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Is pizza essentially American at this point?

Hawki97

Hawki97

HR Legend
Dec 16, 2001
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Iowa City, IA
Yeah, sure…the Italians started it all but haven’t they passed the baton to us? They’ve gone stale and are still making their flatbreads and we’re over here innovating in the form of breakfast pizza, taco pizza, crab rangoon pizza, you name it. We’ve created styles from Chicago deep dish to NY thin and everything in between. Plus, we’re bringing it to the masses thanks to international chains like Domino’s and eventually Casey’s global domination. At this point, can we just claim pizza as ours?
 
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Aardvark86 said:
OK, user poll - how many of you have eaten pizza in italy?
Click to expand...
Yes, and it is different. And nowadays if you look, the outdoor pizza oven market has exploded. That's a win for Italy, not the US. Everyone wants Neapolitan or artisanal pizza.
 
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GOHOX69 said:
Yes, and it is different. And nowadays if you look, the outdoor pizza oven market has exploded. That's a win for Italy, not the US. Everyone wants Neapolitan or artisanal pizza.
Click to expand...
So my buddy invested (wait for it) sixty-nine dollars ($69.00)*, bought a couple dozen bricks, and 3 large pieces of slate. He piled them up in his back yard (with vent in back), without mortar, to cook a pizza oven. After some modest experimentation with configuration (first go round cracked the oven-level slate) (additional cost $21.00)*, he now has a highly functional outdoor oven that can produce temperatures in the 600-700 degree range, and can be moved at will. The pizza is simply fantastic. He buys dough balls from local "Italian Store" pizza shop, and uses fresh mozz, etc. Char on the crust, etc.

I told him that he should now get one of those 55 gallon drums for a fireplace so we can watch his outdoor big screen in his driveway, and an old automobile wheel for a barbecue grill base, but his wife put the kibosh on it.


*DC prices. My daughter replicated this in Georgia for under $50.
 
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Aardvark86 said:
So my buddy invested (wait for it) sixty-nine dollars ($69.00)*, bought a couple dozen bricks, and 3 large pieces of slate. He piled them up in his back yard (with vent in back), without mortar to cook a pizza oven. After some modest experimentation with configuration (first go round cracked the oven-level slate) (additional cost $21.00)*, he now has a highly functional outdoor oven that can produce temperatures in the 600-700 degree range. The pizza is simply fantastic. He buys dough balls from local "Italian Store" pizza shop, and uses fresh mozz, etc. Char on the crust, etc.


*DC prices. My daughter replicated this in Georgia for under $50.
Click to expand...
Your buddy is a smart man. But most of us Americans are fat slobs who lack ingenuity. I built a tandoor using a similar process. I like to spend money buy not $2000 bucks on a pizza oven pre-fab or tandoor. Nowadays, there are so many freaking outdoor pizza ovens clogging the market at every price point it isn't even funny.

As far as dough is concerned, just get 00 flour (Caputos), use a tiny amount of yeast, about 57% hydration until you know how to handle wet dough, 2% salt, and ferment for a few days in your fridge. Comes out spectacularly well.
 
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GOHOX69 said:
Your buddy is a smart man. But most of us Americans are fat slobs who lack ingenuity. I built a tandoor using a similar process. I like to spend money buy not $2000 bucks on a pizza oven pre-fab or tandoor. Nowadays, there are so many freaking outdoor pizza ovens clogging the market at every price point it isn't even funny.

As far as dough is concerned, just get 00 flour (Caputos), use a tiny amount of yeast, about 57% hydration until you know how to handle wet dough, 2% salt, and ferment for a few days in your fridge. Comes out spectacularly well.
Click to expand...
Yeah, when i make deep dish, i make my own. But the place he is buying his dough from is cheap, and more importantly, it's very high end NY connections and not some local/chain shop.

Tandoor is a fascinating option! BTW, it is sort of funny, as our mutual friend paid several thousand to build a giant pizza oven in his back yard. It makes great pizza, and retains heat well enough to cook two more days worth of meals in it, but man, that's a lot of overhead to earn off.
 
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Moral said:
There is a Casey's in Milan, but not the one in Italy. I'm calling it a win for America.
Click to expand...
Ever eat here Moral?

It's good (and not QC style for you tasteless heathens that can't appreciate greatness):

pagalo-s-pizzeria-gelato.jpg
 
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GOHOX69 said:
Your buddy is a smart man. But most of us Americans are fat slobs who lack ingenuity. I built a tandoor using a similar process. I like to spend money buy not $2000 bucks on a pizza oven pre-fab or tandoor. Nowadays, there are so many freaking outdoor pizza ovens clogging the market at every price point it isn't even funny.

As far as dough is concerned, just get 00 flour (Caputos), use a tiny amount of yeast, about 57% hydration until you know how to handle wet dough, 2% salt, and ferment for a few days in your fridge. Comes out spectacularly well.
Click to expand...
Are you making Indian pizza? ;)
 
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Aardvark86 said:
Yeah, when i make deep dish, i make my own. But the place he is buying his dough from is cheap, and more importantly, it's very high end NY connections and not some local/chain shop.

