Entries tagged with 'Long Island'
I've been workin' in the coal mine, digging up some more coal-oven pizzerias to bring you. Although New York City and New Haven, Connecticut, are two of the most famous coal-oven towns, did you know there are coal joints in Florida; Philly; Chicago; Des Moines, Iowa; Dallas; and Scottsdale, Arizona? They're all on the Slice National Coal-Oven Pizza Map.
Posted by Ed Levine, June 26, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Editor's note: My friend and neighbor Brian Koppelman (writer of Ocean's 13, among others) loves pizza with designer toppings, for which he gives an impassioned defense here. It's an excerpt from my book Pizza: A Slice of Heaven.
Words by Brian Koppelman | MY FATHER, WHO FIRST INTRODUCED ME TO PIZZA, IS A PURIST. To him, a pie isn't legit unless it's built like the ones he ate during his high school years in Far Rockaway, Queens. Out there, among the row houses by the Atlantic Ocean, the neighborhood joints served it straight up: crisp crust, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella. Maybe a sprinkle of Parmesan. That's all. No pesto. No goat cheese. Definitely no pineapple. That's how my oId man liked it. He's still a no-nonsense guy. I, however, am a fop hooked on "gourmet" pizza.
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Posted by Ed Levine, June 25, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Bar (or tavern) pizza is an entity unto itself within the pizza realm. It's been around at least since Prohibition ended in 1933, but who knows, maybe there was a speakeasy serving pizza. It is served all over the country, although I have found a preponderance of bar pizza in New Jersey; Staten Island, New York; Chicago; and Connecticut.
What defines a bar pizzeria? They're usually family-run businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation. It's pizza served in a bar (of course), which means minors are not let in unaccompanied by adults. At Vito & Nick's on Chicago's far South Side, a sign on the door greets all perspective customers with that very message. Bar pizza is served by waiters, waitresses, and bartenders who, let's just say, have been around the pizza oven more than a few times. They may make you feel welcome, but only after sizing you up for a full minute. They usually have a twinkle in their eye that's not immediately discernible, and more than a little bit of attitude. A bar pizzeria likely has plastic tablecloths if it has any tablecloths at all. There's a good chance that the choicest tables are booths.
What is bar pizza like? It's usually very thin-crusted to (I'm guessing) leave plenty of room in the eater's stomach for beer. It's baked in a gas oven that may have replaced a coal oven if the bar is old enough. Bar pizza is made with decent, commercial, aged mozzarella and comes topped with canned mushrooms, standard pepperoni and, if you're lucky, house-made sausage. You will not find any fancy-pants ingredients or toppings in or on a bar pizza, although at the Brü Rm. at Bar in New Haven, Connecticut, they have created a yuppie, postmodern bar pizzeria that serves things like mashed-potato pizza and blonde ale. It's actually good pizza and good beer, but somehow it seems antithetical to the original idea of bar pizza.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 13, 2006 at 4:36 PM
IMG_6203.jpg, blogged to Slice from the Flickr photostream of gothamistllc
Gothamist editor-at-large and friend of Slice Tien Mao served as judge last Saturday at the Best of Long Island Pizza contest.
Five Long Island–based pizzerias competed in each of five categories: regular, marinara, Sicilian, grandma, and specialty. In Mr. Mao's words:
Our favorites from the day were Paradiso for regular pizza, Prince Umberto's in Sicilian, Paradiso's in marinara, Antino's in grandma, and Paradiso's in the specialty pizza. The winners for best pizza were Prince Umberto's for best regular and Sicilian, Paradiso for best marinara, Antino's for best grandma, and Spasso's for best grandma. Pizzas weren't judged on any particular criteria like crust, sauce, or cheese, but all based on the preferences of the judges. In addition to the pizza contest, there was also a pizza eating contest. Unfortunately due to our judging responsibilities, we could not participate. The winner, Mike Hoffman, ate almost a whole pie in about six minutes.
That's Mr. Hoffman above, looking for all the world like he's struggling to hold down what he's taken in.
I had the dubious honor of judging this event in 2004. I say dubious because I foolishly gorged on slices early in the judging process instead of taking two or three strategic bites of each.
Mr. Mao's Gothamist post has more photos and detail. Do click through.
The Best Pizza ... in Long Island [Gothamist]
Judging Long Island Pizza [Slice Archives]
Photographs courtesy of Gothamist
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 16, 2005 at 3:33 PM
Almost a year ago, this site's editor and publisher, Adam K. (that's me), was called upon to serve as a judge in the annual Best of Long Island Pizza Contest. Contest organizers told me that the judges would be sampling 25 slices of pizza—five pizzerias competing in five categories. They told me that the Food Network would be there, taping for the show All American Festivals. They also told me not to eat breakfast.
