Let's Talk About Pizza!

[joe7f]

The food overall was good in Italy but I found the pizza disappointing (with the exception of Naples)

--Joey

[Esterina]

I don't know for the US or the rest of Canada, but here in Quebec the "real" italian pizza, with thin crust and little topings, is very trendy.

[aliz]

yes I love italian pizza! thats one of the things I really hate hearing from travellers - 'You'd think the italians would be able to make a decent pizza' uhh, they can! American pizza is gross. especially with the really thick base like at pizza hut & dominos.

[joe7f]

Dominoes and Pizza Hut aren't exactly representative of the best of American pizza.

The Napoli pizza was the best I have ever had (including New York city). Rome was decent.

--Joey

[maracle]

I actually like Dominos, I don't know why people hate on it so much. Its expensive too so I'm guessing I'm not alone.

I never understand why people like New York pizza so much...NY style pizza is basically just nasty pizza that has been baking under a heat lamp for 3 days and so is completely submerged under an inch of grease. Gross!

It is nice when you can find a good local place to get pizza though. There's a really good italian style pizza place that is right near my apartment Costs a damn fortune though, $20 for a large....

[TheJake]

Geno's East in chicago anyone? C'mon! That's pizza!

[Rebel1]

Jake, gotta give you a thumbs up on chicago pizza, especially Geno's East. Takes like an hour to show up but man, worth the wait. Nothing like a char dog with that frighteningly green relish either.

Joe, the best pizza is in Naples. Pizza Sorbino maybe? I forget what it was called but i hit it up twice. We always got lost on our way there.

In Chicago and Naples i made it a point to eat pizza . Here at home, i only eat pizza when i have nothing i can make, or am too lazy to go to the market. Beep...boop..domino's

[LiveFreeorDie]

American pizza is gross. especially with the really thick base like at pizza hut & dominos.

Saying Pizza Hut and Dominos is representative of American pizza is like saying Fosters is representative of all Australian beer. It's not. I would make a bet that there are more pizza variations and styles available in the states than anywhere else in the world. Styles range from Chicago deep dish to authentic brick-oven Italian style to a whole host of variations and off-shoots. Pizza Hut and Dominos are the bottom link of the pizza food chain. There is a lot more on offer than that.

[simply_angelic]

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

Saying Pizza Hut and Dominos is representative of American pizza is like saying Fosters is representative of all Australian beer. It's not. I would make a bet that there are more pizza variations and styles available in the states than anywhere else in the world. Styles range from Chicago deep dish to authentic brick-oven Italian style to a whole host of variations and off-shoots. Pizza Hut and Dominos are the bottom link of the pizza food chain. There is a lot more on offer than that.

There IS a lot more the US offers than that, but what do you find most commonly? The cute little bistro with amazing, original creations? Or the pizza pizza, pizza hut or dominos?

I think what aliz was trying to say was that, as a tourist, you really have to search for those little gems (which can be incredibly difficult to do) making the broad spectrum of American pizza seem like a whole lotta pizza huts (and who are you trying to kid, in general it is~ don't get me wrong here, we have the same thing in Southern Ontario). So when judging pizza places and creating a stereotype (which, in the essence of the word never grasps the full diversity of a group) of America vs. Italy there is a big difference in the general quality overall of your average american pizza joint vs. your average italian one. IMO

[joe7f]

Originally Posted by simply_angelic

what do you find most commonly? The cute little bistro with amazing, original creations? Or the pizza pizza, pizza hut or dominos?

Neither. Just for grins, I took my hometown of Tampa, which I would wager is fairly representative of the US as a whole. Roughly half of the pizza results were chains ranging from Hungry Howies, to Old Chicago to Chuck E Cheese (which ironically makes a pretty good pie) the other half are Pizza restaurants (as opposed to take away pizza) are seldom "cute" or "bistros". It is usually an Italian restaurant or a little hole in the wall place.

Take out pizza serves a different market; it is for people that want a dinner fast and cheap.

The problem is that you are most likely to see Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Papa Johns (my personal favorite of the chains) or the like because Joe's pizza is one store and doesn't have a distinctive logo/roof. Just like it feels to me like at least half the eateries in Ontario are Tim Horton's

Originally Posted by simply_angelic

So when judging pizza places and creating a stereotype (which, in the essence of the word never grasps the full diversity of a group) of America vs. Italy there is a big difference in the general quality overall of your average american pizza joint vs. your average italian one. IMO

Good point. How do I know the pizza in Naples was great? Maybe it was just the restaurant I ate at? I will say this... the average American sit down pizza restaurant is better than my experience with the pizza restaurants in Italy. I get to go back in May so I'll try more places maybe Hwei can scout out some good ones in Firenze.

On a related note I have tried gelato in other countries (including the US) and none taste as good as the ones in Italy.

