Pizza...

s&wchad

s&wchad

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As my brother likes to say, don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed! :rolleyes:

A new pizza parlor just opened near our home. They advertise Italian style stone oven baked pizza made with 00 flour, fermented dough and premium toppings. It's less than a half mile drive and we like to support local businesses, so I decided to check them out.

I ordered their 16" cheese pizza with sausage, mushrooms and peppers. It set me back $23 and change. I had high hopes, but they crushed them like a bug.

I arrived about 10 minutes before their estimated pick up time. My pizza was already boxed and sitting on a shelf when I got there. It was barely warm by the time I got home.

The crust was OK, but a little tough. To say they were stingy on toppings is being generous. Here's the half we didn't finish. It weighed in at less then a pound...

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Compare that pathetic pie to the sourdough crust pizza we make on a cast iron pan at home. The dough needs to be started a day or two in advance and making the pizza is a fair amount of work, but the ingredients are under $10. No contest in my mind...

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The best pizza in the country is Frank Pepe's in CT. Close to it is Upper Crust outside of Phoenix.

Nothing else even comes close.
 
Back when I was still single, a group of teens from church were running around and we decided to grab a pizza. We grabbed two 18" Pepperoni from a new shop. it was so bad that 9 teens couldn't finish them and left about 1/2 of one on the parking lot.

You know how hungry teens react to pizza: Grab the first piece and wolf it down, grab a second and about half way through, the conversation starts again. Nobody took a third piece!

That shop didn't last 45 days! most likely the one close to you won't either.

Ivan
 
Ivan the Butcher said:
Back when I was still single, a group of teens from church were running around and we decided to grab a pizza. We grabbed two 18" Pepperoni from a new shop. it was so bad that 9 teens couldn't finish them and left about 1/2 of one on the parking lot.

You know how hungry teens react to pizza: Grab the first piece and wolf it down, grab a second and about half way through, the conversation starts again. Nobody took a third piece!

That shop didn't last 45 days! most likely the one close to you won't either.

Ivan
Click to expand...
I don't see how they'll survive, given the local competition. Gino's Pizza in Keego Harbor is only 5 miles away. They sell this "Special" for $5 less and it's excellent.

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Another local market (Grapes & Hopps) is even closer and sells these deep dish behemoths for about the same price. One of these will feed 6 good eaters!

o.jpg
 
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We've been looking for a good cheese and sausage pizza for quite a while around here. It seems they are pushing pepperoni and way to much gooey cheese. I'm about to give up.
 
That sour dough pizza looks freaking delicious! For a lot of newer pizza shops, it appears someone invented a slicer that makes the toppings semi transparent.
 
s&wchad said:
As my brother likes to say, don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed! :rolleyes:

A new pizza parlor just opened near our home. They advertise Italian style stone oven baked pizza made with 00 flour, fermented dough and premium toppings. It's less than a half mile drive and we like to support local businesses, so I decided to check them out.

I ordered their 16" cheese pizza with sausage, mushrooms and peppers. It set me back $23 and change. I had high hopes, but they crushed them like a bug.

I arrived about 10 minutes before their estimated pick up time. My pizza was already boxed and sitting on a shelf when I got there. It was barely warm by the time I got home.

The crust was OK, but a little tough. To say they were stingy on toppings is being generous. Here's the half we didn't finish. It weighed in at less then a pound...

attachment.php


Compare that pathetic pie to the sourdough crust pizza we make on a cast iron pan at home. The dough needs to be started a day or two in advance and making the pizza is a fair amount of work, but the ingredients are under $10. No contest in my mind...

attachment.php
Click to expand...
Wow!!
That makes Domino's pizza look like gourmet pizza!!
 
It is a shame that most places make a pizza pie that is disappointing. Your homemade pizza looks delicious.

My wife started making pizza from scratch and has really perfected it. She makes them with the usual toppings but she also has an interesting specialty, a roasted sweet potato, butternut squash with red onion pizza.
She uses no red sauce and the three-cheese dough is first cooked in the oven by itself to get it crispy; it's infused with three cheeses; typically, Mozzarella, Asiago and Pecorino Romano. After which, she adds the other ingredients and lets it bake to get it hot and crispy. She then tops it with fresh basil. She drizzles hers with some balsamic vinegar.
It's surprisingly delicious. The flavors really blend together well.
 

