"If I'm ever going to make pizza, this is how I'm going to make it."

September 9, 2017 12:32 PM

Brooklyn Is Pizza Heaven is the first episode of The Pizza Show, from Vice's Munchies. In season one, the show examined everything from New Haven style pizza, the thickness of pizza dough, and pizza robots. Host Frahk Pinello returns for season two with shows about pizza in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
posted by Room 641-A (29 comments total)

I mean new haven has to have something going for it.
posted by Ferreous at 1:05 PM on September 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

god i miss the pizza in connecticut. growing up there i had no idea how spoiled i was. even outside of new haven, pretty much every pizza place worth its salt cooks a derivative of the NH pizza - yeah they might not have a coal oven, but the pizza is going to be thin, crispy, a little bit charred. it's just about the only thing i miss about the state.

i live in boston now and i can't find a good pie to save my life. if your crust is soft and chewey you're fucking something up.
posted by JimBennett at 1:25 PM on September 9, 2017 [5 favorites]

[George the Puppet] Ah, that pizza's from JERSEY. You know what Jersey pizza is like, it's Wonder Bread with V-8 poured on it.

God, I miss Otto.
posted by delfin at 2:00 PM on September 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

> god i miss the pizza in connecticut.

You and me both, amigo. That New Haven episode made me both nostalgic and ravenous. "You don't visit New Haven without going to Frank Pepe's": damn right! (As a partisan of Pepe's, I admit I took pleasure in his visiting there and not Sally's. Also, I note that the owner of Pepe's calls it pizza, like everybody else in town; that bit at the start about how everybody calls it "abizz" and were constantly correcting him is bullshit—I lived in NH for most of the '70s and heard that term maybe twice.) And now I really want to read that "upcoming book chronicling American and New Haven history through pizza." Thanks for the post, and (to quote the old gal he meets in the bar) najlepszego!
posted by languagehat at 2:28 PM on September 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Finally got to try NH pizza (in New Haven, at Frank Pepes) last year. You can keep it. It was almost good Neapolitan style pizza, but then they burnt it on purpose and forgot some of the cheese.

I had really good conventional NY-ish pizza in Stamford though. A beautiful medium pizza for like $8. To a Canadian, that price is unbelievable.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 3:28 PM on September 9, 2017

I prefer Connecticut's steamed pizza.
posted by leotrotsky at 3:46 PM on September 9, 2017 [4 favorites]

After being forced to eat Old Forge (PA) pizza, I am extremely wary of "Our regional pizza is the pinnacle of pizzas!"

What I learned about pizza that day: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:54 PM on September 9, 2017

I prefer Connecticut's steamed pizza.

<---- trump thread is thataway
posted by lalochezia at 3:58 PM on September 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Once, I had a healthy skepticism surrounding the whole regional pizza thing. Sure some places have better pie than others, but in the end, was that variance really that significant?

Then last Fall, I was visiting a friend in Troy, NY and he took me to DeFazio's wood-fired pizza and ordered the Four Season pizza (Artichokes, Prosciutto, Calamati Olives, Clams, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Fresh Mushrooms & Garlic ).

Holy motherfuck, that pizza was transcendent. I would gain 30 pounds a month if I had access to that place.
posted by jeremias at 4:05 PM on September 9, 2017

The wikipedia article on st louis cuisine was such an unintentional goldmine of hilarity for people boosting their terrible food culture that wiki editors came down on it pretty hard.
posted by Ferreous at 4:08 PM on September 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

People love to argue about pizza. I certainly will commit to the position that if you cut it into squares you are pizza deviant and should be exiled.
posted by Ferreous at 4:21 PM on September 9, 2017

I'm with the 'it's all good' crowd.
That said, I was happy to see deep dish not get reamed. I have a friend from the NYC area who thinks that deep dish is an abomination, wheras I lived 2 blocks from Armand's in DC for 17 years. I also have been to Uno and Due in Chicago. I love that stuff, but I can also enjoy a thin crust.
Here in Vermont, I haven't been too impressed with the commercial places (Parker Pie excepted, and they have Hill Farmstead on tap), but I've had some great home-made pizzas at people's homes, including my own.
posted by MtDewd at 5:40 PM on September 9, 2017

Even though I've spent most of my life in SoCal, I was porn in Brooklyn so that's my pizza imprint. As far as I'm concerned, combining bread and cheese in any form gets you to a five easily, probably a six even. There are s lot of places here that I haven't tried so I'm not sure I can say what the best pizza is, but hands down my favorite is Joe's, an outpost of the Brooklyn original.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:49 PM on September 9, 2017

"I was"porn in Brooklyn" " is my new favorite typo.
posted by atomicstone at 7:01 PM on September 9, 2017 [12 favorites]

After I left New Haven, I lived in Boston but would visit frequently. Many's the time I took a large clam pizza from Pepe's on Amtrak, trying to keep it level and filling up the car with that heavenly smell (well, I'm sure it annoyed some people) so I could be a hero to various buddies who missed it. Once I fell asleep and when I woke up the guy across the aisle told me that someone had opened my box and helped himself to a slice. Fortunately, he was just teasing me.
posted by carmicha at 7:19 PM on September 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Part of me is mortified.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:32 PM on September 9, 2017 [3 favorites]

I found The Pizza Show by accident at some point, and now eagerly await new episodes. Somehow I missed that season two started, so thanks for this.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:08 PM on September 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

I couldn't figure out why this thread was making me crave pizza so exceptionally much, and then I realized. I live above a pizza parlor, whose smell is wafting into my window right. now.

