Yet another "regional" specialty North Westerners hardly ever get right. I've never been to Chicago, so I can't pretend to know what that "deep dish" shit is all about (though, honestly, it doesn't sound very appealing to me).

But, NY City, holy shit, has some goddamned good pizza. I went to some really famous place in Brooklyn a while back and was blown away. Never has anything out here (or anywhere, for that matter) tasted anything like that.

I can't remeber the name of the place, but Old Blue Eyes used to have them fly pizza to him when he went on tour. And it was sorta down by that famous deck thing where they always film movies- somewhere in "DUMBO" maybe? Help me out, NYers.

grimaldi's. I think that's how it's spelt.

I think you may have it, Womb Raider.

Sauce, fresh mozz, and anchovies. I wanna fly to NY right now just so can eat that.

The only place that approaches it in Portland is Apizza Scholls--the Margherita pizza.

Anyone in Asheville, NC know that good pizzaria there? I could not BELIEVE how good that shit was--the fresh mozz, in-house fresh sausage, sauce so red it looked electric. It is in a strip mall somewhere in Asheville--red vinyl seating and it defintely has an Italian name like Grimaldi's etc.

best pizza in Chicago = Pequod's! The best pizza not in Chicago = Monicals

I've never had anchovy on pizza, but I'm ready for some.

I've yet to hit Apizza Scholls, but eventually, I'll brave the hazy fog of patchoulie and git me a pizza pie, 'cause everyone keeps sayin' it's worth it- even if you do have to wash your clothes and take a shower as soon as you get home.

I love both NY and Chicago pizza equally. I think comparing the 2 is like comparing apples and oranges. If you take a look at a real NY pizza and a real Chicago-style pizza, you can see that they're not even really the same food. Each one should stand on its own merits.

I really like Grimaldi's in Brooklyn (under the B'klyn bridge), too, but it doesn't really qualify as "typical" NY pizza. It's more "Italian" than that, and it's kinda classy. For real NY pizza, go to any corner pizzeria in one of the outer boroughs and pick up a slice at the counter. That's what it's all about. There should be a big pool of grease on the pie and when you fold the slice, all the cheese should slide off.

I've heard that pizza in New Haven, CT is supposed to be pretty special, too. We stopped there during a Montreal-NYC roadtrip last fall just to try the pizza. We must have gone to the wrong place. It was run by Turks and (get this) the pizza was so bad that my wife wouldn't even finish her slice. I thought it was pretty bad, too, but I can't even imagine a pizza so bad that I couldn't finish a single slice.

I love both NY and Chicago pizza equally. I think comparing the 2 is like comparing apples and oranges. If you take a look at a real NY pizza and a real Chicago-style pizza, you can see that they're not even really the same food. Each one should stand on its own merits.

At least apples and oranges have different names.

Like I said, never been to Chicago, so can't comment. I'm just kind of a "less is more" type of a guy. Not that I wouldn't try it, if I ever get the chance.

My roommate gave me a book recently, "Road Food", that we're planning on using extensively during a road trip later this year. Some of the shit sounds rad, like the green chile and cheese burgers in New Mexico, hot dogs in Chicago, and, of course, BBQ in the South.

best pizza ever: tripoli bakery in lawrence, ma. it's in the ghetto but totally worth it. christy's in salisbury beach, ma is also pretty good but that may have more to do with the salt air and inevitable drunkenness of being there more than the taste of the pizza. never fails to satisfy however.

At least apples and oranges have different names.

I saw a documentary on the NY vs. Chicago pizza war. Apparently, the Chicago pie was originated in the 1940's by a guy who wanted to create a pizza that was more substantial for the Chicago appetite. When the dude came up with what he did, he should've changed the goddamn name. That guy founded Pizzeria Uno.

best pizza I ever had was in Mountain View, AR. Can't remember the name of the place...maybe "Jack's". Couldn't serve alcohol, but we drank fake margaritas out of the bottle with it. It was so good I ordered two large to take back to Memphis with us.
This is probably heresy.

best pizza in Chicago = Pequod's!

