveland Heights. excellent salads, very good pizza. A bit more elevated than most. The Ryan's Inferno would be to your liking I suspect.

Chicago is a pizza town. Within a 6 block radius, I can get:

1. Tavern style (my favorite) - super thin crust, well-done, xtra crispy cut in squares

2.NY style to fold and walk

3 Thick crust - so many different options!

4. Stuffed - the pizza bomb, thick crust with just a ton of cheese makes one piece a meal.

The trick is finding the sauce and ingredient combination that you like. Every little place has their own spin on what is best.


I like pizza - even the cheese-less option for MrsTuner with lots of veggies or greens on top (flatbread?) is interesting to me. BBQ chicken and pineapple? Yeah, I'm good with that too!

I grew up eating NY pizza.

It's a shame that almost all easily available pizza has been turned into a pile of toxic garbage.

quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
I don't get the fuss about NYC pizza. But I am not a huge fan of pizza anyway. Mostly greasy, gloppy and disgusting.

For Ohio, try Jet's 8 corner pizza. Detroit style thick, crispy on the outside, pretty fluffy inside. Great stuff.
.

Ha! There’s a sign in front of the shopping center on the corner saying to watch for the new Jet’s going in. Looks great!

Can’t wait!

We're trying a new pizza joint tonight - Big Dog's. gets great reviews, but I find many people don't know their ass foot from a hole in the ground about food.

I recently had a brick oven pizza that had pickles and thick potato chips on it. Some kind of white sauce. The most delicious thing you could imagine.

Interesting!

Pizza is a religion around here. Crust quality is important, and usually light and crisp in texture. Toppings are minimal, which has the benefit that you can actually eat more than a slice or two without feeling bloated. Pizza can be delicate.

That said, I probably eat pizza maybe once a month. But I do experience cravings.

there's really no such thing as a Montana-style pizza, but both Helena and Missoula have locally-owned shops that have terrific pizzas--and they are all really different from each other. There's a wood-fired pizza place in town that has GREAT pizza (Jodi, didn't you and Mr Jodi have pizza with us there?) We don't eat there often because their prices are sky high.

I really like the Costco frozen veggie pizzas with a cauliflower crust. Since I'm not a fan of a dough crust anyway--usually I throw it away--this suits me very well. I throw them in the oven before it preheats, set the timer to 18 mins, and it's the perfect crispiness when I get out of my shower. I use a pizza stone on the rack under it and cook it directly on the top rack.

When I lived in NYC my first apartment was over a slice shop. You didn't even go inside--just push your dollar through the window and they hand you a slice. I lived on that pizza the first week in the new apartment. A quick way to get some calories while unpacking. It was really delicious.

Cheap eats in NYC--so many options. Another favorite, on Ninth Ave, where my second apartment was, was a Cuban place that served a heaping plate of Arroz con Pollo for $3. A block further down there was the lobster place that served a full Maine lobster dinner for $12. And at any diner in the city you could get half a roasted chicken on a bed of rice with vegetables for cheap. No wonder New Yorkers only have mustard and Perrier in their refrigerators.

Mashed potatoes with the half roasted chicken, not rice, and gravy. And green beans. 24 hours a day.

the best pizza i have ever had--a marghareta--was definitely in Italy. Unbelievable.