"Being the founder, head instructor and compliance office of Gravesend Pizza Veritas (GPV), I can unequivocally say that none of the pizza joints mentioined in this post or comments meet our strict standards. " —DSheridan
Have you seen the Super Peel? It's essentially a pizza peel with a built-in conveyor belt that helps you snatch up your pizza and place it on your pizza stone. Sounds sort of gimmicky, but here's a video of it in action (after the jump) that makes it look pretty dang slick.
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310 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003; map); 212-716-1200; postothincrust.com
Pizza Style: Thin crust
Oven Type: Gas
The Skinny: Very skinny. Almost to a fault, although there is some suppleness in the crust. The pies benefit from toppings but only in moderation. Delivers well
Price: Small pies, $7 to $12; large, $13 to $24
There was a time, several years ago now, when Posto, and its sister restaurants, Gruppo, Spunto, and Vezzo, might have been considered avant-garde, pretentious even. The wafer-thin-crusted pies they serve seemed to be more authentically Italian, more by virtue of their fancy menu names and their over all distinctiveness than anything more tangible, than the average pizzeria. But in reality the pizza they served owed far more to the American pizza vernacular than anything that sprang from Italian shores. Sure they serve some exotic ingredients, such as prosciutto di Parma, but much of the menu reads like that of a national chain, with a meat-lover's pie, a Hawaiian pie, and barbecue chicken pizza.
I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, the pizza they serve is far better than than a chain, although those pies do seem a little antiquated when compared to the Neapolitan and Neapolitan-inspired pizzerias that are proliferating in the city these days. If you are after a puffy airy cornicione and a liquid center, or ingredients of clearly (and proudly) defined provenance, you will be disappointed in the pizza at Posto. If, on the other hand, you want a decent pizza in comfortable surroundings with friendly service, Posto might serve your needs.
Above are bonus shots from the session that show Pizzeria Picco executive chef Bruce Hill making the pizza in question. Below are the ingredients and guidelines you'll need to make this pie. [Photographs: Stephanie Im]
I wanted to get some regional variety into the Top This series, so I roped Stephanie Im of Lick My Spoon into the madness here. Stephanie visited Bruce Hill at Pizzeria Picco to bring us all topping inspiration. —The Mgmt.
What would you get if you took all the things you loved about a great french fry and put it on a pizza?
Pizzeria Picco's "Marin," a white pizza topped with young potato, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and grated Grana Padano.
It's as if Pizzeria Picco executive chef Bruce Hill was at the ballpark one day with a plate of garlic fries, tripped and fell, with the fortuitous landing spot being a slice of pizza. (True story? Not so much. But nonetheless, the concept is genius.)
Serious Eats Chicago contributor Daniel Zemans checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. —The Mgmt.
[Photographs: Daniel Zemans]
960 Skokie Blvd. Northbrook, IL 60062 (map); (847) 498-3900; barnabysofnorthbrook.com
Getting There: Drive
Pizza Style: Thin crust
Oven Type: Gas
The Skinny: In paying close attention to the crust, Barnaby's puts out one of the best tavern-cut pies in Chicago
Price: 10-inch, 1-topping pies, $9.75
Typically a visit to a dimly lit square cut pizzeria that's been around for more than four decades means you're in a neighborhood that either is or once was an Italian stronghold. That is definitely not the case at Barnaby's of Northbrook, a multi-generational favorite just off I-94 on Chicago's North Shore.
In doing some research for this review, I was surprised to learn that there have been at least 36 locations over the years, mostly in the greater Chicago area, but also in California, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In 1981, Bally, then known more for making pinball machines than health clubs and casinos, bought the chain. Obviously, that move didn't work out so well, but a few Barnaby's remain today. It's not entirely clear just what the relationship is between Barnaby's of Northbrook and the other locations (Niles, IL; Schaumburg, IL; Des Plaines, IL; South Bend, IN; Tallahassee, FL). Some the restaurants tell their history and it seems to indicate that territorial rights were once distributed, but how their claims of continuous ownership and the news article about Bally raise questions. Regardless of what the other Barnaby's are like, I can confirm that the Northbrook location turns out some seriously good pie.
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Clockwise from top left: We ate at the Flam's just outside the Montparnasse train station. Our prix fixe choice was the Flams Plus — all-you-can-eat flammekueche. Our second round, a vegetarian flammekueche and an Indian-influenced one. Click for larger versions. [Photographs: Adam Kuban]
OK. So the big question you may have* is whether Girl Slice and I ate pizza while we were in France. Yes and no. If you consider flammekueche pizza (Adam from the Past talked about this stuff last week), then, yes, we ate pizza.
Girl Slice became a fan of a place called Flam's when she lived in Paris on a work-study program in college and wanted to introduce me to it. So our first dinner after getting hopelessly lost on the way to checking in to our hotel was at a branch of this flammekueche-driven chain.
The Margherita. [Photographs: Adam Kuban]
Italian pizza-maker Giulio Adriani, having been here in the U.S. only three months, opened his pizzeria, Olio e Più two days ago. I grabbed lunch there and snapped these photos yesterday. Enjoy.
Super Peel Aims to Make Pizza Transfer a Breeze
Pizzarazzi: Quick Snaps from Olio e Più
Posto: Credible, Enjoyable Thin-Crust Pizza
A Buttery, Corn Mealy Surprise at Barnaby's Family Inn
Bruce Hill's Zero Zero Set to Open Wednesday, July 28 (as in Tommorow, People)
Top This: Potato and Roasted-Garlic Pizza (à la Pizzeria Picco)
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