A perfect pizza, of course, nails all three components—crust, sauce, cheese/toppings—but you might find your own scoring weighted in favor of one area. I'm a crust man myself. What about you?
I couldn't vote in this one. Any single bad component renders the pizza inedible.
On second thought, I never eat a pizza and say 'Wow, the cheese!' or 'OMG, the sauce!' but I have sometimes eaten one and said 'Damn, the crust!' so that gets my nod..
This was a tough one but I approached it by imagining if I could handle that topping being missing. Crust and sauce with no cheese? OK. Sauce and cheese with no crust? Pass the sporks please. Crust and cheese with no sauce? No, thanks.
Although I've gotten pies with really good toppings, but a crust that came up short, I can't think of one place where I've had a pie with a really good crust, but inferior toppings. Perhaps I'm just forgetting, but I think that if someone's going to put the care into producing a great crust, they are not going to skimp in other areas.
@apizzagirl One of my favorite pies is one without sauce, as pictured in Brownie's write up below. I am not alone in my appreciation for it. It has consistantly been a crowd pleaser:
It's gotta be the sauce, especially once you leave the northeast. I don't know what it is out here in the Midwest, but it seems pizza chefs (and most of the eaters) go by the "add more spices and cook the crap out of it" credo when it comes to "perfecting" the sauce. If it ain't fresh and simple, get it away from me.
crust it is bad crust cannot be saved by great ingredients
a pizza with great olive oil and a little grated grana padano is a thing of beauty
as i am discovering this summer on the star ledger's pizza patrol 85% of all jersey pizza is garbage at best
shocking that the garbage extends to old line shops
i knew going in my great state is sorely lacking in refinement but thought they knew how to eat they do not
mr nono's in harrison nj and a mano in ridgewood nj will not disappoint
and semolina in millburn is a star his food is not to be missed
sorry to harp on these three but they have to be supported in these desperate times
talent must not wither on the tomato vine
@foodismylife When you are in Ridgewood, in addition to A. Mano which does serve up a great Napoletana pie IMO, check out Brooklyn's Coal Burning Brick Oven Pizzeria (I didn't name it, I just ate there). In the past I had found it to be a close facsimile to Grimaldi's.
You are goin' a little heavy on this Mr. Nino guy. Time will tell though. With The Red Bulls moving to Harrison (http://www.redbullarena.us/), I imagine there are going to be a lot of hardcore Italians hitting the area to attend the matches. Let's see if they give your boy Nino their business like the do Keste.
My instinct was to vote for crust but then realised such a choice would be coloured by the time and effort I often put into crust when making pizza at home and would not be an accurate reflection of how I feel about pizza as a whole.
Then I tried apizzagirl's approach by gauging my reaction to the hypothetical absence of each element in turn. This also proved unsatisfactory since sauce and cheese without crust, for me, is no pizza at all, thus placing an unfair emphasis on the presence of crust rather than the quality of crust.
Then I tried a modified approach by considering 3 pizzas each with a flaw in one of the elements of crust, sauce and cheese/toppings. Poor crust, good sauce and cheese/toppings would be acceptable. Good crust, poor sauce and good cheese would be fine but not desirable. Good crust, good sauce and bad cheese would be pretty much unacceptable. Great an answer at last, I thought...
But wait! In the case of the last pizza - surely I could remove the offending toppings/cheese (assuming not a sicilian or chicago pie) thus rendering the pizza edible? Damn! so close...
Now, having spent over an hour thinking about the poll without voting, I am desperately hungry for some pizza.
I may yet register a vote but not until I've had a slice or two.
When I am making pizza I tend to focus much more on the dough/crust and trying to get the right crispy-chewy ratio. But when Im eating my tastebuds tend to gravitate towards a vibrant and flavorful sauce. I was conflicted but my allegiance is with the crust.
@foodismylife - I don’t mean to be out of line but I don’t think it is right that you call pizza garbage. The fact that you have this position at the Ledger probably means you don’t have to listen to someone like me but I think it is vulgar and disrespectful. Before you report your pizza patrol, please consider that the owners, managers, pizza makers, etc... spend the majority of their day and life creating a product to serve you and much more goes into a pizza place than just the pizza...ESPECIALLY in economic times like these. Also, if you called my favorite pizza garbage you are basically laughing in my face and I would be furious. I, like many of the readers here, am passionate about pizza and it upsets me when critics think they have free reign to publicly humiliate what could be someone else’s life work...even if it is sub-par. Calling someone’s pizza garbage is not going to make it better. If people read your article, it will only make it worse. Help the pizza industry don’t hurt it. Again, the only thing I know about you is your Slice username so I apologize if this upsets you and for calling you out. It’s nothing personal.
