The pizzas themselves are 12 inches in diameter, available in some simple options, again in the style of Naples. We tried two, the house signature called "The Good Pie", and a puttanesca. The crust is remarkable. Quite thin, but not crispy, it has a little chew to it, but it’s cooked so quickly that the outer crust is still so tender, it’s like eating a freshly-baked roll. The heat blackens bits here and there, adding another layer of flavor. The Good Pie tops it with a simple tomato sauce, pieces of buffalo mozzarella, a few grape tomatoes and a few leaves of basil, some of which crisp up, too. Everything is in remarkable balance: The basil doesn’t (surprisingly) overwhelm, the mozzarella is soft and subtle, the sauce itself satisfying enough to keep the mind from wandering and the small tomatoes giving a quick burst of moisture and acidity.
They've framed the story in such a way that leads me to believe St. Louis is not super familiar with Neapolitan-style pizza, but The Good Pie sounds like it's a worthy ambassador for the genre.
The Good Pie
3137 Olive Street, St. Louis MO 63103 (map)
314-289-9391 thegoodpie.com
St. Louis-style pizza is so awful, this Good Pie has to be an improvement. (St. Louis-style pizza is easy to make at home: ketchup and Velveeta on a saltine cracker. Enjoy!)
findalyboy, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about and to compare the pizza the way you did shows your ignorance. St. Louis pizza is fantastic and this comes from a Tri-State area transplant who knows a thing or two about good east coast pizza. STL pizza is different and uses Provel cheese which is a blend of Provolone, Swiss and mozzarella and is a processed cheese and there is a lot of prejudice over this fact. The end result though is a very flavorful cheese which I think is very shocking to most pallets who are used the typical flavorless mozzarella that is on most pies. The crust is also unleavened and ends up being very thin and crispy, it is lightly sauced with either a slightly sweet or mildly spicy (depending on the restaurant), topped with provel cheese, your toppings of choice and then party cut.
The end result is really a great pizza that allows you enjoy the toppings along with the flavorful cheese and backed up by a nice crispy crust. Is it different? you better believe it. My first taste of STL pizza some 20+ years ago had me confused and not sure what to think about all the new flavors but I have an open mind to new things unlike findlayboy and many others who hate STL pizza.
Geez, stewmeat, like St. Louis pizza much? That Velveeta-and-ketchup thing was a little joke. I apologize that the Internet does not allow you to see that my tongue is ensconced firmly in my cheek.
(I will say this, though: It's okay not to like something. The kind of pizza you like or do not like says nothing about how intelligent or open-minded you are. So take a deep breath, friend, and ease up on the insults just because someone you've never met made a joke about a thing you like to eat.)
Look, my wife's family is from St. Louis, and I have tried St. Louis-style pizza--Imo's, Cecil Whittaker's, etc.--more times then I care to count. And every time I try it, I think... maybe it'll be tasty this time. And know what? It never is.
It's not the crust: I actually kind of like the crust. It's that nasty provel "cheese." Melts nice, sure, but it's as much "cheese" as Velveeta.
But hey, my wife loves the stuff. Doesn't mean I think she's stupid. Doesn't mean she's ignorant or closed-minded. It means she enjoys the taste of something that other people do not necessarily enjoy.
sorry stewmeat, I agree--St. Louis-style pizza is the worst. Doesn't mean you are a bad person, just that pizza is St. Louis (especially Imo's) is horrid--it's that "cheese".
I had their pizza. I thought the crust was a bit too weak to hold any topping (it was like wet tortilla in the middle) though the edges were good.
I like the concept, but I have to say I prefer Il Vicino in Clayton.
I'm not from St. Louis and I think you have to grow up here to love Provel. I just can't.
My friends from NYC and Chicago abhor Imo's.
It is ok to not like something that other people enjoy but but to post a comment like yours would be the same as me showing up in a giardinos thread saying "Deep dish is horrible, its not even a pizza it's a crappy casserole, with fat laden pastry dough as crust. Chicago deep dish pizza sucks!"
