Pizzarium

After a splendid (although seemingly never-ending) tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, I was starving and more importantly, exactly where I wanted to be: just blocks from the relatively new and highly acclaimed Pizzarium-

Hey look, there's a fellow PSU alum, just like me! Clearly this place has made waves all the way across the ocean, it's no longer a neighborhood secret here. This may have something to do with the fact that it was visited by one of the snarkiest, most rad food gurus around, Anthony Bourdain in an episode of The Layover.

Founded by Gabriele Bonci (who's cartoonish character is seen above) a few years back, the man is a master of two things in my book: baking great crust + bread, and executing well-balanced toppings with top notch quality.

Pizza here, like any to-go joints in Roma, is 'al Taglio' or literally 'by the cut.' If you have no idea why, it's pretty simple: you point to the kind of pizza you're jonesin' for to the homeboy or homegirl behind the counter...

...you show with your hands how much you want, then they cut the pie accordingly... (yes, those are just regular household scissors)

...they throw that jawn on a scale and weigh it...

...then toss it in the oven for the obligatory reheat! By the way, check out how badass these homies are (don't act like you're not impressed with that beard). I wish I had taken a photo inside to show just how tiny this space is- it's just big enough to allow about 8-10 customers in at a time, which is why there was such a line outside.

Bonci claims to have invented over 1,500 different topping combinations which blows my mind for two reasons: with such quality ingredients at their disposal, Italians are typically such traditionalists with their toppings; and also- 1,500 different topping combinations? Seriously, that's crazy. I grabbed a couple different cuts and a suppli and arancini and got the hell out of that cramped situation to enjoy my loot near the Vatican.

First up I snagged a classic cheese/Margherita. This featured low-moisture mozz, tomatoes, and some pre-oven basil. An instant classic with plenty of flavor, you can't go wrong here.

Up next was a simple white pie which consisted of ricotta, caramelized onions and arugula. Look at the hole structure on that thing! I could have camped out inside that crumb, holy schnikies! 

Lastly we have red pie with buffalo mozzarella, which ended up being my favorite of the trio. Despite the fact that the cheese coagulated by the time I got to the second slice, I wolfed it anyway. Again, check out how fluffy this dough is-

After all was said and done (or so I thought), I chased it all with a suppli and arancini- 

For the unfamiliar, these are essentially deep fried rice balls with egg, tomato and other fillings:

Woof. Afterward I hopped on the subway back to my hotel and promptly passed out. How else was I going to make room for dinner?

Attention: Slice Out Hunger 2012!

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you this special announcement: via Scott Wiener, the date and location for this year's Slice Out Hunger in NYC have been announced!

On October 10th of this year at St. Anthony's Church on Sullivan & Houston at 6pm, for a limited time some of the city's best pizzas will be available for a buck a slice (bet you never thought you'd get your hands on a $1 slice of Di Fara would you?).

Better yet, all the proceeds go to City Harvest to feed hungry New Yorkers! Eat great 'za and help feed others, what more could you ask for?! Check out the promo I put together for Scott below, see you there!

Slice Out Hunger 2012 from Brooks Jones

Forno Campo de' Fiori

My head was spinning nearly as fast as the wheels on the landing gear when my plane touched ground in Rome. "How far would I get by using my phrase book?" "Are Romans friendly?" "Oh man, I already know how awful my pronunciation is, this is going to be rough." At least my body, fully afflicted by jet-lag and a half-night's uncomfortable sleep, was equally as out-of-whack as my brain as they hit a surreal equilibrium. Thankfully, if there was one thing I wasn't unsure of, it was what, when, and where I was going to eat for just about every meal in Italy. After I dropped my bags at the hotel, I made a beeline for stop number one: Forno. I had no idea what was in store for me.

