Spin off pizza "discussion"

[tcufrog]

bcla...

Do you go to Saravanaa Bhavan? My mil and dh like the location near us because the masala dosas are huge like at home and the thalis taste like they do back home. It's funny when you see a nonIndian couple stumble upon it. Even though it looks like any other generic restaurant they look so lost and confused when they look at the menu. Do they have a location near you?

 

[bcla]

bcla...

Do you go to Saravanaa Bhavan? My mil and dh like the location near us because the masala dosas are huge like at home and the thalis taste like they do back home. It's funny when you see a nonIndian couple stumble upon it. Even though it looks like any other generic restaurant they look so lost and confused when they look at the menu. Do they have a location near you?

Not familiar with them, but a quick search showed one location in Sunnyvale. There are so many Indian and Indo-Pak restaurants in Silicon Valley that I'm not surprised. The chain I mentioned has branched out since the review, although there are a couple of restaurants with the same name that don't seem to be run by the same owners (may have been at one time). I mentioned the other place to Indian coworkers who said it was good, but they didn't think it was particularly healthy.

Perhaps the oddest thing I remember was when a coworker asked to go to an Indo-Chinese restaurant in Sunnyvale. The makeup of our group included lots of Indians and Chinese. It was kind of interesting. All the servers were South Asian and I'm guessing the kitchen staff was too. The menu was vaguely Chinese sounding. This was a chain, and their sauces were bottled and labeled as made in India. No chopsticks either - only spoons and forks.

 

[robinb]

Tonight's dinner. An Numero Uno at Uno's Pizza in downtown Chicago.

 

[CPanther95]

Tonight's dinner. An Numero Uno at Uno's Pizza in downtown Chicago.

That's not a real pizza.

If I were sitting across the table from you sharing it, we could discuss exactly why that's not a real pizza. It will likely be a heated debate that lasts awhile, so we may need to get a Prima Pepperoni sent to the table to see us through.

 

[bcla]

That's not a real pizza.

If I were sitting across the table from you sharing it, we could discuss exactly why that's not a real pizza. It will likely be a heated debate that lasts awhile, so we may need to get a Prima Pepperoni sent to the table to see us through.

Pizza is whatever anyone wants to be pizza. Heck - there's such as thing as Sicilian pizza (aka sfincione), which is closer to focaccia with tomato sauce and cheese. And I have heard an Italian call it that.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art250.htm

And I did have one last Saturday night at one of the places I mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[CPanther95]

Pizza is whatever anyone wants to be pizza. Heck - there's such as thing as Sicilian pizza (aka sfincione), which is closer to focaccia with tomato sauce and cheese. And I have heard an Italian call it that.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art250.htm

And I did have one last Saturday night at one of the places I mentioned earlier in this thread.

Italians aren't the arbiters of what is or is not a real pizza. Italian-Americans from NYC, preferably Brooklyn, are the experts. They are who made pizza what it is today.

Italian pizza blows, except the ones who have finally mastered A NY pie.

 

[aprilgail]

A Long Island pie. This isn't from a specific pizzeria, I just google imaged "Long Island pizza". Nothing beats a cheesy, greasy slice of pizza!

Now THAT'S a PIZZA!!!! I had the garbage they call pizza in Chicago- weird thick crust bread product with sauce and cheese on in it--horrible!

 

[bcla]

Italians aren't the arbiters of what is or is not a real pizza. Italian-Americans from NYC, preferably Brooklyn, are the experts. They are who made pizza what it is today.

Italian pizza blows, except the ones who have finally mastered A NY pie.

Them's fightin' words!

Really though, New York style pizza is really a hand-tossed style from an immigrant from Naples. And a New Yorker is no more an arbiter of what is or is a Pizza than an Italian.

 

[CPanther95]

Them's fightin' words!

Really though, New York style pizza is really a hand-tossed style from an immigrant from Naples. And a New Yorker is no more an arbiter of what is or is a Pizza than an Italian.

All I know is when I was in Italy in the '70s, I don't think there was a decent pizza to be found anywhere in the country and New York Italians had it perfected for years already.

 

[shoney]

A Long Island pie. This isn't from a specific pizzeria, I just google imaged "Long Island pizza". Nothing beats a cheesy, greasy slice of pizza!

Yup! That is pizza. Slice is served ona cheap white paper plate with wax paper sheet to catch the grease. You fold and eat!

 

[CPanther95]

Yup! That is pizza. Slice is served ona cheap white paper plate with wax paper sheet to catch the grease. You fold and eat!

Yep. A good slice will leave this behind, so you need the extra piece of paper:

 

[bcla]

Regarless of all this talk about different styles and unique offerings, this is my personal favorite:

The place is called Arinell's. They have two locations in Berkeley and San Francisco. This photo is of their Neopolitan style, but they also have Sicilian style thick. The thin pizza is hand spun, but they kind of pull it into almost a square shape. Some slices end up looking like a perfect triangle.

