WineLovers Discussion Group

I'm of the belief that pizza is the world's greatest food. It never fails to hit the spot and is, by nature, a blank canvas for any or all desired toppings.

What is the greatest one you've ever had? Where was it? What was on it? Was it a thin crust or something deeper?

Jeff

All of them..Pizza is like that other thing..sex!

OMG, you had to ask this question!

Shaji M wrote:All of them..Pizza is like that other thing..sex!

I can accept that.

Jeff

As mentioned above, 'greatest' is impossibe. But, one that still sticks in my head (and my mind's palate) was a foccacia pizza topped with thinly-sliced zucchini and a fresh ricotta-like cheese. I had it in Milan and I had been very hungry before, so of course that adds to it. But it was a style that I don't usually get at home and everything about it was so well done that it sticks in my mind almost 10 years later.

Aside from that, the most memorable pizza I've had recently was a taleggio, red onion, and pistachio pizza. This was remarkable because I had never thought of putting crushed pistachios on pizza. And although I use taleggio all the time at home, I usually put it on top of a tomato sauce but this pizza used the milky taleggio as the wet component (a 'white' pizza). It all worked perfectly. This was at Pizzeria Toro in Durham, NC.

Since True Love developed her "cow milk" allergy which includes all cheese made of it, we've made some very interesting discoveries. You don't have to use Mozzarella to make good pizza. Right now we have settled on Casia d'Roma and Pecorino Romano combo. May not be the world's best, but still very delicious.

My most memorable pizza was a sausage pizza at Santarpio's in East Boston. It's a New York-style thin crust pizza. They make their own sausage.

-Paul W.

I will once again put in my vote for the home creation of the deconstructed pesto pizza with spinach.

For me, simplicity rules the day. The most memorable pizza I've had was a thin crust, Napolitano 4 cheese pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. The taste of tomatoes in the sauce, the char of the crust and the various cheeses came together memorably.

Mark Lipton

A hand made thin crust pizza with three cheeses, and a home made sauce, with fresh summer tomatoes and lots of fresh garlic. A locally owned pizza joint made it for a long time, then they became very successful and started tossing in all sorts of pastas, calzones, and other stuff. Now they are so busy, nothing has the same quality it once had, when they were small. . It was a "go to" easy meal for me when unexpected company came out of nowhere. Everyone raved about it, even folks from much larger cities with lots of great places to eat.

We have a certified Neapolitan Pizzeria here in town (complete with a Bocce court) that has a pizza called the "Cortona" that is to die for. Coppa, olives, chili, roasted mushroom, farm egg yolk & mozzarella with a classic Neapolitan crust. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Bottarga, fennel and tomato at Otto's in New York City.

Pepperoni pizza from Arni's Pizza King, Market Square Shopping Plaza, Lafayette IN. ' Nuff said.

Sam Platt wrote:Pepperoni pizza from Arni's Pizza King, Market Square Shopping Plaza, Lafayette IN. ' Nuff said.

Was this preceded by heavy doses of alcohol? I'm just havin' a tough time getting my arms around world class pizza in Laff-a-lot.

Sam Platt wrote:Pepperoni pizza from Arni's Pizza King, Market Square Shopping Plaza, Lafayette IN. ' Nuff said.

Sam,
Arni's is distinct from the Pizza King franchise, though both put out similar products. Should I schedule an offline for there? As the commercials say, "Meet you at Arni's!"

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote:Arni's is distinct from the Pizza King franchise, though both put out similar products. Should I schedule an offline for there? As the commercials say, "Meet you at Arni's!"

Just say "when", Mark! I was raised on Arni's Pizza and still love the stuff. They have opened lots of new locations, but I still think Market Square is the best.

Redwinger wrote:Was this preceded by heavy doses of alcohol? I'm just havin' a tough time getting my arms around world class pizza in Laff-a-lot.

It is true that "'tater-n-grits" pizza isn't offered at Arni's or any location up north in the lands that are identified only as "Here be Dragon" on all maps made south of Martinsville. If you ever set out on an adventure headed up the old Six and Five Road stop by Arni's and try one of them city-slicker pizza flavors like "cheese" or "sausage".

The pizza I will always remember and one I have duplicated several times at home is one we had in Boston at Todd English's restaurant Fig's. For whatever reason he has taken it off the menu though! Thin, but crispy/chewy crust, topped with chopped clams, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and parsley. So good.

Carrie L. wrote:The pizza I will always remember and one I have duplicated several times at home is one we had in Boston at Todd English's restaurant Fig's. For whatever reason he has taken it off the menu though! Thin, but crispy/chewy crust, topped with chopped clams, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and parsley. So good.

Sounds outstanding. No white sauce, just olive oil and cheese?

Carrie L. wrote:The pizza I will always remember and one I have duplicated several times at home is one we had in Boston at Todd English's restaurant Fig's. For whatever reason he has taken it off the menu though! Thin, but crispy/chewy crust, topped with chopped clams, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and parsley. So good.

Sounds like he stole this from Frank Pepe in New Haven. Itsa good ah-beets.
I haven't been to Pepe's since they expanded to multiple locations, so no idea if the quality has slipped or not. Maybe it is best not to know and remember it how good it was....and no white sauce, just freshly shucked littlenecks..

Redwinger wrote:

Carrie L. wrote:The pizza I will always remember and one I have duplicated several times at home is one we had in Boston at Todd English's restaurant Fig's. For whatever reason he has taken it off the menu though! Thin, but crispy/chewy crust, topped with chopped clams, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and parsley. So good.

Sounds like he stole this from Frank Pepe in New Haven. Itsa good ah-beets.
I haven't been to Pepe's since they expanded to multiple locations, so no idea if the quality has slipped or not. Maybe it is best not to know and remember it how good it was....and no whits sauce, just freshly shucked littlenecks..

Pepe's clam pizza was indeed a revelation for me, but likewise it's been more than a few decades since last I sampled it. No idea if the quality has fallen.

Mark Lipton

I visited the original Pepe's a year or two ago. Still excellent. Don't know about the spinoff locations.

I like the Yonkers Frank Pepe's, maybe a step behind the original, but 10 minutes away is better than close to 2 hours.
The clam is reason to go, though I like the tomato/mozzarello, or the summer fresh tomato. That style pizza does poorly when people decide to get lots of toppings.
I always get amused by people's complaints on sites like Yelp re Frank Pepes ("the crust was thin, you couldn't fold it", "it was cut weird", "the edges were BURNT!")

Jenise wrote:Bottarga, fennel and tomato at Otto's in New York City.

Bottarga? That one sent me off to the dictionary! Really??? I may have to turn in my "foodie" badge...

Naah, Fred, you're just never too old to learn--right?