If you're a longtime Slice reader, you've heard bits of this site's origin story (ad nauseam) over the years. In a nutshell, when I first moved to New York City in the summer of 2000, I ate pizza almost every day for six months or so. I was broke, it was cheap, and, well, like I needed an excuse to go nuts here in Pizza Mecca.
At first, all the pizza here tasted good to me. But after a few months, my palate became more refined, and I became more discerning. I finally started getting a crazy notion that maybe not every slice I was eating was good. And once I did, I turned to the web to help me find pies and slices worthy of eating. One of the first hardcore pizza documents I found was eGullet co-founder Steven A. Shaw's "Pizza Guide." This was pre-eGullet, when Stephen was publishing a site called fat-guy.com.
The introduction, "Where Has All the Good Pizza Gone?" confirmed my suspicion that three-quarters of the pizza I was eating was just plain bad:
The conventional wisdom—that you can walk into any New York pizza shop, grab a slice, and confidently assume that it will be pretty good—is manifestly no longer true (if it ever was), and it should come as no surprise to any longtime New Yorker not living in denial (though it might be news to tourists and newcomers) to hear that pizza in New York today is, overall, terrible.
Indeed, this was news to me. And so I devoured Shaw's guide, with its then-current list of some of the best pizzerias in the city, along with thoughts on judging pizza, and the first hints at the strange lexicon of the pizza world I was about to dive head-first into ("garbage pie" being a memorable term).
Once eGullet was up and running, fat-guy.com disappeared and, along with it, the guide. Luckily, I had printed out several copies of it and filed it away in my "Pizza Notes/Information" file.
While having dinner with Steven last week, I mentioned that his guide had been a huge influence on me early on and that I wished it were still up on the web somewhere. While some of the places have since closed or fallen off in quality, there's still some great information to be gleaned from it.
Ask and ye shall receive, I suppose. Shaw reposted the guide on eGullet last week with this disclaimer:
To be clear, I'm not actually sure of the publication date of this item. I wrote it in 1999, that much I'm sure about, but for the next three or four years I made updates to it. This version probably reflects changes I made through about 2001. I don't know. I was a little hesitant to publish this, because my early food writing efforts seem in retrospect to be weak in places, but so be it. I think overall what I was saying was right, even if some of the details are a little screwy in retrospect and some of the writing is weird. If a student in my writing class today wrote this, I'd probably think he or she had some potential, maybe. Anyway, here it is for your consideration.
I wish I had an interesting story like this! When I moved down to Boca, the pizza just seemed to suck, so I started to become critical and writing reviews. Nothing glamorous!
Well, that's a mouthful on pizza. I will agree that great pizza does not require 800 degree wood burning ovens as I have dined on delectable pies at David Nuzzo's Apizza Heaven in Sedona,Az. And although its been years, my experiences at Nick's in Queens was also transplendent. I find it hard to believe hat Grimaldi's seems to be getting significant negativity from people. Granted, I havent been to Brooklyn in nearly 5 years, but my experience at the Vegas branch(reviewed here on Slice) sent me to pizza heaven. My experiences at Lombardi's, at least till around 2002, were also heavenly. I have found that requesting a pie be cooked "well-done" improves the texture and foldability of pies done in the more tradional Neapolitan style.oh well, all this pizza talk is getting the salivatory glands going. I think its a good day to try and get a seat at the bar over at Mozza. O yeah!
I forgot all about The Fat Guy. I loved that site and his writing.
@Maven I'm about to do the same at Bianco. If they'd get this plane to the gate already. Sometimes it doesn't pay to get in early. I'll be early to Bianco regardless. Now for a quick burger animal style at In n Out.
Paulie, yknow ya better be ready to lineup before 3pm to be sure to get in the first seating...have you tried the Rosa? the pistachios definitely work...Dont forget, if you head through Vegas and have time, check out the Grimaldi's.I cant believe the original has slipped so much(forget the wait), yet a branch 2000 miles away is doin the pies justice..buon apetito!
Your gonna be eating at Bianco in the immediate future.....hells yeah! Make sure to let us know how it is. PB is #1 on my pizzeria "hit list" and I'm always eager to hear more reviews about the place.
The pies were very good. The very thin crust had just enough crispness too it. I've never seen anyone make a pie with such a wet bubbly dough. We tried all six by getting a half of each. I liked the unique flavors of the Rosa very much, but believe it or not the Marinara was my favorite. He slice the garlic very thin like Paul Sorvino did when in jail in Goodfellas. the slice melted very nicely into the sauce. The best part was how special CB and the staff made us feel. They really appreciate the experience they created and do not take the long lines for granted. The coolest part for me (besides having our picture taken with Chris right in front of the oven) was the scene outside with await customers able to purchase wine and beer next door in Bar Bianco and bring it ouside. I would love to be there at night to feel the vibe both inside and outside. Bar Bianco is in an old historic house with a small bar room and two big rooms with a table in each one to sit around as well as chairs on the porch out front. He was very fortunate to be able to secure space in two historic buildings in a city park. I can hardly wait to go back and check it out in the cool of the desert evening and spend more time schmoozing with the other customers. I'll always recall a long time Phoenix resident telling me "Of course it tastes like the best pizza you've ever had. You hang around two or three hours drinking before you sit down. Although we were first in line I would actually recommend that you not rush, but hang around and take it all in as the night falls and the Sandstone Cream Ale enhances the evening.. But once again, the highlight of the place for me was the charm of Chris and his crew who don't take their throng of customers for granted.