I think that they had a fire a few days ago.

So NY style pizza means thin and greasy? Sounds good. That's how pizza usually is in Chicago too. Chicago style is supposed to be all thick and shit, but most places here don't event have that.
Fuck all that shit. Frozen pizza is the best.

my favorite pizza in chicago remains edwardo's thin crust pepperoni. when i lived on austin i used to live on that crap. i probably had it delivered at least once a week for a year.

damn, i wish i had some pizza right now.

Chicago style is supposed to be all thick and shit, but most places here don't event have that.

Totally true! Whenever I visit Chicago, I'm always surprised to see that the bulk of the pizzerias there don't even serve "chicago style" pizza. I think one reason it's less popular is 'cuz it takes so long to cook. A large pizza at Uno or Giordano takes about an hour to cook. Who's got time for that?

I've never had anchovy on pizza, but I'm ready for some.

I tend to pick them off the pizza to enjoy solo; sooooooo good.

I don't like Chicago-style pizza; too bready. Apizza Scholls is more "fancy Italian", not NY style except that it has thin crust with the yum breadstick-like crust. And, Joe, you'll likely be dodging weed smoke and cocaine ether cos Apizza Scholls is next to Sabala's not Blue Butterfly!

best pizza ever: tripoli bakery in lawrence, ma. it's in the ghetto but totally worth it. christy's in salisbury beach, ma is also pretty good but that may have more to do with the salt air and inevitable drunkenness of being there more than the taste of the pizza. never fails to satisfy however.

Dude, what about Santarpio's in East Boston? That might be my favorite pizza joint on earth! Grimaldi's is definitely in the top 5. the original pizzeria uno in chicago is great too. man now I want some pizza.

Well, cocaine ether I can handle!

Has anyone in Portland eaten the pizza at that new place Nostrana? Supposed to have good magherita.

Also- Slow Bar has a "pizzetta" that, while not mind-blowing, is certainly worth the $4.50 they charge during happy hour. It's got bacon AND sausage on it. Meaty!

And over in our 'hood, fiery, Pizza-A-Go-Go isn't too bad, either.

Best ever:

Buffeto's, Rome

Nostrana is okay, a bit expensive though, for that wood-fired pizza experience.

Best ever:

Buffeto's, Rome

Durn, that would be Baffetto's - I think I had too much of that chianti. Whatever moustache is in Italian.

Where is Nostrana? The new joint on Morrisson/Stark wherever?

I like Mississippi's slices better than A Go-Go's but both pass muster.

Nostrana's in that old grocery store place on 14th/Morrisson, across from Zell's. It's a bit cavernous, chichi and expensive to get inundated with smoke from their "imported" oven. It was just okay, in my book. I have no real opinions, however.

Granted, I never like Genoa either.

I heard Genoa was way overrated, and I did not like Zell's. At all.

Yeah, breaking that $100 barrier for Italian food is rough. There's plenty of affordable places.

Zell's, I find, is too hippy-dippy and dough-centric for my tastes. I'm a greasey spoon kind.

The head chef at Nostrana is Cathy Whims, who was chef/owner of Genoa 'til a few years ago, and her husband is an owner of Produce Row. I actually know them both fairly well (they went to college with my folks, and are now olive oil customers of my dad's), but rumors have been less than favorable for Nostrana, which is too bad, seeing as Cathy is one of the best cooks I know.

But, yeah, as far as expensive Italian, Portland has too many options to ever eat poorly at that price point. Genoa was once great, though. Now, if you wanna spend the dough, I'd say clarklewis or Giorgio's are safe bets.

And, yeah, Zell's? WAY overrated.

olive oil customers of my dad's

Your pop's not Jim Dixon, is it?

Guilty as charged.

We like to call him "Salty Jim", though.

