Another Worth It video. I do rather enjoy these…
I’ve been to Joe’s Pizza. In fact, I’ve been to that Joe’s Pizza. And yes, that is some damn good pizza. It’s what true New York style pizza should be.
I’ve yet to visit Eataly, but this has convinced me to go and try their pizza. And it has also convinced me to meet Mario Batali, who seems genuinely cool, and I absolutely love that he was so complimentary about Joe’s.
But that last one…
That was not pizza. Not at all. Just like that expensive taco was not a taco, and that expensive donut was not a donut… that was not a damn pizza. How the hell do you skip out on the tomato sauce and call it “pizza”?
You don’t. I love cheese on my pizza, yes, but that’s not as quintessential at the tomato sauce. And squid ink? In the dough?
And that crust didn’t look like a pizza crust at all. Where were the burnt bits? Where was the crunch? It looked soggy.
Those two women at the end, the one who shrugged her shoulders and the one who was genuinely disgusted by it… they were right. And yes, I’m judging it based on the looks, but come on… looks alone are enough in this case.
That. Wasn’t. Pizza.
However, I will freely advertise Joe’s any day, every day, and I will definitely be checking out Eataly.
Oh and yes, they did do pizza already… but that was in LA. This is in New York.
mmm pizza
I’m making bread so we could also make pizza today.
…
no tomato sauce, it’ll have to be pesto
…
no mozzarella, so cheddar and parmesan
…
fie on your NoTruePizza!
fie, I say!
I wish I could still eat dairy. All my pizza is homemade these days, and though that’s fine (and sometimes even great), I really crave the experience of having someone else make the pizza and serving it up to me the way that Eatery did for the video makers, and I really value the convenience of being able to swing by a Joe’s Pizza while I’m out on the town and want good food that doesn’t take long to make and that can be eaten on the go.
As for “true pizza” there’s a place in Portland called Pizzacato (a play on pizzicato) that almost specializes in non-tomato sauces. Almost-traditional-yet-not-tomato-based is their Pesto pizza, with a generously saucy green spread under the cheese. But they also have such ducklings as spicy-peanut-sauce pizza, with roast chicken on top of the cheese. Interesting place. Never my favorite, even way back when I could eat dairy without getting a migraine and roiling guts, it was still interesting and a lot of people thought it was, in fact, the best pizza in Portland.
I have eaten Joe’s in NYC, though I don’t really remember it. The Joe’s Pizza of Portland, Oregon is a place called “Escape from New York Pizza”. Obviously trading on the name of the movie “Escape from NY” I still thought it odd because the pizza itself is clearly NY-style pizza. The restaurant thus seems to me more a “Return to NY” than an “escape” from it.
But whatevs.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy “pizzas” that don’t have pizza sauce. I absolutely do. I love pesto “pizzas”, sushi “pizzas” (oh they exist), white “pizzas” (no sauce at all), BBQ “pizzas” (the tomato/pizza sauce is replaced with BBQ sauce), and so on. I’d just rather they be called pittas or pies. If I’m getting a pizza, I expect pizza sauce.
I could even forego the cheese, as long as there’s pizza sauce. With pizza (and bagels), I’m a traditionalist.
Pasta made with squid ink — the closest thing I can of to pizza dough made with squid ink — is quite tasty (as are most other things made from edible squid, including squid). And not expensive.