 

[Asherry25]

Ok I have to give a shout-out to this company as it's a favorite of our family. A little background. A couple of years ago we'd arrived in NJ after a long ride, checked into our hotel, then went back out looking for a quick bite to eat. We were in what seemed to be primarily a residential area, and there weren't many choices of restaurants, plus none of us could really agree on what we wanted to eat. We drove around for quite a while, sort of in the middle of nowhere, lol (aside from lots of houses with multiple deer grazing in front yards, which sort of blew our minds). Finally we came upon a little plaza that had a small pizza place so we threw up our hands and said lets just go here. Turned out it was a hidden gem, and we had one of the best "pizza experiences" we'd ever had anywhere - from the BYOB, to the come -as-you-are-yet-nice-ambiance inside, with metal picnic tables and candles, lol, to the brick oven where the pizzas fired up in just a few minutes, to the nice salads, friendly staff, and omg the pizzas! So delicious! We've tried to get back there for the past two years and haven't made it - the second time just a couple of weeks ago when we were nearby they were closed on a Monday, bummer. Anyway, give this place a try!

Lombardi is good pizza! The owner used to work at Nomad Pizza, which is in Hopewell NJ, Philly, and now Princeton, NJ. That's the best artisan pizza I've had, I think.

 

[robinb]

Now THAT'S a PIZZA!!!! I had the garbage they call pizza in Chicago- weird thick crust bread product with sauce and cheese on in it--horrible!

Mine was delicious last night and not at all 'garbage'.

 

[ronandannette]

{{sigh}} sitting here scarfing down mundane pizza from a chain-place and wondering why I even bother consuming tons of calories on food that isn't actually good. Does anybody else eat chain-place pizza? I'm talking about Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Domino's and Little Caesar's kind of chains. The soul-less kind that uses pre-made crust, shredded cheese product and fries up frozen, pre-made wings? The stuff we had for supper (pictured) is from a national Canadian chain called Pizza 73. I keep telling myself we'll NEVER get it again but yet somehow it seems like too much work to actually find a "good" place.

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

ETA: For those who do not recognise this pizza ...

... or ...

ONLY in Chicago.

That looks delicious! We always go to a Giordano's just outside of Chicago and I love their pizza there. However, we are headed to Chicago next week and I'm thinking I'm going to have to check out Uno's this time.

 

[bcla]

{{sigh}} sitting here scarfing down mundane pizza from a chain-place and wondering why I even bother consuming tons of calories on food that isn't actually good. Does anybody else eat chain-place pizza? I'm talking about Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Domino's and Little Caesar's kind of chains. The soul-less kind that uses pre-made crust, shredded cheese product and fries up frozen, pre-made wings? The stuff we had for supper (pictured) is from a national Canadian chain called Pizza 73. I keep telling myself we'll NEVER get it again but yet somehow it seems like too much work to actually find a "good" place.

It's cheap. Not much of a mystery there.

Actually, Domino's doesn't use any of the things you mentioned. The cheese comes shredded, but it's real part-skim mozzarella. The dough also comes in dough balls, but it's still hand spun. I wouldn't mistake it for a high end pizza, but it gets a bad rap. Little Caesar's sucks though.

 

[robinb]

I don't eat at Papa Johns or Dominos for personal reasons. Plus, their pizza sucks. I have eaten at Pizza Hut but not for a very long time. Little Ceasers has been more recent since you can't beat a $5 pizza that's ready for you immediately. It's not good but my DD will eat it in a pinch.

The wait for pick-up at my local good places for thin or hand tossed is about 15-20 mins. I enjoy going to Glass Nickel Pizza and enjoying a small beer while waiting for my pizza to finish baking.

 

[robinb]

That looks delicious! We always go to a Giordano's just outside of Chicago and I love their pizza there. However, we are headed to Chicago next week and I'm thinking I'm going to have to check out Uno's this time.

Giordano's spinach, garlic and mushroom pizza ... Yum!

Giordano's is a different pizza and less dense than Uno's in the crust. If you try Uno's (or the sister store die's) make sure to go to the downtown locations. The franchise locations are not as good.

 

[ronandannette]

It's cheap. Not much of a mystery there.

Actually, Domino's doesn't use any of the things you mentioned. The cheese comes shredded, but it's real part-skim mozzarella. The dough also comes in dough balls, but it's still hand spun. I wouldn't mistake it for a high end pizza, but it gets a bad rap. Little Caesar's sucks though.

Here's the the thing - it may be cheap but it isn't particularly inexpensive. 3 individual sized pizzas (10") and 8 wings were $40.00. Even Little Caesar's Hot and Ready here are $8/$10/$12 depending on the variety you pick. For 1/2 the price I still wouldn't enjoy it but at least I wouldn't resent it so much.