This site's roving reporter, E-Rock, joined me on the journey to Farmingdale (that's who I'm consulting with in the screen capture at right), and our antics and recap of the day can be found in this entry from October 06, 2004. What concerns us today is the fact that I've finally gotten my greasy hands on a digitized, web-based streamcast of the All American episode depicting the L.I. pizza bash. (Watch it here.)
I appear in it for a total of about 2 seconds. E-Rock, maybe 1 second. I'll tell you who does get some serious airtime, and that's Miss Long Island (above). Host Jim O'Connor paid a heck of a lot of attention to her for a man wearing a wedding ring. But I'm not so naive as to think he'd actually want to talk to this dirtbag when the more telegenic Miss L.I. was just to my left. I mean, hey, sex sells, and what do I know about pizza anyway? Alright, have a look at the video. E-Rock and I appear a little over 9 minutes into the show, if you're interested.
The episode touches on a bit of pizza history and technique before highlighting a pizza-eating contest and a children's meatball toss (I don't know either), both of which served as welcome respites from eating. The funny thing about the show, or the contestants, rather, was something even my mom picked up on when she watched the episode some months ago—and she's by no means a pizza purist. "They're all so concerned with winning the speciality pizza division," Ma Slice said, "but you'd think the real honor would be in the regular pizza or even the Sicilian contest."
My thoughts exactly. I'd hazard a guess that most of a pizzeria's sales are on plain or modestly topped pies and slices, not those monstrosities with salads—or a Tyson chicken factory—dumped on them. So Ma was right (once again) when she said, "If you focus on the basics, the rest will fall in line."
Anyway, that's that. I encourage you to check out the Food Network video. Not only that one, but I produced a short film highlighting the day, too. It's set to Kiss's "Any Way You Slice It," and it rocks. Hard. Chekk it.
All American Festivals: "Pizza"
Long Island Pizza: Judge's Dread
Any Way You Slice It (11.9MB Quicktime .mov)
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 6, 2004 at 1:00 AM
Judge's Dread: Although we were being served some of Long Island's best pizzas straight from an an on-site oven (above) at Adventureland Amusement Park on Saturday, I could feel a touch of anxiety welling up as I perused the judging schedule (top right) and calculated the amount of pizza I'd have to chew through. Nevertheless, I was called there to do a job, and so I steeled my mind, popped some preemptive Tums, and set about judging slices (top left).
Ladies and gentlemen, last weekend almost put Slice out of commission, as Saturday was the day I was asked to sit among the judges in the Best Pizza on Long Island Contest. Five categories. Five pizzerias in each. Twenty-five samples. Four days later, I still blanch when someone suggests slices for supper and I can barely bring myself to think about pizza. But you have been demanding new entries, so here goes...
Slice roving reporter E-Rock and I met at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Flatbush Terminal of the Long Island Railroad. E-Rock is accustomed to assignments that involve travel, and I needed a grisled road warrior to serve as guide and provide veteran survival tips. His advice involved a flask filled with whiskey. I had to maintain a steady stomach for some grueling gustatory work, however, and wasn't able to imbibe with him during the hour-long train ride to points east.
SAINT LOUIS, LOUIE
We arrived at the Farmingdale LIRR station around 11:20 a.m. Two cabbies were waiting for potential fares. "Let's go with Saint Louis," E-Rock said, pointing out the hack's Cardinals ball cap and jersey.
"It's a shame about [Cards third baseman Scott] Rolen, huh?" E-Rock asked the driver. [Rolen was on his way to becoming an MVP candidate but got hurt a few weeks ago.]
"Huh?"
"Scott Rolen."
"Oh. I gave up on baseball. I'm a Yankees fan now. What the hell are you guys going to Adventureland for? Adventureland f&*kin' sucks."
"A competition to find Long Island's best pizza."
"No shit!?"
"Yeah. What do you think's the best pizza on Long Island?"
"Long Island pizza's shit," and then, as if it would explain everything, the cabbie followed with, "I grew up in Brooklyn."
Some of the best New York pizza we've had has been from Brooklyn shops, so we understood his logic. But we were hoping the contest would prove our driver wrong.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 19, 2003 at 2:11 PM
"I like the pizza and hot dogs we used to get better. But mmmmmm, the salmon is s-o-o-o good." — Anajae Whiten, Bridgehampton, N.Y., public school second grader, as quoted in the New York Times story "From 'Yuck' to 'Mmmmmm'"