Originally Posted by Jamie

I would make a bet that there are more pizza variations and styles available in the states than anywhere else in the world.

I think you can say the same of American beer. I was talking with a German guy in Spain about American beer which he thought was weak and watery. Fair enough. So since my sister was coming to Spain, I had her bring a Sierra Nevada Celebration which I gave to an American girl headed back to the school. She said his reaction was eye opening He still doesn't care for American beer but not for the same reasons. I should have cut him some slack and given him a safe lager like a Sam Adams or something.

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

^(and I am not in any way offended by Aliz saying American Pizza sucks so this isn't meant to be a defensive stance, just a clarification for future visitors).

Let me add a me too I'm not offended when people rag on the US because they either don't know or they are right

--Joey

[LiveFreeorDie]

^I respectfully disagree about the searching aspect (and I am not in any way offended by Aliz saying American Pizza sucks so this isn't meant to be a defensive stance, just a clarification for future visitors).

Even the smallest towns have a million pizza places and they are all different. The only thing to rival the number of pizza joints in the U.S. are chinese restaurants. People often times seem to narrowly focus in on these massive chains and then decide that that is all there is when usually right next door is someplace that is a lot better. It's sort of like the psychological condition of hysterical blindness. I just moved to Columbus and wanted to order a pizza last weekend. It took me probably half an hour to decide between all the options available never mind that most pizza places now usually offer multiple styles, thin crust, super-thin, deep dish, greek, italian and all have their own topping variations, plus sauce variations, red sauce, white sauce, no sauce etc.

Anyway, IMHO if there is one food type the U.S. does well, perhaps better than anywhere, its pizza and you do not have to be a local to find it.

[Esterina]

I've never eaten pizza in the US, nor have been to Italy, so, just to clarify things out, what are we talking about here : what's a good american pizza, and what was wrong with italian pizzas ? Thick vs thin crust ? number of topings ? freshness ? sauce ?

[joe7f]

The disappointing pizza I tried (in Venice and Florence) had a problem with the sauce and the cheese. There was a very decent place in Rome across from Termini (don't know the name but it is on the Via Giovanni side). I wish I knew the place I went to in Naples (it wasn't too far from the train station... Kevin and I think we ate at the same place)

The best way to find good pizza (or good anything) stateside (outside of a recommendation from someone you know), is just to look for a place that has been around a while and is not a chain. The restaurant biz is so competitive and ,as Jamie pointed out, there is a tendency to go with the "safe" chain over the "who knows" smaller place next door. Therefore if a place has survived the years it is probably because they have such a good product they get lots of repeat customers.

--Joey

[florencia9699]

Peter Piper's Pizza!!! we had that in Sierra Vista, AZ, and I looooverdd it!

[TheJake]

ugh... peter piper is the worst pizza in america...

[florencia9699]

Are you kidding??? Long live their pepperoni pizza and Itailan Saussage!!!


(It could be because we dont have those here.... but i miss pepperoni and italian saussage!)

[afterlife3]

For some good pizza I would have to suggest in Chicago, if you are not in Chicago, try finding a local restaurant. I had some pizza in Spain that I found to be delicious.

[zmsmith5]

for me and my friends, we all agree to three categories in which to rate piza places

1. Delivery - Papa John's for me
2. Sit-Down - The Pie Pizzeria here in Salt Lake City (underground basement restaurant that serves every kind of pizza on any kind of crust you can imagine, along with pitchers of beer, jukebox, you can write on the walls, just a great college hangout place, packed every night)
2. Frozen Pizza from the store - gotta be Freschetta for me

[benna2]

I love NY pizza! But not the slices sitting under the heat lamps all day...Yuck. I love the thin crust, fresh outta the oven with lots of sauce. At this little pizza place by my old house had white pizza with bacon and lots of ricotta cheese that was also really good.

All right time to go eat.

[Sijuki]

As for pizza... I can be a fan of many styles. If I were to pick a favorite delivery place, it's actually a small joint in my hometown called "Riverview's Pizza Place" it's pretty reasonable and they just use decent ingredients, and it doesn't have that mass produced feel to it.

I definitely love Chicago style pizza, whether in Chicago or Pizza Papalis in Michigan. Buddy's in Dearborn is a must try for anyone in the Detroit area.

I like chain pizza, but I wouldn't say it's the best, it is much like McDonald's and such, you are pretty sure what you are gonna get. I would say Hungry Howies, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut are the 3 most visited. But we don't have Hungry Howies in LV. I think the closest Papa John's to me is like 10 miles away.

I have only had pizza a few times out here in LV, ordered Pizza Hut one day, and had the other times from little places selling by the slice (and the price made it totally not worth it). I am afraid that the pizza out here is going to be so disappointing compared to what I am used to back home. Although a place called Metro Pizza claims they were voted to have the best pizza in Las Vegas... don't know what that means. All I know is when I go back home I am going to Buddy's.