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Fri 16 Jul, 2004 12:29 pm
The common belief is that Italians invented the pizza, however the origins go back to the ancient times. Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern cultures were eating flat, un-leaven bread that had been cooked in mud ovens. The bread was much like a pita, which is still common in Greece and the Middle East today. Further it is known that ancient Mediterranean people such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians were eating the bread, topped seasoned with olive oil and native spices.
The lower class of Naples, Italy is believed to have created pizza in a more familiar fashion. In the late 1800s an Italian baker named Raffaele Esposito, was believed to have created a dish for visiting royalty. According to the story, the Italian monarch King Umberto and his consort, Queen Margherita were touring the area. In order to impress them and to show his patriotic fervor Raffaele chose to top flat bread with food that would best represent the colors of Italy: red tomato, white mozzarella cheese and green basil. The king and queen were so impressed that word quickly reached the masses. The end results were that the dish was well received to the extent that others began to copy it.
By the beginning of the 1900's pizza made it's way to the inner cities United States, thanks to Italian immigrants, most notably New York and Chicago, due to those cities having large Italian populations. Small cafes began offering the Italian favorite. American soldiers further prompted the dish to become very popular at the end of World War II, having been exposed to it while serving on the Italian front.
Today pizza has become just as American as baseball and apple pie. Only because of its most recent origins is it considered an Italian dish.
Okay, history lesson over. Now let's talk about Pizza!!! What do you like on your pizza? What is the name of your favorite Pizza place? Does New York have the best pizza in the world, or what? Is there anything about pizza that you'd like to talk about? If so, this is the thread for you!
Okay... I'll bite. <grin>
My favorite pizza place is the Tides, though truly my friend makes better pizza. I prefer a flat crust, pepperoni, wine-flavored red sauce, a mix of cheeses but not too much, and a little bit of pesto on the top. If I were going to go for the gusto, besides pepperocini I would ask for grilled tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms, garlic & onion, but those could just as easily be part of the sauce.
I think chicken on pizza is weird. (Is that OK to say?)
Chicken on pizza is weird. Not as weird as pineapples, but yeah, it's a little weird.
How about sliced eggplant? I LOOOVE eggplant on pizza, and I never saw it anywhere until I moved to NYC.
There are so many great pizza places here that it's tough to choose a favorite. If I want just simple, no frills good pizza, I think "The Pizza Booth" on Bleecker Street is the best I've had. The pizza is great itself, but it's the crust that puts it over the top. How many pizzas have you had where you notice how great the crust tastes? They must put some butter in it or on it when they cook it, because it just tastes so damn good.
I like both chicken and pineapple on pizza, but my favorite is ham, green peppers, onion, mushrooms and pineapple. hmm hmm hmm.
i am trespassing here, i think, for i wouldn't really care if pizza vanished from the face of the earth. i'll eat it, but i don't ever crave pizza and generally prefer whatever else. BUT, Cambridge One in Harvard Square does have one that a Slovak heart can fancy- pizza with mashed potatoes and garlic on top! (among other things). That kind of pizza I like.
Just to add to the history lesson before I talk pizza:
"...many of the foods that we consider intrinsic to Italian cooking were simply not availible [in ancient Rome].
For example, we think immediately of the tomato, a basic ingredient in modern Italian cuisine, and of the potato, the primary means of survival for many generations of Northern Europeans. Both of these foods came to Europe only after the discovery of America, together with eggplant, sweet and hot peppers, corn (and consequently corn polenta, the nutritional staple for many inhabitants of the Italian Alpine region up to fifty years ago.)"
-From 'A Taste of Ancient Rome' Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa
I love eggplant on pizza and I love pineapple on pizza and I love chicken on pizza. Other favorites are olives, mushrooms, shrimp, artichokes, on and on and on. Everything but perhaps chocolate and anchovies.
For local no frills pizza - The Original Pizzeria Regina is great. The one in the North End of Boston, not those fake offshoots you see in malls. For the best pizza in the world, walking around in any town in Italy and finding a take out type buying off the street slices. Melts in your mouth delicious.
Oh and I also make a damn good homemade pizza.
Cav, I'm so glad you decided to grace this thread with your presence. I knew you'd have some interesting tidbits to add.
My all-time favorite pizza is white pizza with pepperoni, onions, and black olives. Oh, and extra cheese is always a welcome addition.
Godfather's Pepperoni pizza is the best! YUM! My second favorite is Pizza Hut's Pan Pizza with just cheese...extra cheese and hot red pepper flakes sprinkled on top and lots red wine to wash it down. Mmm Mmm Good!
The worst pizza is Dominos. Blech. They are the Earl Scheib of pizza makers.
Potatoes on a pizza? I have not seen that or eggplant either. I guess I'd try a slice.
I forgot that I like black olives on my pizza... sliced... not too many.
Dagmarka - that does sound like a pretty interesting pizza - I would like to try it. Don't get into Harvard Square that much any more, but will have to keep it mind next time I am.
Quote:Today pizza has become just as American as baseball and apple pie.
Obviously the author of that article had never been to Europe, Germany especially (not talking about Italy). (Btw: Etymology: Italian, perhaps of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bizzo, pizzo bite, bit, :wink: )
a) I only like the thin Italian-style pizzas,
b) premium choice: tomatoe, prosciutto di Parma, parmesan cheese and basil.
I also love the idea of the mashed potatoes and garlic toppings. That really sounds great!
Plain old pepperoni pizza with extra cheese is my favorite, but I like all kinds of combinations. I don't like anchovies or olives.
Vito's is my favorite pizza place.
kickycan wrote:I also love the idea of the mashed potatoes and garlic toppings. That really sounds great!
Same here. I've never heard of it, but it does sound good.
I love the traditional pizza with lots of toppings and extra cheese; sometimes I make it homemade.
I make my own pizza as well, but I could never make it like Vito's does.
When I do make it myself, I make my own pizza dough and pizza sauce and it's pretty good.
Bertucci's thin crust with fresh garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and extra cheese is simply to die for !
When I lived in Mass, I always wanted to try Bertucci's, but never did. I heard their food was awesome.
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