@Adam – Sorry for bringing drama to this post, but this is something that really depresses me.
Toby, good luck finding any pizza as delectable looking as one of your pizza de casa mia pies......they all look delectable!
I'm drinking a Fullers London Pride with lunch.......some right proper bitter, although sadly enough not the cask conditioned real ale you have on your side of the pond. We'll have to clank pints in England one day
Ack I caved and voted for crust. Chowing on some pizza bianca turned ciabatta made me realise - baked dough is goooood. Nothing like it!
@Pizzablogger
I'll confess to being a cider drinker (being out in the west country n all)...and a lightweight at that.
ALBERTO FORZAPIZZA
sorry to have upset you i should have substitutes mediocre for garbage
it truly pains me that so much of the pizza sold in new jersey is inferior.
im own a small business that is not doing well during these desperate times and i am very very careful in my choice of words re a specific place we have eaten on the patrol.
in fact, is the reversh, my fellow patrollers claim i am too lenient.
i am quite aware of how hard people have to work to keep a business afloat.
that is what surprised me is that the old line places with a good clientile and a long history seem to be coasting on their reputations.
of the 237 pies i have tasted this summer i loved 27 absolutely hated only 7 and the rest were somewhere in between.
i again humbly apologize for my ill advised usage of the word.
by the way i have no critical credentials except have eaten for most of my 62 years on this earth.
not only is food is my life it is a passion and i equate it with my poor family in brooklyn growing up.
money was tight but my late mom always cooked with love.
may we all survive and prosper and enjoy pizza for many more healthy years.
again i am truly sorry.
Have to concur with Paulie G and those who feel the crust is the key...Its ez to pick tasty toppings off a lousy crust but whats the point of ordering pizza then? As Pepe Miele of the VPN and Antica Pizza in LA has told me..the crust is like the foundation of a house and who in their right mind would buy live in a house with a weak foundation. Amen!
@foodismylife
I really appreciate your sincere response but there are no apologies necessary. Youre entitled to say and think whatever you want. I may have come off a little harsh and may have taken your comment a little too seriously. Like you, there is a business in my family. My grandpa opened up a pizza place when he came to this country in the 50’s and it’s still up and running. After all his hard work, I was basically expressing how I would feel if someone were to publicly call our pizza garbage. It would really hurt. Just so you know, I am not excusing a sub-par pie by any means nor am I saying food critics should lie just to be nice. Like you, my pizza passion gets me depressed after a bad slice. It ruins my whole day. So all im saying is we should exhibit the same amount of respect for pizza (and the business) as we do passion. Also, 237 pies?!?!?! That’s incredible!! I look forward to reading about your pizza season! Love is the most important ingredient…your mom knew what she was doing.
alberto
thanks for yourkind remarks
my earliest memory of pizza eating was in the mid 50s in brooklyn at a husband and wife place called mr pizza
the box said you tried the rest now try tohe best
they were immigrants who spoke with an accent but they were super nice to us rough kids.
the husband had one thumb missing which intrigued us
but the love and sweetness and craft they was in every slice forged a life long memory.
as an aside our parents took us every sunday a very nice chinese dinner but he was kind enough and never got mad at us when we asked for a slice of mr pizza as a second dessert
the only codicil was that we had to eat the whole slice which we always did
if you read the comments in the ledger re pizza patrol i am the one who always has something nice to say, bad pizza hurts me and we are dealing with people's life and livihood
forza pizza
Well, after copping out and choosing D above, I must say of course it's the crust.
My personal experiences reflect what Paulie said......often a place that cares enough to make a really good crust also takes the time to source really good ingredients.
I don't care if Jesus himself made the sauce and topped a pizza with heaven's bounty......if the big guy sauced and topped a lackluster crust, I'd have to look him in the face, say fughgetabout it and go on to another pizzeria. Sorry JC, it's gotta have good crust and I'll burn in hell to have pizza the way I like it! --PB
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20 Comments:
I couldn't vote in this one. Any single bad component renders the pizza inedible.
On second thought, I never eat a pizza and say 'Wow, the cheese!' or 'OMG, the sauce!' but I have sometimes eaten one and said 'Damn, the crust!' so that gets my nod..
ratbuddy at 9:38AM on 08/17/09
D: All of the above
Pizzablogger at 10:27AM on 08/17/09
This was a tough one but I approached it by imagining if I could handle that topping being missing. Crust and sauce with no cheese? OK. Sauce and cheese with no crust? Pass the sporks please. Crust and cheese with no sauce? No, thanks.
apizzagirl at 10:30AM on 08/17/09
Although I've gotten pies with really good toppings, but a crust that came up short, I can't think of one place where I've had a pie with a really good crust, but inferior toppings. Perhaps I'm just forgetting, but I think that if someone's going to put the care into producing a great crust, they are not going to skimp in other areas.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 10:33AM on 08/17/09
@apizzagirl One of my favorite pies is one without sauce, as pictured in Brownie's write up below. I am not alone in my appreciation for it. It has consistantly been a crowd pleaser:
http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/2009/07/ten-course-pizza-tasting-with-paulie.html
I can't help but love pizzablogger's description:
"Clean, potent and easily discernible flavors which blended together very well...."