Monicals

Goddamn, I worked at a Monicals in Mattoon Il when I was in high school. Good but not as good as Villa Pizza in Mattoon. I've eaten NYC pizza, Chicago, Rhode Island, Conneticut, St Louis. Villa is the best.

When in Las Vegas, eat at Montessano's Pizzaria.

Speaking of Nostrana, and my Dad, he just called and offered to take me for dinner tonight! Just when I was about to eat stale pita bread!

I'll report back.

So- the pizza at Nostrana wasn't bad. It was $9 for a margherita that's about 12 inches across, maybe a little bigger. The sauce was lacking some and tang, but overall it was pretty good, and a good deal.

The other stuff on the menu was pretty tasty, too. I got some Italian-style ribs, some beans, my dad got a half chicken that was good, there was some slow-cooked broccoli that was really good. I dunno. I had a pretty good experience, no smoke from the oven, seemed pretty casual, wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be.

Toronto, Both kinds of pizza - good and bad. Kinda like New York at times, where you can find a tasty slice in the most unlikely place, but crap (and expensive) pizza where you'd assume something decent.

My two bits regarding "Chicago" vs. "New York" - depends on the mood, but if you're serving up 90% dough, it better not taste like Pillsbury.

bacci pizza. thats the only place i know in chicago.. cuz its near where my frinds live..and within walking distance of empty bottle..although i did go to this place on western ave.. that had old style pitchers and a real 45 jukebox...25 cents a song..!!
pizza in Toronto is really goddamn good too!!

although i did go to this place on western ave.. that had old style pitchers and a real 45 jukebox...25 cents a song..!!

That would be John's. The last time that I was there I tried the BBQ beef pizza. Sounds like something other than pizza, but godamn was it goooood. Hell, I even had mashed potato pizza recently and that was great. I just like food really.
I can only remember eating one bad pizza in my entire life. That was in Buffalo.

You know the old joke, pizza and blowjobs....

Goddamn, I worked at a Monicals in Mattoon Il when I was in high school. Good but not as good as Villa Pizza in Mattoon. I've eaten NYC pizza, Chicago, Rhode Island, Conneticut, St Louis. Villa is the best.

Dude. I live like 2 blocks from Villa Pizza on Western Avenue, and while they do have some exceptional pizza for the area, I would say that it is not the best in the U.S. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Monical's is definitely overpriced, and it's a chain.

I think it's great, though, that there are actually 2 people from Mattoon, IL who found their way to this board. Are you Rick Sims of the Didjits or something?

"Chicago style is supposed to be all thick and shit, but most places here don't event have that. "

exactly Rob! Most people think that Chicago pizza is all "chicago-style" and most places don't even fuck with deep dish, at all. I can't even remember the last time I saw anyone with deep dish (delivered or bought by the slice) anywhere, really. Aside from Pequod's, which is totally different from pizza almost entirely. It's more like an italian baked casserole.

Monicals is/was a childhood favorite, but was it anywhere else that people put the salad dressing on the pizza? In hindsight, that's pretty weird, but was always good.

extra cheese- yay or nay?

A good pizza place will put enough on wher it's unnecessary. I stopped ordering xtra cheese when my taste was fully developed, about a week ago.

Nay.

Too much cheese just makes too oily and groos. I like when there's just enough so that the cheese and pepperoni oils mix and make it tasty, but not so it's sliding off the slice.

Dude. I live like 2 blocks from Villa Pizza on Western

That totally blows my fucking mind. I'm Rick Carney, I play in Jesus Christ Superfly and Gravy Boat in Austin. I grew up in Mattoon, class of '82. Doug Evans from the didjits was a year ahead of me in school, Sims was from Shelbyville and Dave Landis from Lee Harvey Oswald Band (and one- time didjit) was a year behind me. When I fisrst started delivering Monicals, I delivered to Savic's (lead singer/guitarist Lee Harvey oswald) house. They were having band practice, they were called UXB. It was pre-didjits, and Doug and Rick were in the band. Savic went by "Panzer" and had a bad fake English accent. It was beautiful. Would have been about 1980-81.