Tandoor is a fascinating option! BTW, it is sort of funny, as our mutual friend paid several thousand to build a giant pizza oven in his back yard. It makes great pizza, and retains heat well enough to cook two more days worth of meals in it, but man, that's a lot of overhead to earn off.
Click to expand...
Currently, I've been sucked into the dark hole that is espresso coffee. 😉
 
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GOHOX69 said:
Currently, I've been sucked into the dark hole that is espresso coffee. 😉
Click to expand...
This is basically what my buddy's pizza oven looks like...

www.pizzaptah.pizza

Building a Wood-Fired Micro Oven — PizzaPtah

Ever wanted a brick oven but didn’t know how or where to start?
www.pizzaptah.pizza www.pizzaptah.pizza

As to espresso, that is not a machine I can build. :) I love espresso, but i have to say, i just can't get wound up about the incremental improvements you can get out of an ultra high end machine or roasting my own beans. We've regressed to pods, though I may go back to a relatively simple non-pod machine, as I do like the process and taste a little better.

Funny espresso story - a buddy who was a consultant had a project in italy. His boss would come down to the lobby in the morning, where they had a free espresso machine. In typically american fashion, he thought the machine was ripping him off based on the small quantity dispensed, so he kept pressing the button until his big cup was full. It took a couple of days of Floyd Landis-level nonfunctionality before anybody filled him in. I had a similar experience in a small town cafe in Boiling Springs PA years ago when i stopped for a mid-bike ride espresso at a local shop on an early morning winte rride. Big fat guy was just staring at me, and finally came up on his way out the door and said, 'hey buddy i think they're ripping you off there with that coffee."
 
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Aardvark86 said:
This is basically what my buddy's pizza oven looks like...

www.pizzaptah.pizza

Building a Wood-Fired Micro Oven — PizzaPtah

Ever wanted a brick oven but didn’t know how or where to start?
www.pizzaptah.pizza www.pizzaptah.pizza

As to espresso, that is not a machine I can build. :) I love espresso, but i have to say, i just can't get wound up about the incremental improvements you can get out of an ultra high end machine or roasting my own beans. We've regressed to pods, though I may go back to a relatively simple non-pod machine, as I do like the process and taste a little better.

Funny espresso story - a buddy who was a consultant had a project in italy. His boss would come down to the lobby in the morning, where they had a free espresso machine. In typically american fashion, he thought the machine was ripping him off based on the small quantity dispensed, so he kept pressing the button until his big cup was full. It took a couple of days of Floyd Landis-level nonfunctionality before anybody filled him in.
Click to expand...
Haha, I hear you. But if you check out reddit's espresso subreddit, people are indeed building their own high tech machines or modi'ng them. I have a low end one I keep at work and a high end one I keep at home. To be honest with you, making an espresso requires time and helps me destress. But I'm pretty much a caffeine nut so any type of coffee and I'm there.
 
Hawki97 said:
Yeah, sure…the Italians started it all but haven’t they passed the baton to us? They’ve gone stale and are still making their flatbreads and we’re over here innovating in the form of breakfast pizza, taco pizza, crab rangoon pizza, you name it. We’ve created styles from Chicago deep dish to NY thin and everything in between. Plus, we’re bringing it to the masses thanks to international chains like Domino’s and eventually Casey’s global domination. At this point, can we just claim pizza as ours?
Click to expand...
Did Italy create it, though? Or was it just a type of flatbread that Americans changed to the modern recipe that then made it's way back to Italy. At least one Italian dude says it was the second version. Apparently there is debate on that.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Pizza was invented in America NOT Italy, says Italian professor

Professor Alberto Grandi, of Parma University, Italy, said it was the USA the world has to thank for making pizza, as Italian immigrants took advantage of new ingredients to improve it.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
GOHOX69 said:
Haha, I hear you. But if you check out reddit's espresso subreddit, people are indeed building their own high tech machines or modi'ng them. I have a low end one I keep at work and a high end one I keep at home. To be honest with you, making an espresso requires time and helps me destress. But I'm pretty much a caffeine nut so any type of coffee and I'm there.
Click to expand...
At my office, we invested in an outstanding machine when we remodeled our offices. So, one when i wake up, and a doppio when i get to the office.
 
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BioHawk said:
Did Italy create it, though? Or was it just a type of flatbread that Americans changed to the modern recipe that then made it's way back to Italy. At least one Italian dude says it was the second version. Apparently there is debate on that.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Pizza was invented in America NOT Italy, says Italian professor

Professor Alberto Grandi, of Parma University, Italy, said it was the USA the world has to thank for making pizza, as Italian immigrants took advantage of new ingredients to improve it.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...
As is always the case in any of this shit, I bet the Chinese had it first.
 
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BioHawk said:
Did Italy create it, though? Or was it just a type of flatbread that Americans changed to the modern recipe that then made it's way back to Italy. At least one Italian dude says it was the second version. Apparently there is debate on that.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Pizza was invented in America NOT Italy, says Italian professor

Professor Alberto Grandi, of Parma University, Italy, said it was the USA the world has to thank for making pizza, as Italian immigrants took advantage of new ingredients to improve it.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...
That guy's obviously a traitor.