But it's a Domino's, dammit.
posted by the_blizz at 9:06 AM on September 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

The show is wonderful because the host isn't a TV personality or a youtube personality, he's a dude with a deep knowledge and passion about pizza, who is also articulate and charismatic. I'm pretty sure he got the show (no firsthand knowledge) because he appeared on Munchies and Vice found him to be a compelling dude that knew his stuff.

Yeah, I love me some good pizza. The thing about it is that it's a very simple food, but is never made well unless the pizza maker has passion about making a good pizza. Your profit margins will never be super-high if you use the best ingredients, and you can succeed as a pizzeria by merely making above average pizza. The folks that make incredible pizza care about pizza, and this show demonstrates that.

When I go to a large city I'll often seek out the best pizza there. NYC is different than any other city though, because not only do they have the best* pizza, they have a pizza culture.

* Yes, I've had New Haven pizza - it is also the best.
posted by el io at 11:29 AM on September 10, 2017 [6 favorites]

I love pizza culture, because people are so sure that they're favorite is the best. I used to work in the field, and people would ask if we served "New York style" and we'd say, yep we do thin crust. People would ask if we do "Chicago style" and we'd say sure, we do deep dish. Pizza is pizza, it can't be wrong.

That being said, go Chicago style or go home.
posted by Sphinx at 5:00 PM on September 10, 2017

I got tired of watching The Weather Channel explaining storm surges for the umpteenth time, and one channel down I found Vice TV showing a documentary about Scott's Pizza Tours as an intro to The Pizza Show. Suddenly the pork chops I cooked earlier don't seem so good and the leftover delivery pie in the fridge seems like it would have been the better choice for dinner. I also may have made some bad career decisions. I wonder if it is too late to start Ted's Taco Tours?
posted by TedW at 5:52 PM on September 10, 2017

I'm really excited about this: Holy Crap: Chris Bianco Confirms Plans to Bring Pizzeria Bianco to LA. I think I might post a meet up for it when it opens.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:30 PM on September 10, 2017

And now that I am watching the show (The first time I have actually watched something on Vice TV, for what it's worth. Will need to check out more of their offerings.) I see that Scott Weiner from my previous comment is a series consultant. Now I am seriously considering cooking pizzas in my backyard as a hobby. Although cooking all or part of a pig remains a pastime, and I find lengua a wonderful meat to work with, and have a good local source for it.
posted by TedW at 7:09 PM on September 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

if your crust is soft and chewey you're fucking something up.

Because we're talking about pizza, I cannot stand by and allow this statement to go unchallenged.

When it's done right New England Greek Pizza is delicious, especially when the entire layer of blended mozerella and cheddar parts company from thick sauce and olive oil-soaked crust after the first bite.

Also, Boston is blessed with a diversity of many excellent houses of pizza who are all very adept at practicing their individual styles and faiths. From where I sit, I can order a great local pizza, a great Italian-style pizza, or even a great New York style pizza.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:40 PM on September 11, 2017

I heartily recommend backyard pizza making as a hobby. I have an older generation UUNI (https://uuni.net/), and it makes great pizzas.

It's portable too, so you can pack it all up and make a friends backyard party a real treat. It really helps to have a 2nd person to help (with ingredient prep, etc) if you are making a bunch of pizzas. I think i made about 16 pizza's at one party, and honestly the pizzas were better than anything I can get in my local area.

That being said, the downside to making your own great pizza is that unless you live in an area with great pizza, you'll never be enthused for other peoples pizza again.
posted by el io at 11:40 AM on September 12, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm shaking my first at you, el io, because now I want one of those things something fierce.

I do already make amazing pizza (in my oven on a cast iron pizza pan) but wood-fired would really take it to the next level.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:02 PM on September 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

If they refuse to go to St Louis, then that show's okay by me.
posted by scruss at 9:08 AM on September 13, 2017

I wanted to come back to this in light of S2E3 “All About Frank, All About Pizza” being released yesterday.

The best thing about this show is Frank. His positive attitude is infectious. He also seems like a really great guy. Suffice it to say I was already a fan. Then in this episode he goes back to some old haunts and spends time with his family and it made me like him even more.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:59 AM on September 14, 2017 [2 favorites]

This is from a couple of years back, but it came up in my recommendations just this week. It's so delightful I had to share it.

“How-To Make Chicken Cutlets with Frank Pinello & His Nonna”—Munchies, 30 Mar 2015
posted by ob1quixote at 10:27 PM on October 4, 2017 [2 favorites]