The Pizza Therapy Forum and Pasta Therapy Forum

[pizza]

Jim asks:

I was born and raised in New Haven, and have a passion for good pizza. I am sometimes referred to as a pizza snob. I now live in New Mexico. My view is that eating pizza in New Mexico is like going to Denny's for Mexican food.

I have a question. Do you have published anywhere or can you get the information for me.

My conclusions as to why Sally's, Pepe's, and Modern Pizza, and other East Coast pizza is the best.

1. The oven temperature has to be 950 or higher.

2. Fresh made dough.

3. The water. Note that Grimaldi's in Scottsdale, Arizona, imports their water.

4. Freshly made sauce.

5. Topped off with olive oil.


My response:

I would love to hear some discussion on this....
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"Pizza on Earth...Good Will to All!"
Visit: http://pizzatherapy.com
http://pizzatherapy.blogspot.com/
http://legendsofpizza.com/blog

[pizza]

My Responses are in Blue

My conclusions as to why Sally's, Pepe's, and Modern Pizza, and other East Coast pizza is the best.

I have a question. Do you have published anywhere or can you get the information for me.

1. The oven temperature has to be 950 or higher.

I agree. I am not absolutely sure of the exact oven temperature, but no doubt about it coal fired ovens certainly cook in that range.

Sally's, Pepe's, and Modern Pizza, use coal fired oven. Not all East Coast pizza is of that quality. I have had excellent pizza cooked in wood fired, gas and electric ovens..but I think coal fired ovens are incredible...

FYI: Tony Gemignani just opened up a coal fired pizza oven pizzeria, next to his wood fired oven pizzeria in San Francisco...

2. Fresh made dough.

I think it is not only fresh made dough..but the way the dough is made...All great pizzerias make fresh dough...

I make my own dough the day before and that seems to help the taste.

3. The water. Note that Grimaldi's in Scottsdale, Arizona, imports their water.

There have been volumes written on this subject. I'll put myself out there and say this: I personally think the water has no bearing on the taste...Water is ...water. I know there are many arguments but that is my opinion...

For more on this I refer you to the interview I did with Gail G. She won $25,000 for her pizza recipe from the Food Network...

She drove from New York to New Haven and filled up a bottle of water from the ladies room at Sally's...She contends that was what gave her the winning edge...
Listen to the interview here:


http://legendsofpizza.com/blog/the-25000-pizza-recipe-interview


4. Freshly made sauce.

Absoultely, suace is critcal to great pizza.


5. Topped off with olive oil.

Agreed. Olive oil is what really changes the taste of pizza!

I hope that answers your questions.. but that is just my opinion!

pizza everywhere,

albert
_________________
"Pizza on Earth...Good Will to All!"
Visit: http://pizzatherapy.com
http://pizzatherapy.blogspot.com/
http://legendsofpizza.com/blog

[pizza]

Jim respondes:


The temperature is key. It is difficult, if not uneconomical to heat an
oven to 950 with gas. Coal-fired ovens are fired from below. Grimaldi's in Scottsdale is a coal-fired oven as is the original in NYC.

The right type
of coal is also necessary.

Not all wood-fired ovens make the grade Rocky's in Atlanta had a wood-fired oven, but the wood burned in a separate chamber, and unable to bring the cooking oven to the proper temperature.

Pizzeria Bianco burns their wood in the same chamber. I read about Pizzeria Bianco in A Taste of Heaven, and when I arrived there one year, I called them and asked about the temperature of their oven. They responded with the magic words, and that was all I needed to dine there. Since then I have brought numerous friends to PB
with rave reviews all around.

The water is another issue. Grimaldi's in Scottsdale claims that they
import their water from New York. Water is not water. A lot of water has
added chemicals. A lot of water has chemicals naturally occurring in the
water, and some of those minerals are useful for making pizza sauce and
pizza dough.

Some of those minerals are not conducive to good pizza. I
think that it would be most useful to test the water used at the premier
pizza places by a lab.

New Haven Water
NYC water
PB water

Freshly made dough daily - never frozen.

Freshly-made sauce, not from a can but from scratch.

I once visited PB in Phoenix and had a 3-hour wait.

BTW - I live in Taos, New Mexico, and I have a common statement that I say with respect to New Mexico pizza. "Eating pizza in New Mexico is like going to Denny's for Mexican food.

I am often referred to as a "pizza snob."

BTW - I recently returned from a visit to Cincinnati. The pizza may not be the greatest there, but the best ribs are there as the best ice cream.
Cincinnati is also the chili capital of the U.S.

More pizza is served per capita than anywhere else in the U.S.
_________________
"Pizza on Earth...Good Will to All!"
Visit: http://pizzatherapy.com
http://pizzatherapy.blogspot.com/
http://legendsofpizza.com/blog