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We stopped going out for pizza years ago. It got too expensive and was often not very good. We always make our own, using large burrito/quesadilla-size flour tortillas as crust. Couldn't be simpler, just ladle on some canned pizza sauce, shredded cheese, sliced pepperoni or sausage, or whatever other toppings you want, then put it in a hot oven for 10 minutes. As good as, or better than, any you can from a pizza place, quicker, and vastly less expensive. We prefer thin crust pizza, and flour tortillas work very well for that. We used to buy frozen pizza, like Red Baron, etc., but they have gotten too expensive also.
 
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For you guys who like to make pizza at home, get a good pizza oven if you don't have one already. I worked at perfecting my pizza for a few years with my home oven using both a pizza stone and steel but it was never quite "there". Then I bought a pizza oven and my pies went from very good to Italian restaurant quality. We now make pizza once or twice a week and never get tired of it.

The oven I have is the Halo Versa 16 and worth every penny.

 
I actually prefer the taste of a gluten-free cauliflower crust pizza. I buy a frozen one from our local grocery store or Walmart and a bag of mix grated mozzarella, Gouda, and Swiss cheese and I pile it on thick with so much pepperoni you can't hardly see the pizza crust. I won't hardly eat a wheat crust pizza anymore and everyone who tries my pizza seems to love it.
 
s&wchad said:
Compare that pathetic pie to the sourdough crust pizza we make on a cast iron pan at home. The dough needs to be started a day or two in advance and making the pizza is a fair amount of work, but the ingredients are under $10. No contest in my mind...

attachment.php
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That sourdough pie looks fabulous!

You are only about 240 miles away, when is dinner?

Kevin
 
Growing up in WNY every neighborhood had at least a couple pizzerias. Couldn't order a pie without wings. After all this is the birthplace of the wing (Anchor Bar). Those neighborhood joints were the best. Take out only. And they all had a video game in the corner in case you arrived before the pie was done. Wood fired pizza has become incredibly popular now. But our illustrious Governor wants to ban the ovens……… you can't make this stuff up.
 
You can make a far better pizza at home than you can buy and it's not difficult. Pizza shop pizzas are heavily laden with salt and some are really greasy despite the good flavor.

To save time and mess, I make enough dough for four or five 16" pizzas and break it down into globs of dough, each one big enough for one pizza. I freeze them individually in zip loc bags. They keep well for at least a couple of months.

Same for the sauce. Make your favorite sauce and freeze in small plastic freezer containers, just enough in each container for one pizza or for a couple of servings of spaghetti.

I've found my regular oven works fine for pizza as long as I crank it up to 425 degrees, but I think oven temperatures vary somewhat.
 
One of the few advantages of living near/working in Scranton PA is the plethora of pizza places with different styles and specialities.

(Most of) them would be ashamed of serving a pizza like the OP got and charging that much for it.

I award them no points, and may God have mercy on their souls.
 
I have been making pizza at home for years
Use 00 or 000 flour make it a day or two before you want the pie (makes a real difference in the crust)

Us a pizza stone in the oven set to 525 degrees. No quite as a real pizza oven but almost.


We like lots of toppings but no pepperoni, Italian sausage, peppers, mushrooms etc etc.
Guess I need to take some pictures
 
bigmtnman said:
Ledo's ...... College Park, Md.

If you are from the D.C. area ....you know who has/had the BEST pizza !!
Click to expand...

I went to University of MD in College Park (early 1970s)...just down the road from Ledo's. They had awesome pizzas then. You open the box and the top of the pizza had grease just sitting on top of the pizza...it was great. It simply begged for beer to wash it down.

That original Ledo's is no longer there...they moved it into College Park from what I understand. The last time I ate at the original location it was pretty bad...terrible service and the food was mediocre at best.

Ledo's has franchised locations all over the region but the quality varies a lot. They're not what they used to be.

Frank Pepe's now has a location in the old Montgomery Mall (don't know what it's named now). If you want the best pizza...try there.
 
bigmtnman said:
Ledo's ...... College Park, Md.

If you are from the D.C. area ....you know who has/had the BEST pizza !!
Click to expand...

I went to University of MD in College Park (early 1970s)...just down the road from Ledo's. They had awesome pizzas then. You open the box and the top of the pizza had grease just sitting on top of the pizza...it was great. It simply begged for beer to wash it down.

I remember on football Sundays...everyone ordered pizza carry-out from Ledo's to be picked up at half-time...you had to order it several hours ahead they were so busy.

That original Ledo's is no longer there...they moved it into College Park from what I understand. The last time I ate at the original location it was pretty bad...terrible service and the food was mediocre at best.

Ledo's has franchised locations all over the region but the quality varies a lot. They're not what they used to be.

Frank Pepe's now has a location in the old Montgomery Mall (don't know what it's named now). If you want the best pizza...try there.
 
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