When i was a young kid and my dad was doing grad work at U. Wyoming, we had an italian professor living in the apartment above us. His name was Mr. Marcantonio, but I always pronounced it Mr. Macaronitoes. One time we were out of control when my parents were out of the house and he really came down hard on us.
 
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ConvenientParking said:
It is funnier than the vast majority of straight comedies
Click to expand...
There's no substitute to brilliant writing; especially when it's perfectly matched to the character. There are very few shows like that. Sopranos and Andre's show Homicide come to mind.
 
binsfeldcyhawk2 said:
Ditto. It's good....but I was underwhelmed. Had better pizza in the states.
Click to expand...

I’m not against European “pizza” or thin crust. For example, the Alsace can rock out one fine tarte especially smothered in truffle oil. And food snobs preemptively F off…tartes are basically pizza.
 
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GOHOX69 said:
Your buddy is a smart man. But most of us Americans are fat slobs who lack ingenuity. I built a tandoor using a similar process. I like to spend money buy not $2000 bucks on a pizza oven pre-fab or tandoor. Nowadays, there are so many freaking outdoor pizza ovens clogging the market at every price point it isn't even funny.

As far as dough is concerned, just get 00 flour (Caputos), use a tiny amount of yeast, about 57% hydration until you know how to handle wet dough, 2% salt, and ferment for a few days in your fridge. Comes out spectacularly well.
Click to expand...
Man, now I want to build a homemade tandoor for my patio cooking area! I have the round kettle weber, a chiminea with a grate and my smoker out there. I NEED the tandoor!

Do you think a mechanically challenged, bad-at-math, white guy could build his own?
 
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BioHawk said:
Did Italy create it, though? Or was it just a type of flatbread that Americans changed to the modern recipe that then made it's way back to Italy. At least one Italian dude says it was the second version. Apparently there is debate on that.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Pizza was invented in America NOT Italy, says Italian professor

Professor Alberto Grandi, of Parma University, Italy, said it was the USA the world has to thank for making pizza, as Italian immigrants took advantage of new ingredients to improve it.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...

Even more reason to claim it as our own! Hamburgers. Pizza. ‘Merica!
 
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torbee said:
Man, now I want to build a homemade tandoor for my patio cooking area! I have the round kettle weber, a chiminea with a grate and my smoker out there. I NEED the tandoor!

Do you think a mechanically challenged, bad-at-math, white guy could build his own?
Click to expand...
You could easily make one!

 
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torbee said:
Ever eat here Moral?

It's good (and not QC style for you tasteless heathens that can't appreciate greatness):

pagalo-s-pizzeria-gelato.jpg
Click to expand...

I have once, I thought it was good. I need to venture out again.

I'm having my semi-annual QC pizza craving so I may have to go to Uncle Bills. Last time I got Harris and I think I need to switch it up.
 
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Aardvark86 said:
So my buddy invested (wait for it) sixty-nine dollars ($69.00)*, bought a couple dozen bricks, and 3 large pieces of slate. He piled them up in his back yard (with vent in back), without mortar, to cook a pizza oven. After some modest experimentation with configuration (first go round cracked the oven-level slate) (additional cost $21.00)*, he now has a highly functional outdoor oven that can produce temperatures in the 600-700 degree range, and can be moved at will. The pizza is simply fantastic. He buys dough balls from local "Italian Store" pizza shop, and uses fresh mozz, etc. Char on the crust, etc.

I told him that he should now get one of those 55 gallon drums for a fireplace so we can watch his outdoor big screen in his driveway, and an old automobile wheel for a barbecue grill base, but his wife put the kibosh on it.


*DC prices. My daughter replicated this in Georgia for under $50.
Click to expand...

Pic of redneck pizza oven?
 
Moral said:
I have once, I thought it was good. I need to venture out again.

I'm having my semi-annual QC pizza craving so I may have to go to Uncle Bills. Last time I got Harris and I think I need to switch it up.
Click to expand...
Can never go wrong going in person to Frank's.

I think a right-out-of-the-oven one from there might be the best the QC has to offer.
 
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Pizza is definitely my favorite food. Got a large Happy Joe's just this past Saturday, man it was good. So many good places to try too.
 
Hawki97 said:
Yeah, sure…the Italians started it all but haven’t they passed the baton to us? They’ve gone stale and are still making their flatbreads and we’re over here innovating in the form of breakfast pizza, taco pizza, crab rangoon pizza, you name it. We’ve created styles from Chicago deep dish to NY thin and everything in between. Plus, we’re bringing it to the masses thanks to international chains like Domino’s and eventually Casey’s global domination. At this point, can we just claim pizza as ours?
Click to expand...
Everywhere I have traveled across the world there is pizza. In great supply.
 
costco right now has a electric pizza oven that gets up to 800 degrees F. 250 bucks which is insanely cheap.
 
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