Well, I've only lived here for a little over a year and I work in Shelbyville. I can't believe Sims is from Shelbyville. A dude who I work with says that they played Gunner Buc's in Mattoon and most of the people left after the opening band.

I got that "Big Shit" Jesus Christ Superfly 7". I dig it. It's funny that Mattoon had such a breakout of underground rock bands.

Shelbyville.

That's a real place?

Yes and its only about an hour from Springfield. Fuck they played Gunner Bucs? I would have loved to see that. Is Todd Cole ever around? He was the last didjits drummer. Glad you liked the 7", we still play and put out records when we feel like it. You can hear our newer stuff at www.myspace.com/jesuschristsuperfly. My stepmom still lives in Mattoon, the rest of the family has passed on. I make it back there a couple of days each year. I have un unfullfilled promise of pissing on my stepdad's grave. When he died, my Mom wrote me and told me. She closed the letter with "you know what to do." Damn I miss that woman.

I love Two Boots 'Night Tripper' slice. I could eat it every day. It's expensive tho. Grimaldi's is good. So is John's in the city. I like Rosarios on Orchard, Nino's on A., Sal's on A., Mutzarella on A., The new place around the corner from me in Brooklyn I swear has on of the best slices I've ever had & it's only $1.50! Goddamm I love pizza.
There's a place opening a block down from my new store called Bacci Pizza but it looks like it's gonna be fancy/expensive/yuppie stuff. Same place?

Here ya go...

http://www.twoboots.com/frames/TwoBootsMain.html

I made a pizza with two Burger King Whoppers,and some french fries,but it didn't really look like a pizza,more like a hamburger with some french fries stuck in the middle.That's the best pizza I've ever eaten! I LOVE PIZZA!!!!!

that is very funny!

.....and i want in a BOX!

PEPPERONI & SAUSAGE.....IN A BOX !!!!!

Gotta get down with some Boboli. Close to homemade and delicious!

Where's Mike Federline! This is an inside joke about retards between us not you.

there s a place here called smokehouseBBQ + pizza...BBQ sucks...pizza pretty good..his margherita is tasty

Pequod's did catch fire a few weeks ago. We ordered it at work anyway, none of us aware of the burnout, and they delivered it all the way from Morton Grove! It took two hours, though. Still worth it. Great pie.

I don't care about deep dish at all. Giordano's does it alright, but I'm KO'd after one slice. I'll sing high praises of Pete's Pizza until my pussy explodes. It's hands-down my favorite pizza in the city, next to Pequod's. Other noteworthy places are Lou Malnati's, Uno's, Santullo's (NY-style slices), and Ranaldi's. Chicago's Pizza is inconsistently good. You have to know which toppings to go with (green pepper and chicken).

In madison, wi, they have a few pizza places that try to do chicago style deep dish.. never quite right, but still, there is something to be said for a 10" pizza that weighs five pounds. one of these places had a tuesday deal where it was super cheap to get them, so we'd get a deep dish with sausage and extra cheese. it was like eating a fucking bucket of goo in a greasy ass biscuit like crust. I was a big fan.

I like Glass Nickel Pizza in Madison quite a bit.

<Where's Mike Federline>

I want it in a box indeed.
How about the guy who would follow the waitresses around & creep everybody out with a knife or somethin. Didn't that guy get a lobotomy or somethin Jeff? What's that guys name? The I want it in a box guy kept walking out into the restaurant crapping his pants & talking to the patrons. Jesus christ...why did we work there?????!!!!!

do they still have that "ian's pizza" place in Madison? I used to work right across the street. I think it was on frances betwixt unversity and johnson. yeah it was kind of a yuppie/frat boy chic kind of place, but they had the best fucking pizza in that city. casa bianca ran a close second.

there is something to be said for a 10" pizza that weighs five pounds.

barbecue pizza has its fans in memphis... every once in a while it's a hoot.

coletta's barbecue pizza has about 3 inches of barbecue on it... and the pizza weighs about 15 pounds.