Campo de' Fiori (literally 'field of flowers') has been a public square since somewhere around the 13th or 14th century. Most notably known as a marketplace, the square has a darker history as a venue for public executions during the renaissance period. The statue of the homeboy in the black cloak chilling in the middle of the square seen below is that of Giordano Bruno, a philosopher who was pleasantly burned alive where the memorial stands now.

Thankfully the Romans have since brought their flames from public gatherings into pizza ovens. While it may not be wood-burning, the first thing that caught my eye at Forno was their killer wall of ovens-

Like many pizza tourists that end up here, Peter Reinhart's glowing review of this joint in American Pie had more than something to do with my visit. I knew going in that this place was more of a bakery than a pizzeria, and that all they really had to offer were 'rosso' and 'bianco' (red & white) cuts

Each one of those 12 doors leads to an oven chamber that reaches maybe 7-8 feet back. The way they make their pizza/bread is they will stretch the dough out slowly, top it with sauce if it's a red pie, then accordion it back into a scrunched up wad. The baker will then pick it up with the peel, open the hatch door, and then slide the pizza onto the back of the oven and then drag it back towards the oven opening, essentially re-elongating it. Make sense?

After scoping out the process, I hurried inside only to be surprised that not only did they make rosso and bianco, but they made a solid cheese slice as well! Without hesitation I got one of each and some beer and headed right back outside to eat the on the edge of a fountain.

Upon serving, Forno makes a width-wise cut across the pizza, then folds it back on itself resulting in what I can only describe as a pizza sandwich.

I started with the cheese slice, deciding to remove toppings as I proceeded.

Obviously the cheese didn't take too kindly to my pulling the pizza concoction apart, but you get the idea of what's going on here. Low moisture mozz on tomatoes. Tasty, delicious, simple, and solid.

Moving right along to the rosso, we're featuring more or less the same slice sans cheese (duh). This really brought the bright, naturally sweet tomatoes to the forefront that I didn't have attention to appreciate on the last slice. As I set this guy down to take a bite of the bianco, I had no idea that my life was about to change.

It looks so plain and unassuming, doesn't it? Salt, flour, water and yeast heated to a certain degree for a given amount of time with a dash of olive oil on top for good measure. Without thinking I took a bite and instantly realized I was eating, hands down, the best bread I've ever had in my life. While it didn't have much crumb to speak of and it has an unassuming appearance, this little guy had the most impressive balance with just the right touch of salt.

After ever-so-slowly downing the rest of my piece, I promptly walked back into the shop and ordered more bianco from the smiling staff. I watched the last of the pizza being made as I took bites of my second helping, mesmerized beyond the point of blinking. I don't think it really hit me that I was finally in Italy until I took that first bite of bianco, and then I realized how much pizza I had yet to explore in this country.

Via Tribunali

Holy schnikies! I can't believe it's been over six months since my last post! I'm pretty embarrassed by my lack of updates, but I've been busy jet-setting all over the place. Rest assured, I've got some delicious content for ya! By the way, did I mention I went to a little place called

ITALY?!

Boy, did I ever, and have I got some stories and pies for you. Before we dig in, let me set the tone by rewinding to a crucial pre-trip excursion I made with two of my favorite pizzaphiles, Scott Wiener and Jason Feirman to the aptly named Via Tribunali in the LES, NYC.

Just days before my flight I called for an emergency joint pizza subcommittee meeting with my aforementioned comrades, both of which are seasoned Italian pizza vets, to run my tentative itinerary by them and take down any last minute pro-tips. Of course you can't discuss pizza without eating pizza, right? So we ordered some brews, a couple pies, and one interesting concoction I'll get to later-

We ordered the mandatory scientific control (a standard Margherita), a "Dante," and a house specialty, the recursively-named "Via Tribunali." As I walked the guys through my plans and compared notes, we each started noshing on a dish. J got first dibs on the Margherita which immediately struck me as average.

A bit shy on the basil and not much charring to speak of, I wasn't completely blown away with the presentation. That being said the fresh mozz was cooked well and melted just as it should, and overall flavor of the pie was well-balanced aside from needing more basil up in there.