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 11:07AM on 08/17/09
It's gotta be the sauce, especially once you leave the northeast. I don't know what it is out here in the Midwest, but it seems pizza chefs (and most of the eaters) go by the "add more spices and cook the crap out of it" credo when it comes to "perfecting" the sauce. If it ain't fresh and simple, get it away from me.
brokenbuzz at 12:01PM on 08/17/09
crust it is bad crust cannot be saved by great ingredients
a pizza with great olive oil and a little grated grana padano is a thing of beauty
as i am discovering this summer on the star ledger's pizza patrol 85% of all jersey pizza is garbage at best
shocking that the garbage extends to old line shops
i knew going in my great state is sorely lacking in refinement but thought they knew how to eat they do not
mr nono's in harrison nj and a mano in ridgewood nj will not disappoint
and semolina in millburn is a star his food is not to be missed
sorry to harp on these three but they have to be supported in these desperate times
talent must not wither on the tomato vine
foodismylife at 12:33PM on 08/17/09
@foodismylife When you are in Ridgewood, in addition to A. Mano which does serve up a great Napoletana pie IMO, check out Brooklyn's Coal Burning Brick Oven Pizzeria (I didn't name it, I just ate there). In the past I had found it to be a close facsimile to Grimaldi's.
You are goin' a little heavy on this Mr. Nino guy. Time will tell though. With The Red Bulls moving to Harrison (http://www.redbullarena.us/), I imagine there are going to be a lot of hardcore Italians hitting the area to attend the matches. Let's see if they give your boy Nino their business like the do Keste.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 1:05PM on 08/17/09
My instinct was to vote for crust but then realised such a choice would be coloured by the time and effort I often put into crust when making pizza at home and would not be an accurate reflection of how I feel about pizza as a whole.
Then I tried apizzagirl's approach by gauging my reaction to the hypothetical absence of each element in turn. This also proved unsatisfactory since sauce and cheese without crust, for me, is no pizza at all, thus placing an unfair emphasis on the presence of crust rather than the quality of crust.
Then I tried a modified approach by considering 3 pizzas each with a flaw in one of the elements of crust, sauce and cheese/toppings. Poor crust, good sauce and cheese/toppings would be acceptable. Good crust, poor sauce and good cheese would be fine but not desirable. Good crust, good sauce and bad cheese would be pretty much unacceptable. Great an answer at last, I thought...
But wait! In the case of the last pizza - surely I could remove the offending toppings/cheese (assuming not a sicilian or chicago pie) thus rendering the pizza edible? Damn! so close...
Now, having spent over an hour thinking about the poll without voting, I am desperately hungry for some pizza.
I may yet register a vote but not until I've had a slice or two.
FP
foolishpoolish at 1:15PM on 08/17/09
When I am making pizza I tend to focus much more on the dough/crust and trying to get the right crispy-chewy ratio. But when Im eating my tastebuds tend to gravitate towards a vibrant and flavorful sauce. I was conflicted but my allegiance is with the crust.
@foodismylife - I don’t mean to be out of line but I don’t think it is right that you call pizza garbage. The fact that you have this position at the Ledger probably means you don’t have to listen to someone like me but I think it is vulgar and disrespectful. Before you report your pizza patrol, please consider that the owners, managers, pizza makers, etc... spend the majority of their day and life creating a product to serve you and much more goes into a pizza place than just the pizza...ESPECIALLY in economic times like these. Also, if you called my favorite pizza garbage you are basically laughing in my face and I would be furious. I, like many of the readers here, am passionate about pizza and it upsets me when critics think they have free reign to publicly humiliate what could be someone else’s life work...even if it is sub-par. Calling someone’s pizza garbage is not going to make it better. If people read your article, it will only make it worse. Help the pizza industry don’t hurt it. Again, the only thing I know about you is your Slice username so I apologize if this upsets you and for calling you out. It’s nothing personal.
@Adam – Sorry for bringing drama to this post, but this is something that really depresses me.
Thanks and Forza Pizza!