I really liked the pizza place next door to the Continental when I ate there, but that was after enjoying the 4 hour happy hour at the bar, so it may have been made out of rat shit, I wouldn't know.

That manchild's name was Hugh. Laura Arnold and my mom told me about that guy stabbing a member of his family,and that nice lady who worked with you at the sandwich station knew about him too. He was a "Norman Bates" kind of famous around Germantown.That's why she(the sandwich station lady)would constantly make remarks about him handeling knives.That Gay Chef, Frank Fountain was subscribing to the "Job Coach"program. I Hate BOSCO'S. They send me gift cirtificates for my birthday every year and I still won't even show up for the free take out. Burger King Rocks!!!

hey D-Train,^^^^^^^^^^

Dammit Eric.....now I got to have BBQ pizza from Coletta's.....that shit is goooood.
I've gained 15 pounds ever since this new food & drink topic started.......

I made a bad habit of smoking the dope, and ordering a "Coletta's" B-B-Q pizza to go.I got up to 280 pounds.Seven years of starving my self,vegetarianism,a drinking problem,bulimia,and anemia found me in the middle of manhattan weighing in at a whopping 145lbs, and 6f.1. I hate food, and I especially hate being hungry.

barbecue pizza has its fans in memphis... every once in a while it's a hoot.

What it this? Is it just regular pizza with bbq sauce in lieu of pizza sauce? Or is it bbq pork on top of regular pizza? I'm very intrigued.

It's a big ass pizza with pounds of bbq on top
http://www.colettasrestaurant.com/parkway.htm

It's a big ass pizza with pounds of bbq on top


Also, it is not good cold or warmed over, like regular pizza.

or here....click on the pic to make it bigger

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_27363, 00.html

I'm totally getting one of those next time I'm in Memphis. That price is a steal for the size of that thing.

new haven pizza is the best. sally's & pepe's. the old italian places with sinatra on the jukeboxes and soda in the bottle. nothing like it in the world. also sal's in mamaroneck, ny is great. regular and the best sicilian i've ever had. joe torre picks up 2 pies there every sunday night. plus v & t on amsterdam ave & like 112th st. is excellent. great cheesescake too. and downtown i really like joe's-that place that used to be on bleeker & carmine but moved down the block (home of the $20 pie!!!). and john's on bleeker st. has becks drafts!!! i used to love the personal pizzas upstairs at the third phase on broadway and 112th st. back in the day. plus coronet pizza on broadway and 110th st. is still there 25 years later. home of the jumbo slice!!! i used to live on the jumbo back in the early 80's. when i wasn't drinking next door at the marlin bar (which sadly is gone. used to have 6 packs of shaeffer to go!!!).

In NYC last October we had expensive fancy pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana. Months later I still think about that pizza every day.

My favorite BBQ pizzas are at Broadway and Garibaldis. The BBQ pizza at Colettas just dosent do it for me. It has alot of meat and peppers on it , but it just dosent have that tangy sweet BBQ taste to it to me. I found it to be rather dry and cardboard like. Check these others out!!

the chicago/nyc pizza schizm...i was told that the reason there is such a difference(the same with bagels) is that the mineral content of the water in chicago is heavier so there is an obvious difference in the dough. that explains that but for the most part the sauce at most chicago pizza places is pretty tepid and lame. i like the deep dish like new york style, but nothing to write home about.

