Pizza Everyday - Big City Zza

In New York City this past weekend I had three pizza experiences, each one being significantly better than the last. First stop, Coney Island.

This "school cafeteria" style slice was $3. Pretty terrible, but being very hungry after doing stuff all day and not eating helped a bit. Still, it deserves 1.5/8 slices.

The slice from this place, where a can of Coors Light costs $4.50, is pictured here.

After going on the $5 "Spook-A-Rama" ride (soooo worth it), my friend Jac picked up this gem for $3. Same price as the previous slice, but like 10 times better. 4/8 slices. (Note the actual cheese on this one).

Finally, the next night we went to a real Pizza place, John's Pizzeria on Bleecker Street (where, as Vanilla Ice suggests on their website, they should "Keep Making the 'Dope' Pizza.") Yes, Vanilla, the pizza was "Dope". We got a large cheese and it totally hit the spot, aka the emptiness in my stomach, and was priced well. $14. It was a 7/8.

Pizza Everyday - Next Level Homemade Pizza

Yesterday I realized that I wanted some pizza for dinner and decided to use the items in my kitchen and garden, instead of money, to make it. I googled "pizza dough recipe" and just used one at random. I forgot how easy it was to make pizza dough at home, it takes like no time to prepare then you just walk away for an hour while it rises. When it was ready we added olive oil, salt/pepper, garlic, tomatoes and basil (from garden) as well as fresh mozzarella (which, admittedly was purchased from the store for this very purpose).

It looked real good:



But once baked, it looked even better:



And then eating it was a f'ing dream:

As you can probably tell, it was quite doughy and messy. I suppose if one wanted thinner crust, they could just use half the amount of dough or a larger pan. Either way, if you like kneading and pizza and eating delicious things, homemade dough is the way to go.

Pizza Everyday - Trinacria

A few weeks ago Sara and I had quite a time with some flat bread pizza "dough" from Trinacria . When I purchased the fresh dough balls mentioned earlier, I noticed these flat bread options but did not partake so was happily surprised when she showed up at my house with them in tow. There are two of them in a pack and we had hell of ingredients, so we made two pizzas. Sara doesn't remember how much the "dough" ended up costing, but we can only assume it was minimal.




The first had:
olive oil
garlic
onions
baby portabellas
asparagus
herb goat cheese or "chevre"



The second:
olive oil
garlic
onions
yellow and orange bell peppers
zucchini
feta cheese
horseradish cheddar cheese (locally made!)



While making and subsequently baking the pizzas we 1.) Danced to Rusted Root 2.) Watched the season finale of America's Next Top Model.

Both pizzas were pretty good and eating them was just as fun as making them, if not more. Well, maybe making them was the fun part because the eating was so/so. The "dough" is kind of pre-baked or something, so they cooked rather quickly. However, we decided that putting the flat bread in the oven for a bit before adding the toppings would have been a good idea, they could have been a little crispier. Also, the I enjoyed the horseradish cheddar, but Sara thought it was a little much. To each his own. That's what Pizza is all about: Options. Endless Options.




Emily: 6/8 and Trinacria's flat bread a 4.5/8
Sara: 6/8 and Trinacria's flat bread a 4/8

Pizza Everyday - Psychodelic Pizza

We ate pizza at Viccino's. It wasn't exactly a religious experience, so this picture is a bit misleading. It was, however, only $2.12 a slice. Aran got a pepperoni and two white slices with vegetables. I got one white with vegetables. As previously noted on our Turp's post, Viccino's white pizza is hellsa greasy but has a good flavor... I could have dealt without the canned spinach though. Apparently the grease on the pepperoni slice was more tolerable, because that is what one expects. The slices were "not remarkable". I think we said 5/8.

Pizza Everyday - Trinacria

The other day I made some pretty amazing pizza using Trinacria's pizza dough. At only $1.99 for TWO balls of dough, it is the best deal I've seen around. I actually thought it was pasta dough when I purchased it, but soon realized it was pizza dough... which is also cool and BPC worthy.

