Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Pizza by Astrological Sign

My darling friend Maggie forwarded on this guide to pizza. I'm a Taurus and they are definitely right on!



Did you know that your Sun Sign influences how you like your pizza? Each Sign has a unique approach to eating this popular food -- what's your style?

Aries:
You want your pizza to go, with extra hot peppers.

Taurus:
You order one with everything on it, and then another in case you're still hungry.

Gemini:
You like half mushroom and half olives but are usually too busy chatting with the waiter or delivery person to eat it.

Cancer:
You bake your own, making the dough from scratch and using tomatoes from your garden.

Leo:
You prefer gourmet pizza from trendy Italian places, but you only eat a piece so that your stomach still looks flat in your fitted jeans.

Virgo:
You order plain cheese pizza and request extra napkins for blotting the grease.

Libra:
You order one all-meat and one all-veggie because you can't decide which one you want.

Scorpio:
You get your pizza with pineapple, anchovies and secret sauce -- and you also manage to get the delivery person's phone number.

Sagittarius:
A Brazilian or Mexican pizza that can be put into an environmentally-friendly to-go box works for you.

Capricorn:
You like any pizza that can be folded calzone-style so that you can eat while you work.

Aquarius:
Mmmmm … doesn't a wheat-free pizza with soy cheese topped with organic vegetables sound delicious?

Pisces:
You get lost on the way to the pizza shop and end up at a Thai restaurant instead.


Source: horoscopes.astrology.com

Monday, May 18, 2009

I know, it's been a while.

My friends, I am so sorry it's been so long. Last night I dined on a delicious cheese and garlic pie from Gianfranco's. Tonight, though... tonight I will be eating birthday pizza (in anticipation of my bday tomorrow) from Bruno's.

Full, cheesy report to come. Yum yum!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Apartment Vegan Pizza

My friend Art writes The Apartment Vegan, a wonderful food blog with lots of recipes and thoughts about delicious food.

About a week or so ago (probably longer) he sent me a text with a picture and description of a beautiful pizza and then my phone went haywire and I couldn't share it with you. I was hoping he would write about pizza on his blog and - behold! He has!

Check out his pizza with fra diavlo sauce! Oh man, also, Art gives helpful hints on how to stretch dough.

Looks delicious, even with the soy cheese. Which, for the record, I am against.

Friday, March 27, 2009

I am easily persuaded

I brought a [freezer aisle] veggie pot pie with me to work today. I am planning to check out that new pizza place again tonight, so I thought this would be a good option. My work girls brought their Lean Cuisines. We were going to just do that for lunch, no problem.

That is, until I got this call from Work Girl #1: "We don't think we can eat what we brought today. We need pizza."


And just like that, today became double pizza day!

2 Pizzas from Scratch

Pizzadelphia is quite a guy! After a rough couple of weeks, I was finishing up a big project so he decided to make me some pizza. In fact, he made 2 pizzas and they were both OFF THE HOOK good.

First up: Wowza-roni Pizza!



On this pizza: dough from scratch, olives, pepperoni, crushed chili peppers, goat's milk mozzarella, cow's milk mozzarella, tomato base, crushed black pepper

Verdict: gone in under 20 minutes. The goat's milk mozzarella is completely delicious - only a little different than traditional mozzarella, honestly, but yummy. And Pizzadelphia cut up the pepperoni into quarters, which is the best way to do it because then you don't have to contend with the whole piece of pepperoni coming off with a big slide of cheese... you know how that goes.

Pizza 2: Pineytime Station Pizza



On this pizza: dough from scratch, roasted garlic, toasted pine nuts, zucchini, tomato base, cow's milk mozzarella, crushed black pepper.

Verdict: OH GOD YES. Because we had already eaten a full other pizza, I only had half of my allotted slices of this one. This means I was able to enjoy it again during lunch on Monday. I like to eat leftover pizza cold, and I am here to tell you that cold or hot, this pizza rocked. Pizzadelphia roasted the garlic in the oven while he made, cooked, and we ate the first pizza. I love roasted garlic and it was really special to have on a pizza. He also toasted the pine nuts before putting them on the pizza. Here's a tip: put some toasted pine nuts on your next pizza. The zucchini still had a bit of texture to it, which was a nice addition.




In other pizza news, I may have found a place in Philadelphia to rival Bruno's. I tried it last night but faithful reader (and friend) PizzaMike recommended I have a second taste test before I go crazy with pizza proclamations. I'm going back tonight, so I'll have a full report on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend - eat some pizza!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Field Report: Good Sicilian Pizza in New Orleans!

My dear friend Anthony is back with a follow-up to his lamentations about the lack of quality pizza in New Orleans. Read on...


My Princessly Purveyor of Pizza,

I am writing to inform you of a change in my situation regarding my search for pizza in the illustrious City of New Orleans, in the Great State of Louisiana. If my words or thoughts seem muddled, please understand that I am positively overflowing joy and excitement!

Before I explain my discovery, this rare jewel which I can only equate to a significant archaeological finding such as the tomb of the great pharoah Tutankhamun or the more recent Fermilab discovery of the Y(4140) particle--may the new unexpected Y state that decays to J/psi and phi bring an abundance of spectacular discoveries in the upcoming years!--I must digress to my previous electronic correspondence.

