Bertucci's isn't what it was. Over-franchised. See the comment on Pizzaria Regina above.
Eggplant on pizza! Love it. Pineapple on pizza is an abomination (IMHO).
College days... the only place that would deliver was pretty bad. I mean, how can you have leftover pizza in the morning when you know (alothough can't remember) you had the munchies the night before... I remember finding one, and nailing it to the dorm-leader's door...
Lessee... the big question is do Greeks or Italians make better pizza. A contentious issue in our house, but dealt with in a purely practiacle manner: Whoever pays, chooses. (Greek for me, Italian for Mrs. SealPoet.)
I love pizza! I like pesto pizza (instead of tomato sauce) with parma or feta. I like Amy's frozen spinach pizza. I think my any-day favorite is the margarita (tomato, fresh basil and mozzerella). I don't generally eat meat, but a little prociuto coto or pancheta give a nice flavor to pizza toppings.
We have a little tiny restaurant here in Harvard Square called Veggie Planet which specializes in vegitarian pizzas, soups and salads. They have the most unbelievable crust to put toppings on or you can put them on brown rice or coconut rice. Here are some examples:
Portobello Redhead
seared portobellos topped with a red roasted pepper almond sauce, browned onions, and feta
Mexican Bean
smoky black bean puree, monterey jack cheese, and cherry tomato salsa
Vegan Peanut Curry
cocounut rice (on or off pizza dough) topped with tofu, broccoli, and Thai red peanut curry sauce
http://www.veggieplanet.net/veggieplanet.htm
The big Bertucci's in Medford (or is it Revere?) is still pretty good.
Ok, now I'm drooling, lol.
Just looked it up: in our town (60,000) we have no pizza franchises at all, but 4 Italian restaurants, 14 pizzerias, plus about the same number of Greek and Turkish restaurants selling pizza as well: all to their very own recipes .... and made by themselves.
Walter - that's as it should be! I was so tired of cookie-cutter pizzas and so ready when some people really started making them good and original.
I like black olives, peppers and anchovies. The best part is that I usually don't have to share as most people I know are grossed out by this combo.
De gustibus non est disputandum, as we used to say.
Anybody here tried California Pizza Kitchen?
Some kids I used to take care of always ordered pizza that was marvellously decadent - double (or triple if Karen was ordering) cheese, roasted and fresh garlic, and double bacon. Thick crust of course - thin crust couldn't contain the grease. One slice of that could keep me awake all night.
If I'm ordering? roasted garlic, tomato, mushroom, and spinach on single cheese and sauce on thin crust pizza.
There was a time, about 20 years ago, when I'd have killed for a Pizza Bianco from Uno's. Some kind of bernaise, cheese, lots of mushrooms, onions and garlic. Wonderful with a good beer.
I was wondering about that pizza with the mashed potatoes on it, and I remembered that Pizzeria Uno has some weird thing called pizza skins, which is pizza with the baked potato mashed on top with croutons, bacon, and sour cream on the side. I hate to say good things about any chain, but that stuff is good.
So if any of you have a Pizzeria Uno nearby, you can at least get some semblance of an idea what Dagmarka's pizza with mashed potatoes and garlic is all about. Just a tip from your uncle Kicky!
You see that empty chair in the background? Just moments ago I was sitting in that very chair. I had asked the woman in the flowered dress for a slice of pizza and she told me, "Buzz off, creep!"
I got angry and started making fun of her dress and I grabbed that little girl's hat and threw held it over my head. She jumped up and down and tried to grab it, but I'm bigger and stronger, and I just laughed at her.
Then the security people came and took me away.
That damn pizza sure smelled good.
Potatoes on pizza. A spicy perogy pizza from
Boston Pizza, with a sour cream base, smoked bacon, spicy potatoes, mozzarella, cheddar, green onion and sour cream fits the bill.
My favourite, though, would be the Tuscan, with roasted garlic, Marinara, spinach sundried tomatoes, spicy chicken, feta, mozza and cheddar.