Alberto
forzapizza at 1:47PM on 08/17/09
"Now, having spent over an hour thinking about the poll without voting.........I may yet register a vote but not until I've had a slice or two."
No wonder the British government is in the crapper :D
Pizzablogger at 3:03PM on 08/17/09
Toby, good luck finding any pizza as delectable looking as one of your pizza de casa mia pies......they all look delectable!
I'm drinking a Fullers London Pride with lunch.......some right proper bitter, although sadly enough not the cask conditioned real ale you have on your side of the pond. We'll have to clank pints in England one day
Pizzablogger at 3:16PM on 08/17/09
Ack I caved and voted for crust. Chowing on some pizza bianca turned ciabatta made me realise - baked dough is goooood. Nothing like it!
@Pizzablogger
I'll confess to being a cider drinker (being out in the west country n all)...and a lightweight at that.
FP
foolishpoolish at 11:22PM on 08/17/09
It's the sauce.
A good sauce? Makes the pie.
Mooner at 11:45PM on 08/17/09
I knew you felt that way, Mooner. Was waiting for you to show up!
Adam Kuban at 11:55PM on 08/17/09
ALBERTO FORZAPIZZA
sorry to have upset you i should have substitutes mediocre for garbage
it truly pains me that so much of the pizza sold in new jersey is inferior.
im own a small business that is not doing well during these desperate times and i am very very careful in my choice of words re a specific place we have eaten on the patrol.
in fact, is the reversh, my fellow patrollers claim i am too lenient.
i am quite aware of how hard people have to work to keep a business afloat.
that is what surprised me is that the old line places with a good clientile and a long history seem to be coasting on their reputations.
of the 237 pies i have tasted this summer i loved 27 absolutely hated only 7 and the rest were somewhere in between.
i again humbly apologize for my ill advised usage of the word.
by the way i have no critical credentials except have eaten for most of my 62 years on this earth.
not only is food is my life it is a passion and i equate it with my poor family in brooklyn growing up.
money was tight but my late mom always cooked with love.
may we all survive and prosper and enjoy pizza for many more healthy years.
again i am truly sorry.
foodismylife at 3:43PM on 08/19/09
Have to concur with Paulie G and those who feel the crust is the key...Its ez to pick tasty toppings off a lousy crust but whats the point of ordering pizza then? As Pepe Miele of the VPN and Antica Pizza in LA has told me..the crust is like the foundation of a house and who in their right mind would buy live in a house with a weak foundation. Amen!
L.A. Pizza Maven at 4:13PM on 08/19/09
@foodismylife
I really appreciate your sincere response but there are no apologies necessary. Youre entitled to say and think whatever you want. I may have come off a little harsh and may have taken your comment a little too seriously. Like you, there is a business in my family. My grandpa opened up a pizza place when he came to this country in the 50’s and it’s still up and running. After all his hard work, I was basically expressing how I would feel if someone were to publicly call our pizza garbage. It would really hurt. Just so you know, I am not excusing a sub-par pie by any means nor am I saying food critics should lie just to be nice. Like you, my pizza passion gets me depressed after a bad slice. It ruins my whole day. So all im saying is we should exhibit the same amount of respect for pizza (and the business) as we do passion. Also, 237 pies?!?!?! That’s incredible!! I look forward to reading about your pizza season! Love is the most important ingredient…your mom knew what she was doing.
Forza Pizza,
Alberto
forzapizza at 5:51PM on 08/19/09
alberto
thanks for yourkind remarks
my earliest memory of pizza eating was in the mid 50s in brooklyn at a husband and wife place called mr pizza
the box said you tried the rest now try tohe best
they were immigrants who spoke with an accent but they were super nice to us rough kids.
the husband had one thumb missing which intrigued us
but the love and sweetness and craft they was in every slice forged a life long memory.
as an aside our parents took us every sunday a very nice chinese dinner but he was kind enough and never got mad at us when we asked for a slice of mr pizza as a second dessert
the only codicil was that we had to eat the whole slice which we always did
if you read the comments in the ledger re pizza patrol i am the one who always has something nice to say, bad pizza hurts me and we are dealing with people's life and livihood
forza pizza
foodismylife at 11:30AM on 08/21/09
Well, after copping out and choosing D above, I must say of course it's the crust.
My personal experiences reflect what Paulie said......often a place that cares enough to make a really good crust also takes the time to source really good ingredients.
I don't care if Jesus himself made the sauce and topped a pizza with heaven's bounty......if the big guy sauced and topped a lackluster crust, I'd have to look him in the face, say fughgetabout it and go on to another pizzeria. Sorry JC, it's gotta have good crust and I'll burn in hell to have pizza the way I like it! --PB
Pizzablogger at 12:10PM on 08/21/09