I am still struggling with the cold and irrefutable fact that yours truly did, in fact, recommend Dominos pizza to you and your readers. I do wish that I could attribute it to libations or, perhaps, something more illicit and dubious, but the truth is that I was confused, famished and in something of a credulous state when I saw, ordered and subsequently ate the food I had so gracefully praised a fortnight ago.

We shall not dwell on the past, however. What is done is done. We can only look forward and learn from our mistakes, dire as they may have been. Allow me to move on to my present announcement: I have found good pizza.

No. "Good" is not a strong enough word. Amazing. Miraculous. Wonderful. Marvelous. There are simply not enough words in the English language to describe this pizza! I discovered many clues, scattered throughout the multitude of tubes of which The Internet is comprised. A mention of a name here, an intimation of a Sicilian pie there. I donned my bowler and took up my calabash pipe and, as if possessed by the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, put these myriad clues together and discovered the location: Cafe Nino, 1510 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118. I telephoned and spoke with a young man who, after I inquired over their ability to make Sicilian pies, had me speak with Roger. Our conversation was as follows:

Me: "Good day, sir. I am calling to find out if you might be able to produce for me a Sicilian pie."
Roger: "Indeed, fine gentleman! As our requests for this excellent variety of pizza are few and far between I ask for your patience for the next one-hundred and twenty minutes. A pizza of this caliber requires me to make fresh dough, which must rise to perfection."
Me: "Sir, if you can indeed procure for me a Sicilian pie, I would be so inclined as to wait four entire hours. Perhaps even five!"
Roger: "Excellent! I look forward to meeting you face-to-face!"
Me: "Indeed, as do I!"
Roger: "Good day to you!"
Me: "No, sir, good day to you!"

I waited, pacing anxiously as if I were awaiting the birth of a child, watching the minutes on the clock crawl by at a pace that would make a gazelle resemble a tortoise. When I arrived the pizza was nearly finished. The smells were amazing. Roger made a point of showing me the pizza before boxing it, asking if it looked up to my specifications. My mouth and vocal chords were unable to form audible words. I payed the good man for his work and hurried home.

My dearest Meghann, there are simply no words. Poets would be found speechless. Songwriters, without a voice! The crust was crisp and chewy. The sauce was tangy but not overpowering. There was the perfect amount of mozzarella and pepperoni (a topping which would have my dear Catholic mother quoting scripture, as it was a Friday eve) and Roger was kind enough to give a good sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese.

Twice have I ordered this pizza. Twice have I waited two hours. Twice has it been worth every moment of waiting. The second time I maintained enough of my wits--previously overwhelmed by my elation and excitement--to photograph the occasion. Please see below:



I am fearful of saying that I shall not write again, pronouncing the discovery of yet another pizza. If there are more restaurants such as this, then they are lying well below the radar of many capable individuals. I felt this finding was of great enough importance to share with you and your most esteemed readers. I felt, more than anything, that redemption for my previous correspondence was in order. I will attribute it to a temporary lapse of sanity, a momentary excursion from the realm of rational thought and decision making.

I have the honor to remain your most hungry and obedient reader,

Anthony



If you'd like to submit a field report, that would be awesome! Just send it along. I might not get to use every field report submitted.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Double Pizza Day

It's Friday. It's Lent. I'm having pizza for lunch and dinner because that's how I roll!


Lunch: cheese.
Dinner: the options are endless!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

You can't fool me, Distrito!

Last night Pizzadelphia and I visited Distrito in West Philadelphia for the first time. We are fans of Jose Garces and I'd been reading reviews of the bright pink lucha libre wonderland since it opened. We opted for a tasting menu and everything was going just fine when they brought to the table Huaraches Guisados.

This dish, was a flat, crispy dough with short rib, oxtail, 3 chile barbeque, cheese, poblano, crema, and radish (according to the menu, which I am looking at right now). It looked gorgeous - crema striped over the entirety of the dish. It was roughly the size of a large postcard or handbill, and rectangular in shape and cut into four strips.

Pizzadelphia and I took one bite, looked at each other in glee, and pronounced it pizza. YOU CANNOT FOOL US, JOSE GARCES. Crispy flat dough topped with multiple kinds of cheese, braised beef and other toppings? That is pizza. And it was totally delicious.



Distrito
3945 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.distritorestaurant.com

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Pizza Bandit

There is a Pizza Bandit in South Philadelphia. So far, the Bandit has held up four pizzarias this month. According to this article (that I accessed through Philebrity.com), he orders food and then pulls a gun and demands money. He has been all over South Philly - even to my home delivery of choice, Two Street Pizza. Here's the description:

- 35-40-year-old male
- 6'2" – 6'3" tall
- Medium build
- Light completion with freckles
- Light brown eyes
- Sandy brown to reddish eyebrows
- Wearing a blue hoodie

I'm not saying we need to start a mob of people looking for this guy but stealing from pizza parlors is wrong. Pizza Bandit, you need to learn: pizza is beautiful and we do not hurt the people who make the pizza!