After a few minutes we passed plates- meanwhile Scott wouldn't shut the hell up about his dish, the Tribunali. Be patient (I had to be!), we're getting there. Next I had the "Dante"- tomatoes, provolone (!?), arugula, prosciutto, cherry tomatoes, and I believe that's sliced grana padano on top. While I usually feel like sauce + cherry tomatoes can be over the top and redundant, it really didn't bother me on this pizza since there wasn't a ton of sauce.

Again, well-balanced if not a bit tricky to cut into slices. The grana and prosciutto raised the pie's sodium game, but it was evened out by the peppery arugula. While the prov was an interesting substitute for mozz, I wouldn't exactly say this pizza is breaking any new ground. But what about that weird looking log thing?

 Oh this? The "Via Tribunali" was the real winner here. So what exactly is going on here? It's basically a two-sided calzone. On one side you have mozzarella and sausage, while the other features ricotta and rapini. Down the center is a little "alleyway" of arugula, cherry tomatoes and sliced grana padano. For those unaware, Via Tribunali is a tiny, narrow alley in Naples which boasts a handful of the city's best pizzerias, so this pizzeria's name and this dish are a creative nod to its brick oven brethren.

After wolfing everything in sight, downing our brewskis and chatting with the gracious staff, I had a heavily modified Italian to-do list of places to go and pizza to eat. What would I do without these guys?

Next up- Rome, Naples, and beyond!

Greenpoint Pizza Tour 2011

How often do you really challenge yourself? Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, wondering what your full potential is? How many times have you really put yourself to the test?

I'm not talking about that promotion or going back to grad school, what I'm really asking is the all-important question, 'how much pizza can you eat in 3 hours?' I've often pondered this, so when Jen from The Greenpointers/Morta di Fame offered me the opportunity to realize not only my true pizza aptitude but also simultaneously determine the best slice joint in Greenpoint, she had me at "10 pizzerias."

How did we rank each slice? Appearance was worth up to 30 points, while specific and overall taste and flavor accumulated to 45 points for a total of 75 points.

After a windy bike ride north along the East river, I rendezvoused with my pizza comrades Jen and Peter at our first stop, Grandma Rose's on Graham Ave for our first slice of the day. As you can see we decided to use our mind over our gut and just order one slice at each stop and have it cut 3 ways.

Grandma Rose's: 50.5/75

(Note: they tried to bribe us with zeppoles! Fear not, I have integrity)

Next we ducked under the BQE to Nina's at 635 Meeker Ave. As soon as I walked in, they had a point against them- the place proclaims themselves as proprietors of "brick oven pizza," when in reality they just have a pair of gas deck ovens hidden behind a brick facade. FALSE ADVERTISING!

Nina's: 53/75

After a quick spin on our bikes down a quiet Kingsland Ave., we arrived at Vinnie's Greenpoint location. I was familiar with the Williamsburg location so I knew what to expect here. I always think of Vinnie's as a fun joint with a sense of humor to hit up when you're on the market for zany toppings, and the same holds true here.

Vinnie's: 55.5/75

(Note: We were also bribed with garlic knots here and stickers of Vinnie's infamous T.hanks trashcan. I'm not not gonna take 'em, but again my scores remain unaffected. However, they get bonus points for carrying Manhattan Special)

As I rode down Nassau trying to balance a bottle of MS in one hand, it wasn't long before we hooked a right and made our first stop on Manhattan Ave., Pizzeria Valdiano.

Valdiano: 56.5/75

At this point we were just walking our bikes since nearly half of our stops on the trip were within a block of each other. Next up was my favorite, Carmine's (not to be confused with the other Carmine's in Williamsburg).

Carmine's: 59/75

(Notes: Carmine's gets 2 bonus points from me for the fact that Carmine was there in the flesh, making this the only owner-operated pizzeria on the trip. That and the patron cat of pizza was looking down on us for protection. Or hand-outs.)