George, unfortunately, the closest California Pizza Kitchen is 450 miles away, but it's great. Love their pizza.
Warning, I am extremely opinionated on this subject. First of all, I agree with Walter in liking the thin crust italian pizza with simple excellent ingredients.
Second of all, I despise California Pizza Kitchen pizza, yech.
Among other things the dough has a preservative taste to me, and if I remember correctly, the tomato sauce has that everpresent tomatopasty taste. Not sure about that, but the dough is enough to keep me away.
I have two all time favorite pizzas - one was pizza Vesuviano at Pizzeria Archetto in Rome; it had a crust over it as well as below, with a hole in the middle, and the whole large circle was filled with scrambled eggs and whatnot, perhaps pancetta, and garlic, a little tomato but maybe not, and the steam poured out of the hole in the middle as the volcanically ballooning pizza was rushed to the table. Next favorite is a simple crust pizza with really good mozzarella, toasted walnuts, a little bit but not too much gorgonzola, a few drops of walnut oil... all this not very thick but bubbling, rushed to your table and placed near your bottle of good white wine. Should you be in Rome, that was at a place called Foccaccia just in front of the Santa Maria della Pace church which is a stone's throw from Piazza Navona.
And then I like my own pizza, with thin crust, good mozzarella, thin sliced home garden tomatoes - even green ones are good if sliced thin, some dribbles of olive oil, and some fresh grated parmigiano, and a minute before it is pulled out of the oven, some torn basil leaves tossed on the top.
Toppings may vary along with mileage, but always relatively spare. Oh, say, hot italian sausage and sliced crimini mushrooms over a thinnish layer of mozzarella. Or sliced onions that have been carmelized before adding to the top of a thin crust, this one with no cheese.
I have to shut up now, I am getting pretty hungry.
In the Boston area
The original Pizzeria Regina in the North End was outstanding. But they expended into a chain and it just isn't the same.
Santarpio's in Eastie was great, but I haven't been back there in some time. Friends tell me it is still the best.
My family has always loved Prince Pizza on Rte 1 in Saugus (that place with the wonderfully tacky Leaning Tower in front). It's good, but a bit on the bland side.
I also like the Highland Cafe in Malden and La Hacienda (odd name for an Italian restaurant) in Somerville. I remember when the latter used to have sawdust on the floor.
Yes, I admit it. I love pizza. Can't wait till my next vacation so I can go home and have a real one.
Rosati's in NW Chicago made a darn fine pizza. The best I've had lately was at an Italian restaurant in Florence, Arizona. It's about an hour's drive from home, and well worth it.
I prefer to make my own, thin crust with a rye flour starter for oomph. If I go out, I still have a soft spot for Banfi, which is conveniently just few blocks from me. Ferro, a little further down the road, makes a decent pizza as well. There are a few indy pizza places in my neighbourhood that I have been meaning to check out. So much pizza, so little time....I make decent foccacia as well.
Oh, also, unless I make it myself, I generally prefer pesto to tomato sauce. That's my only problem with Banfi. They make a fine, thin as air crust, and most of the toppings are good (my huge bugbears being the use of canned olives, and dried spices), but it's all tomato sauce. I do tend to forgive the hiccups for the crust however.
http://www.hideawaypizza.com/fullmenu.html
If any of you are ever in Oklahoma, there is only one place to go: The Hideaway.
Their ATW ("Around the World"), also known as Pizza Supreme, is unmatched. Darn near perfect. Best crust I've ever eaten.
Two of my favorite Hideaway specialty pizzas:
Pizza of the Gods -- Light olive oil and garlic glaze topped with smoked provolone and mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, artichoke hearts and mushrooms.
Paradise Pie -- Alfredo sauce topped with smoked provolone and mozzarella, grilled chicken, smoked bacon, fresh mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. (Feta cheese extra.)
I would LOVE to eat pizza in Rome with you, osso! That description made my mouth water!
