Comments on: Why New York Pizza is so Tough to Replicate

By: JET

JET — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:45:39 +0000

Nothing beats Swedish pizza. Laugh if you will, but every single American I’ve ever introduced to a real Swedish-style Capricciosa has come away deeply impressed. The ranking goes; Swedish (Scandinavian if you’re generous), Italian, Chicago, NYC.

The big problem is US over-reliance on tomato sauce and generally inferior cheeses.

So there.

By: ted

ted — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:27:40 +0000

Pizza from Naples can’t be beat.
Chicago pizza is deep - it’s almost like soup.

By: fsmarch

fsmarch — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:14:26 +0000

Talking about homemade, my wife makes a really tasty philly cheese steak pizza with a store-bought crust, roast beef, onions, and assorted cheeses.

I pack it away by the plateful, and clamor for more!

By: reznicek111

reznicek111 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:10:16 +0000

As a Chicagoan who grew up in New York and New Jersey, I still crave New York-style pizza and lament that fact it’s so hard to find here. The commenters you wrote about Midwestern square-cut pizza being designed to share - um, why would triangular slices be any less shareable than squares? Here, people just end up taking four or five tiny squares - a New York-style slice’s worth - per serving, anyhow. Square-cut doesn’t serve any more people per pie.

I agree, the square cuts are probably more a means of dealing with the dry, crackery Midwestern pizza crust … or a nod to Chicago’s “grid” style city street plan.

By: Jim Nutt

Jim Nutt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:34:45 +0000

I think the best way to get a good pizza is to make it yourself. I’m partial to an extremely thin sourdough crust myself, partially cooked in a very hot oven before adding the toppings, then cooked a bit longer with the toppings in a slightly cooler oven. I’d love to have a wood oven for it (and for bread), but that’s a bit outside my budget right now.

By: chaymation

chaymation — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:28:08 +0000

“Um…only one place makes REAL pizza.

Chicago.”

I would imagine the ones in Italy are quite nice…

By: fsmarch

fsmarch — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:23:47 +0000

Thank you, Sheldon. The thin crust explaination makes sense.

It is virtually impossible, though, not to get sauce all over your fingers, eating from a square.

It is easy, with a properly folded slice.

By: Alannah

Alannah — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:12:45 +0000

I can’t even taste a difference between brands of pizza. Do people really notice these differences, or is it just another fun thing to argue about?

By: Ed Hands

Ed Hands — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:10:52 +0000

Um…only one place makes REAL pizza.

Chicago.

All the others are “wannabees.” Sorry, guys, you got plenty of other cool stuff, but we got the lock on pizza.

By: Sheldon

Sheldon — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:10:40 +0000

fsmarch, because we like to share pizzas. We have big parties coming in that want pizzas, and they all like to share. So one person can grab a couple squares of pepperoni, cheese, sausage and whatever else they want. Plus, the slices are much thinner, almost like pizza on a cracker, so if they were big slices, they would flop around. It still amazes me how pizza is so different in the different areas of our country.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:07:20 +0000

New York City is supposed to have the best tap water in the world.

By: bean

bean — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:56:14 +0000

The difference is also in the water? So people in NY prefer pizza with toxic waste in the dough?

By: fsmarch

fsmarch — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:20:49 +0000

Question:

Why do people in the midwest cut their pizza in squares, rather than slices?

That never made sense to me. Anybody have any idea?

By: fsmarch

fsmarch — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:16:59 +0000

You can’t beat New York pizza.

Pizza was actually invented in The Bronx, NY.

First.