Paulie, Could not agree more. Actually the wait was as much a part of the experience as the pizza itself. We had a wonderful time sharing the same interest with people we never met. Perfect example of how great food can bring people together and take a moment to slow down life's hectic pace.
I believe the key is how one approaches the wait. If you go in preconditioned that you'll be aggravated that is what will happen. Go in with an open mind, relax and enjoy and you'll realize what makes the magic of Chris Biancos world so rare and special.
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9 Comments:
I wish I had an interesting story like this! When I moved down to Boca, the pizza just seemed to suck, so I started to become critical and writing reviews. Nothing glamorous!
pizzaexpert at 5:22PM on 05/27/09
The story gets less and less interesting each time I tell it.
Adam Kuban at 6:05PM on 05/27/09
Well, that's a mouthful on pizza. I will agree that great pizza does not require 800 degree wood burning ovens as I have dined on delectable pies at David Nuzzo's Apizza Heaven in Sedona,Az. And although its been years, my experiences at Nick's in Queens was also transplendent. I find it hard to believe hat Grimaldi's seems to be getting significant negativity from people. Granted, I havent been to Brooklyn in nearly 5 years, but my experience at the Vegas branch(reviewed here on Slice) sent me to pizza heaven. My experiences at Lombardi's, at least till around 2002, were also heavenly. I have found that requesting a pie be cooked "well-done" improves the texture and foldability of pies done in the more tradional Neapolitan style.oh well, all this pizza talk is getting the salivatory glands going. I think its a good day to try and get a seat at the bar over at Mozza. O yeah!
L.A. Pizza Maven at 11:07AM on 05/28/09
I forgot all about The Fat Guy. I loved that site and his writing.
@Maven I'm about to do the same at Bianco. If they'd get this plane to the gate already. Sometimes it doesn't pay to get in early. I'll be early to Bianco regardless. Now for a quick burger animal style at In n Out.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 12:15PM on 05/28/09
Paulie, yknow ya better be ready to lineup before 3pm to be sure to get in the first seating...have you tried the Rosa? the pistachios definitely work...Dont forget, if you head through Vegas and have time, check out the Grimaldi's.I cant believe the original has slipped so much(forget the wait), yet a branch 2000 miles away is doin the pies justice..buon apetito!
L.A. Pizza Maven at 3:23PM on 05/28/09
Your gonna be eating at Bianco in the immediate future.....hells yeah! Make sure to let us know how it is. PB is #1 on my pizzeria "hit list" and I'm always eager to hear more reviews about the place.
Have a great time Paulie!
Pizzablogger at 6:40PM on 05/28/09
The pies were very good. The very thin crust had just enough crispness too it. I've never seen anyone make a pie with such a wet bubbly dough. We tried all six by getting a half of each. I liked the unique flavors of the Rosa very much, but believe it or not the Marinara was my favorite. He slice the garlic very thin like Paul Sorvino did when in jail in Goodfellas. the slice melted very nicely into the sauce. The best part was how special CB and the staff made us feel. They really appreciate the experience they created and do not take the long lines for granted. The coolest part for me (besides having our picture taken with Chris right in front of the oven) was the scene outside with await customers able to purchase wine and beer next door in Bar Bianco and bring it ouside. I would love to be there at night to feel the vibe both inside and outside. Bar Bianco is in an old historic house with a small bar room and two big rooms with a table in each one to sit around as well as chairs on the porch out front. He was very fortunate to be able to secure space in two historic buildings in a city park. I can hardly wait to go back and check it out in the cool of the desert evening and spend more time schmoozing with the other customers. I'll always recall a long time Phoenix resident telling me "Of course it tastes like the best pizza you've ever had. You hang around two or three hours drinking before you sit down. Although we were first in line I would actually recommend that you not rush, but hang around and take it all in as the night falls and the Sandstone Cream Ale enhances the evening.. But once again, the highlight of the place for me was the charm of Chris and his crew who don't take their throng of customers for granted.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 11:53AM on 05/29/09
Paulie, Could not agree more. Actually the wait was as much a part of the experience as the pizza itself. We had a wonderful time sharing the same interest with people we never met. Perfect example of how great food can bring people together and take a moment to slow down life's hectic pace.
I believe the key is how one approaches the wait. If you go in preconditioned that you'll be aggravated that is what will happen. Go in with an open mind, relax and enjoy and you'll realize what makes the magic of Chris Biancos world so rare and special.
robert40 at 12:40PM on 05/29/09
Hmm, gonna have to go back and read that site now. If anyone's interested, you can see it at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://fat-guy.com
ratbuddy at 2:31PM on 05/29/09