In Serious Eats Talk, IlTavoloBambino asks:

I've had tons of people say to me, or have over heard them tell others, that the reason you can't get good NY pizza outside of NY is because of the water. To which I always interject, the reason they can't get good NY pizza outside of NY is because they can't find anyone who makes it right. Its not about the water, but the process. I don't dispute the water has slightly different trace amounts of minerals/chemicals, but I find it extremely unlikely such trace amounts affect taste, texture or color of bread and/or pizza dough.

So that being said, has anyone ever done any side-by-side comparisons of doughs using distilled water vs. your local water? If so, what did you find?

That is a question for the ages. One we've tried to answer on Slice before (The Food Lab: Is Good Pizza Really About the Water?).

If you've got thoughts for IlTavolo, share them here »