Ingredients:

Trinacria pizza dough
olive oil
garlic
Richfood brand "pizza blend" cheese
baby portabella mushrooms
salt/pepper

This pizza was amazing. I don't know if it was the dough or the toppings, but it was boss. If you are into dough that is fluffy and rises to the occasion, you may not want to get it from Trinacria. But, if you like hella cheap shit that tastes good, go for it. I give my pizza a 7.5/8. Believe it.

Pizza Everyday - Mall Madness

This past Friday Joe and Sarah and I took a trip to Towson Town Center. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until like 7:45pm and the mall closes at 9pm, so we had to split up and haul ass. We each had specific consumer goals in mind but in the end, none were attained in the amount of time allotted. We simply brushed our shoulders off and glided across the street to Pasta Mista (shitty website), a local college staple. The place is ALWAYS packed and super small, which makes being there kind of a nightmare. If you can deal with the jock infestation and girls wearing makeup, the food is well worth the effort. I got two slices, one Gorgonzola with tomatoes and one plain cheese. Sarah got a slice of pepperoni and broccoli. Individual slices range from $2 - $3, depending on toppings. Joe got a chicken parm sub (his "favorite food"), but that is not pizza... doy. We took our bounty to the car and ate in the parking lot, which is kind of the only option, and watched a girl simulate fellatio while telling her friend a "hilarious" story in the next car.

My slices were bomb. I would give them both a 7/8. I was pretty much starving by the time I ate them, so that might have skewed the results. Sarah also really enjoyed her pizza.

After we quickly ate, we raced to the Senator Theater to watch House (Hausu) the unbelievably amazing mind shifting psychedelic Japanese horror film from 1977. All and all, a wonderful night out in the suburbs. Grazie, Mr. Mista! Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Obayashi!

Pizza Everyday - Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

I've been buying TJ's pizza dough and making delicious pizza with it for quite some time and I think it's time to "post" about it. Last night, I made myself a pizza with the meager ingredients I had left in the kitchen... which were actually surprisingly gourmet, but that's just how I roll.

Ingredients:

plain Trader Joe's pizza dough (which comes in wheat and herb varieties as well)
half a shallot
5 slightly wrinkled asparagus stalks
half a can of artichoke hearts
some canned whole tomatoes
herb goat cheese (also from TJ's)
some old ass garlic salt (ran out of actual garlic)
pepper
olive oil

I baked the pizza at 425 for about 12 minutes and I came out golden delicious brown:

I ate about a third of it while watching Rocky on channel 54. It pretty much ruled all around. I would rate my pizza at a 6/8, real garlic and the herb pizza dough would have made it at least a 7. I highly recommend TJ's pizza dough, it's hell of cheap ($1.99 a ball) and you can freeze it, so it lasts like forever.

Helpful tips:

Steam the asparagus a bit before adding it to the pizza. Same goes for broccoli.

If you do freeze the dough, it will thaw much faster in lukewarm water. Just make sure there aren't any holes in the bag because gushy wet dough is Gross.

Also, when buying the dough avoid balls that are all bubbly and full of air... they're probably not long for this world and tend to taste weird. I guess it's fermentation or something.

Pizza Everyday - Russell and Scott's Brithday Party

Last week, Aran and I attended our friends' joint birthday party in Hampden. It was a potluck affair and good food was bountiful (we brought supermarket cookies that no one touched, I regret not reclaiming them for myself). Guests were provided with six large pizzas from three different pizzerias: Iggie's, Oriole's and King's. Unfortunately for us, the two boxes from Iggie's were empty by the time we got there, which means we missed out on the "classy pizza" option. I ate a slice of what I think was King's cheese pizza and it was pretty good (see our 2008 review of King's). Someone had made some crazy mushroom/cabbage salad and I used it as a topping, making things much more exciting. I'll have give my mysterious pizza slice a rating of 5/8.

Pizza magnet! How does it work?