Hey Jeff Gun, How on earth do you remember those Boscos days? Godam I hated working there.
Apparantly the water in the pizza dough is the factor of the taste here in NYC. Plus the sauce can change from place to place. I like sicilian from Nino's on A but I can't eat it from anywhere else. blah blah blah.

i like the coal oven pizza's from arturo's, lombardi's or john's pizza in NYC. thin crust - crisp
also, on mulberry st., the otherwise too touristy italiano food mall, da nico did an OK thin crust coal oven pizza

i don't much go for deep dish anymore, although as a kid i really did like it.

had a stuffed pizza in chicago last time i was there... didn't really do it for me. it wasn't bad, but i wouldn't call it pizza

I've been to all the good places in NYC -Arturo's, Lombardi's, John's, and all the bad places - Ray's, Ray's Famous Original, Ray's Original Famous, Not Ray's Pizza - and my absolute favorite pizza is IMO's in St Louis - the kind without red sauce and bacon - an ex of mine used to live there and when he came back from visiting he would always bring me one special delivery.

It was good.

my absolute favorite pizza is IMO's in St Louis

That is the WORST pizza in the whole goddamn world! They use a fake chesse called Provel. It is an abomination. CiCi's is better than that puke pie.

planning a pizza tonite, ive got a crust, bbq sauce, cheese....what else should i put on it?

chicken and/or ribs

Anybody ever use Boboli? I love it.

i almost just bought a boboli! been using it for YEARS.... they totally rock the house

Never had Cici's - maybe I should try it.

boboli is what ive got, its good.

Cici's is tragically BAD. I saw some bulemic on Intervention eating at what looked like a Cici's, but maybe it was Mr. Gatti's. Whatever, that shit is so so bad.

Yeah, but it's not as bad as that Imos shit.

What is Imos? The crap buffet out here is called Izzy's.

Its a St Louis chain. They use a cheese substitute, "provel" that is runny and has the flavor of mucus.

Cici's is tragically BAD. I saw some bulemic on Intervention eating at what looked like a Cici's, but maybe it was Mr. Gatti's. Whatever, that shit is so so bad.

Yeah both of the places are pretty bad. But whenever I'm in Texas, I still gotta eat at one of them. For $4 all-you-can-eat, they're good enough.

imos is the worst shit called food and/or pizza. but what gets me is that people around st louis and columbia LOVE that shit. another reason people from missouri suck.

Hugh. You gots to be joking. I mean, if you had been living in suburban Texas for awhile I can see this, but that Mr. Gatti's buffet on that Intervention was like Better Off Dead food compared to how we eat out here!!!

That bulemic on there also stuffed her face with Shoney's breakfast buffet. I didn't even have to see a sign to recognize it.

Hugh. You gots to be joking. I mean, if you had been living in suburban Texas for awhile I can see this, but that Mr. Gatti's buffet on that Intervention was like Better Off Dead food compared to how we eat out here!!!

Dude it's FOUR DOLLARS all-you-can-eat pizza! That's good enough for me. Pizza buffets are practically non-existent here.

That bulemic on there also stuffed her face with Shoney's breakfast buffet.

My old band and I were at the breakfast buffet at a Shoney's in Rockford, IL, when we were out on a mini-tour. I killed about 5 plates of food, mostly consisting of french toast sticks. In agony, I asked the waitress for the check. See looked at all of the plates in front of me and said VERY sarcastically, "Are you SURE you don't want some more french toast sticks." She didn't add the words, "you fucking pig" to the end of that sentence, but it was implied in her tone. My whole band burst out laughing at my predicament. I felt like I had been kicked in the crotch.

I recall in college up at UT crashing an O'Charleys Happy Hour for FREE CRAB LEGS for the entire two hours. There were like 8 of us sharing shitty pitchers and eating plates and plates of crab legs. The waitress was hating on us so bad. What they hell do they expect with that kinda deal two blocks from a state university?

dumb question....how should i cook chicken before cooking pizza?

..how should i cook chicken before cooking pizza?

are you putting the chicken on the pizza?

poach it.

poach? dont know how to do this.

So what... only two people like Boboli? You just dont wanna say it, huh?