While that may be how I really feel I don't go around making sure other people know I hate it. I might however word it something like "i really don't care for chicago pizza, seems more like a casserole than a pizza. If I did however decide to post the previous sentiments as a joke, i would certainly add a j/k or a :) at the end.
I can't help it, but everytime I see that slice located at 5 o'clock on the pie, I want it...bad! That crust looks awesome! I also like that it doesn't appear to have an overabundance of cheese. I feel road trip coming on. Woohoo!
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7 Comments:
St. Louis-style pizza is so awful, this Good Pie has to be an improvement. (St. Louis-style pizza is easy to make at home: ketchup and Velveeta on a saltine cracker. Enjoy!)
findlayboy at 11:40AM on 01/23/09
findalyboy, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about and to compare the pizza the way you did shows your ignorance. St. Louis pizza is fantastic and this comes from a Tri-State area transplant who knows a thing or two about good east coast pizza. STL pizza is different and uses Provel cheese which is a blend of Provolone, Swiss and mozzarella and is a processed cheese and there is a lot of prejudice over this fact. The end result though is a very flavorful cheese which I think is very shocking to most pallets who are used the typical flavorless mozzarella that is on most pies. The crust is also unleavened and ends up being very thin and crispy, it is lightly sauced with either a slightly sweet or mildly spicy (depending on the restaurant), topped with provel cheese, your toppings of choice and then party cut.
The end result is really a great pizza that allows you enjoy the toppings along with the flavorful cheese and backed up by a nice crispy crust. Is it different? you better believe it. My first taste of STL pizza some 20+ years ago had me confused and not sure what to think about all the new flavors but I have an open mind to new things unlike findlayboy and many others who hate STL pizza.
stewmeat at 2:46PM on 01/23/09
Geez, stewmeat, like St. Louis pizza much? That Velveeta-and-ketchup thing was a little joke. I apologize that the Internet does not allow you to see that my tongue is ensconced firmly in my cheek.
(I will say this, though: It's okay not to like something. The kind of pizza you like or do not like says nothing about how intelligent or open-minded you are. So take a deep breath, friend, and ease up on the insults just because someone you've never met made a joke about a thing you like to eat.)
Look, my wife's family is from St. Louis, and I have tried St. Louis-style pizza--Imo's, Cecil Whittaker's, etc.--more times then I care to count. And every time I try it, I think... maybe it'll be tasty this time. And know what? It never is.
It's not the crust: I actually kind of like the crust. It's that nasty provel "cheese." Melts nice, sure, but it's as much "cheese" as Velveeta.
But hey, my wife loves the stuff. Doesn't mean I think she's stupid. Doesn't mean she's ignorant or closed-minded. It means she enjoys the taste of something that other people do not necessarily enjoy.
findlayboy at 3:22PM on 01/23/09
sorry stewmeat, I agree--St. Louis-style pizza is the worst. Doesn't mean you are a bad person, just that pizza is St. Louis (especially Imo's) is horrid--it's that "cheese".
tmayson at 4:13PM on 01/23/09
I had their pizza. I thought the crust was a bit too weak to hold any topping (it was like wet tortilla in the middle) though the edges were good.
I like the concept, but I have to say I prefer Il Vicino in Clayton.
I'm not from St. Louis and I think you have to grow up here to love Provel. I just can't.
My friends from NYC and Chicago abhor Imo's.
hmw0029 at 9:49PM on 01/23/09
It is ok to not like something that other people enjoy but but to post a comment like yours would be the same as me showing up in a giardinos thread saying "Deep dish is horrible, its not even a pizza it's a crappy casserole, with fat laden pastry dough as crust. Chicago deep dish pizza sucks!"
While that may be how I really feel I don't go around making sure other people know I hate it. I might however word it something like "i really don't care for chicago pizza, seems more like a casserole than a pizza. If I did however decide to post the previous sentiments as a joke, i would certainly add a j/k or a :) at the end.
stewmeat at 12:51PM on 01/24/09
I can't help it, but everytime I see that slice located at 5 o'clock on the pie, I want it...bad! That crust looks awesome! I also like that it doesn't appear to have an overabundance of cheese. I feel road trip coming on. Woohoo!
RossS at 2:18PM on 01/26/09