After Carmine's, we popped across the street to the quintessential pizzeria clad 70's era orange formica and tight eating quarters, Russ Pizza.

Russ Pizza: 50/75

Moving one block north was our next stop, the generically-named Italy Pizza. For the first time on the trip, we found a slice with some decent hole structure in the crust, but unfortunately the slice ultimately didn't deliver on the flavor front-

Italy Pizza: 53.5/75

At this point about an hour and a half in, the pizza fatigue was really beginning to set in. After taking a quick breather and fighting every urge my body was imploring me to yak, we moved on down Greenpoint Ave. to Franklin Pizza.

Franklin Pizza: 57.5/75

I have to admit, I had low expectations of this place, but all things considered it delivered pretty well. Once we scarfed our pizza thirds (I think I was the only one finishing my portions at this point), we were off to Triangolo Pizza further north on Manhattan Ave.

Triangolo Pizza: 55/75

(Note: Triangolo gets a bonus point for their Steven Segall of Fame)

Just look at that tassled-rawhide sport coat. But don't stare too long lest you want a roundhouse to the face. Last on the trip was Casanova over on McGuinness Blvd-

Casanova: 51/75

(Note: They didn't even offer a re-heat! Point deduction.)

Once we weighted, tallied and combined our scores over some brewskis, we came to the following winners:

1st Place: Pizzeria Valdiano

2nd Place: Franklin Pizza

3rd Place: Triangolo Pizza

Check out The Greenpointers for the total recap!

That being said, I think we all know who really rules the neighborhood. After all was said and done, I reflected on the day and learned something about myself:

I eat too much pizza.

New Park Pizza

For far too long, I've had New Park Pizza on my list of slice joints to hit up. Queens residents won't shut up about it, Paulie Gee swears by it, but I'll tell ya- unless you have a car (and who does in this city?), the place ain't easy to get to.

Check that neon steam! Located in Howard Beach, Queens, NPP isn't too far from JFK airport- which is exactly how I ended up there. We all know food at the airport is more often than not pretty horrendous; truer words couldn't be spoken about Fort Lauderdale's Jet Blue terminal. With my stomach grumbling and hot 'za on my mind (and more importantly, a car waiting in NYC), I decided the time had come for my belly to get to know New Park Pizza.

NPP proudly displays the '94 NY Post article declaring it the best slice in Queens (alongside Di Fara in Brooklyn and Sal & Carmine's in Manhattan). So what makes New Park 'fuhgedaboudit' great? For starters, they cook their pies in a gas-fed brick-lined oven cranked to the max.

Additionally, they have a standard gas deck oven used explicitly for reheats, yielding one mean slice:

...Okay, well two mean slices. New Park has come under a bit of fire lately from some of its long-term patrons who claim the quality of the pies are becoming increasingly inconsistent, often times under and over-cooking the pizza. I understood the controversy when the undercrust on my slices came out much darker than I had anticipated.

Woah, you don't see char like this on your average slice. Upon scoping this out, I gulped hard. Was it nicely charred, or brutally burnt? I really wanted this pizza to be all that it was cracked up to be.

I took one bite and it was all over. I was pie-eyed and in love. No, the dark undercrust wasn't burnt and had just the perfect amount of flavor and rigidity to support the magic happening on top.

The dough has just the right amount of balance to offer staccato salt notes coinciding with chewy sourdough tones. The cheese, while nothing special (low moisture full fat aged Mozzarella) is perfectly cooked and the staple of such a NY slice. And the sauce? Naturally sweet and tangy with what tastes like a hint of black pepper and oregano.

This is what NY pizza is all about, folks, plain and simple. New Park, let's hang out more often. It's a shame you're such a pain in the ass to get to. Is investing in a Zipcar membership just for pizza a sign that I have a problem?

If scarfing this pie is wrong, then I sure as hell don't want to be right.