Maggie's Farm

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Thursday, June 2. 2011

New York Pizza & Fu-Fu Crap

I've lived all over the US, and traveled all over Italy. The gold standard of pizza is New York's, developed by its Neapolitan immigrants to perfection. At least it used to be before all those fu-fus moved in with their taste buds permanently deformed by the chain crap elsewhere, and then added more fu-fu crap on top. Jon Stewart takes Donald Trump to task for taking Sarah Palin to a chain pizzeria, and proves Trump is another fu-fu crapper. If Trump ever visits Alaska, I hope Palin feeds him a mooseburger made from veggies.


The one mistake that you'll see in this video is that Stewart's slice is not dribbling hot olive oil down his arm, olive oil being one of the secrets to good pizza. At least, get your notepad ready, Stewart points out some of the good places in NYC to go for pizza.  They used to be on almost every block, but the fu-fuers have chased them out. -- After decades, I found a place in San Diego that was almost up to snuff, but that neighborhood became yuppified and its pizza fu-fued.



Posted by Bruce Kesler in Food and Drink, Our Essays at 18:26 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

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I guess all the Eyetalian food got to you, Bruce!
#1 Bird Dog on 2011-06-02 18:39 (Reply)
Few things tick me off than crap food calling itself "New York ___".
All those fools and not enough Brooklyn Bridges to sell them.
It used to be you could stop on almost any block in NYC and find great food in local restaurants. Then, like tu-tu wearing barbarians, the fools invade NYC, raise the rents, and open glitzy glop chain restaurants passing themselves off as NYC restaurants.
#1.1 Bruce Kesler on 2011-06-02 18:48 (Reply)
Yeah! Pizza wars agin!
#2 Stan on 2011-06-02 18:54 (Reply)
Only time I was in NYC, I was 10. Never heard of pizza. Wouldn't have eaten it. Like it now, but have no idea of what NYC pizza is, or should be. Don't expect to be there again. Not my bag, Gucci or plastic.

I'm thinkin' "inside baseball" here.
#3 Sam L. on 2011-06-02 19:40 (Reply)
John's on Bleeker and Jones off of 7th.
Order the 16'' cheese and extra tomato. Cash only.
Cannot be beaten.

Period.
#4 Mike Scully on 2011-06-02 20:22 (Reply)
Fu-fuued food?
#5 BlogDog (Link) on 2011-06-02 20:51 (Reply)
Oh boy! In 1957 a new girl came to our school in SO. CAL. Her parents opened a small "coffee shop" (what did we know?). The family was from Chicago, but before that they had lived in Italy. That was my first taste of pizza. I still remember the way that incredible tomato sauce tasted. I have not tasted anything that wonderful since 1957 ! Please, Please tell me what that was, and where I can find it today!
#6 apple pie on 2011-06-02 22:02 (Reply)
True pizza;

Base; bread of some sort

Toppings: Cheese, meat, pizza sauce.

Bake until the cheese melts and forms a crust. Eat with your hands.

Save left over pizza for breakfast.
#7 Alan Kellogg (Link) on 2011-06-02 22:34 (Reply)
No, no, no, emphatically no!

Sorry, Alan... I just get carried away. I hope you're being sarcastic.

"Bread of some sort?" "Pizza sauce?!" What does that mean?

The composition and craftsmanship that need to go into those components, as well as the others, are critical (as am I, now that I think of it).

'Nuf said, from a former near chef named Alan as well.
#7.1 Big___Al on 2011-06-02 22:48 (Reply)
NYC Pizza? The limp standard.
#8 RJ on 2011-06-02 23:49 (Reply)
You can't be serious.
I've travelled all over the US, but live just outside NYC. We have decent pizza where I live (actually, one place just opened that is fantastic). But NYC has the best pizza in the world.
Chicago has some good spots, but not consistently good like NYC.

Outside of that - you're just catch as catch can when it comes to pizza in the US.
#8.1 Rick on 2011-06-03 09:36 (Reply)
New York Pizza and New York Politicians: Seducing the corruptable and ignorant, who insanely keep dogmatically telling themselves they are "the best" or "Number One!" or "bigger and better than you" or "more refined than your punk ass" or "louder and more obnoxious than your worst nightmere" or "I matter because of my zip code and you don't because of yours" or everything else inherent and inseperable about New York City the denizens madly repeat because any thing Other Than New York is, natch, other than New York.

Perhaps the biggest stain (in my view) on William F. Buckley's 82 years, me with my mud covered glasses after having falling in the muck, is his adoration of New York, to the extent he made it his home and praised it much, even running for Mayor at one point.


Tony, T's, Little T, Anthony, T, Anton, Big T, and Tones agree with Mikey, Mikes, Michael, Big Mike, Little Mike, , M, M's, and Not Deft Mike that New York "kicks ass bitches."
#9 fortcww on 2011-06-03 01:32 (Reply)
fortcww- WTF is your problem?

Trashing WFB for living in NYC?

Get a grip.

And go get yourself a slice of some runny-assed, greasy, kraft-cheesed, shirt cardboard crust pizza, in wherever the f*ck you live, and give NYC a break.

Somehow we will trudge on without you.
#9.1 Mike Scully on 2011-06-03 09:56 (Reply)
NYC? I love the place, warts and all. It has everything for everybody.
#10 Bird Dog on 2011-06-03 08:35 (Reply)
Stewart pretty much nailed this one - I rarely watch him, but watched this episode to see how he dealt with Wiener, who was his old summer house roommate.

I'd have to say most people will think coverage was 'fair'. I'd disagree. Sure, he made light of the Wiener episode, but he didn't go on the attack, as he normally would have (such as in the case of Palin/Trump and the pizza, which happened to be quite funny and accurate - WHO GOES TO LA FAMIGLIA? Hell....go to Famous Original Ray's!!! Better yet, head off to one of many other great small pizza places!)


But I still think he has to show that the Wiener thing is bigger than he wishes it would be just because it's his friend. His bias is showing, and you can tell he's uncomfortable with this fact.
#11 Rick on 2011-06-03 09:34 (Reply)
There are some foods which are regional and when you get them outside of that region they just aren't anywhere near as good. Like fried clams in Boston/Ipswich. But pizza "ain't" one of those foods. You can get good pizza anywhere and great pizza in any part of the country. New York or Chicago pizza is ok - good but it ain't great. It's just pizza. The pizza does not live up to the hype.
#12 GoneWithTheWind on 2011-06-03 10:55 (Reply)
Last time I was at John's the pie was $25.
The price is outrageous, and alas, the 'za isn't. It's nothing better than just ok, and certainly not memorable.
But the line is long and the service is terrible, so its got that going for it.
I'm with fortcww on this one (like it matters what I think anyway, since I ain't a New Yorker).
#13 steph on 2011-06-03 15:37 (Reply)
steph-
I was there Tuesday.
You're full of it, pal.

But that's ok..like you said, enjoy wherever you are and whatever it is you call 'za (how cool) cause we'll struggle through without you too.

Somehow (sniff).
#13.1 Mike Scully on 2011-06-03 17:56 (Reply)
(I'm probably posting this too late for anybody to see it, but what the heck.)

There's a great mini-documentary on the Di Fara pizza place in NYC, over at seriouseats. Well worth a mouth-watering watch! And Bruce, note the olive oil.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/06/see-the-di-fara-documentary-followed-by-qa-with-demarco-family.html
#14 Big___Al on 2011-06-04 11:54 (Reply)

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