Why Seattle, you ask? Well, there are several similarities between Naples and Seattle that make this city an ideal choice for VPN Americas' initial pizza convention.
First of all, the skylines of both cities include a magnificent yet ominous volcano looming in the distance (Mount Vesuvius and Mount Rainier, respectively). Another shared geographical feature is that both of these busy ports are anchored in a magnificent bay.
But from a culinary perspective, both Naples and Seattle are world-renowned for their inspired coffee and seafood, and most important, the Emerald City just happens to have the most VPN-certified pizzerias in the United States.
The weeklong pizza convention, hosted by VPN Americas president and owner of California's Antica Pizzeria, Peppe Mielé, will include seminars, discussions, and demonstrations by the various VPN members. All events are free and open to the public.
For information as to the times and locations of these activities, check the VPN website: verapizzanapoletana.org.
Popular food blogger Orangette dropped some awesome news on her site early last week: Her husband is opening a pizzeria. It's in their Seattle neighborhood, too, which I assume is within walking distance of their home. How cool would that be, to own a pizzeria and be able to walk to it? Here's what she says about his pizzamania:
[Brandon] is also obsessed with pizza. As a grade-schooler, he used to go to a pizzeria near his parents' house in New Jersey and pepper the owner with questions about dough and mozzarella. When I met him, he lived on the Upper West Side [of New York City], but he trekked out to the middle of Brooklyn at least once a week to wait patiently in line at Di Fara. Last year, he agreed to drive a car from San Antonio to Los Angeles just so he could try the pizza at Mozza, and he took an overnight trip to Phoenix for the sole purpose of eating at Pizzeria Bianco. So when he told me that he wanted to make pizza, it didn’t exactly surprise me. It may have scared me a little, but it didn't surprise me.
The place, which doesn't seem to have a name yet, is slated to open in spring, and judging by the 200-some comments on Orangette Molly's post, her readers will be out in full force to support it. Good luck, Brandon and Molly!
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 22, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Seattle chef Tom Douglas talks to the Savory Cities folks about his pizzeria, Serious Pie. This video appears to be part of a sneak peek at the upcoming Savory Seattle site.
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 30, 2006 at 11:48 AM
Pity poor Ed Levine. When his workday doesn't involve ordering one of each doughnut at a well-regarded New York City doughnuttery, he gets to eat pizza from some of the country's best pizzerias and write about it for Details magazine. His findings cover some familiar ground to readers of Slice and of Mr. Levine's 2005 book PIzza: A Slice of Heaven, but there are some new entries to be savored.
Pizzeria Bianco [623 East Adams Street, Phoenix AZ 85004; map]
"The sauce tastes like a distillation of the ripest tomatoes."
Di Fara[1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230; map]
"... a Di Fara slice has a one-of-a-kind flavor."
Totonno's [1524 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn NY 11224; map]
"Order the white pie, made with ricotta, mozzarella, and enough fresh garlic to ward off a roomful of vampires."
Cool link for you if you live in Jet City* or if you're traveling there or if you just love pizza: The Seattle Pizza Review. What do these guys have to say for themselves?
Our deep interest in pizza led to the dream of opening our own pizzeria. Our hopes were dashed when Sam learned of a disgusting skin allergy to pizza sauce while working at Pagliacci. However, we soon realized that a pizza review could be a great outlet for our pizza obsession. In a dark moment, this pizza blog was born. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive series of reviews for every pizza place in Seattle. While the name suggests an affinity for Seattle, we will also review pizza that we eat in other cities.
They've only been up to their pizza shenanigans since early this month but are a welcome addition to the world of pizza-blogging. Click on over there and give 'em a holla.
* I suppose they call it the Emerald City these days, but you tell me, what's a cooler civic nickname? And who can forget Queensryche's "Jet City Woman"?
We mentioned Seattle chef Tom Douglas's soon-to-open pizzeria a couple weeks ago on Slice, but here's a very cool new twist -- especially for all you Seattleites eager to get in front of a pizza oven:
Located just off the corner of Fourth Avenue and Virginia Street, in a storefront below the Dahlia Lounge and its adjacent bakery, Serious Pie will host 40 seats, a rotating lineup of cooks from Tom Douglas Restaurants and — here's the too-much-fun part — a weekly "open mike" night. That's when pizzaiola wannabes (yes, that means you, Gianni Q. Public), can strut their pizza-making stuff.
His pizzeria, to be called Serious Pie, is slated to open later this summer.
Even though a pre-Slice Adam K. used to visit Seattle often during his stint in the Pacific Northwest, he stuck mainly to dive bars and the Dick's Drive-In on Capitol Hill and not in any of Tom Douglas's restaurants. He's a Jet City institution, though, so Seattleites will like rejoice:
Uberchef Douglas and his wife and business partner, Jackie Cross, are planning to add a casual new place to their mini-empire of culinary entrepreneurship. Serious Pie, a small pizzeria, is scheduled to open this summer in the existing Dahlia Bakery downtown, which is adjacent to Douglas' Dahlia Lounge restaurant (2001 Fourth Ave.).
Regular readers will know that I love the Pacific Northwest. It's the most beautiful part of the Lower 48, hands down. So I'm always watching for stories out of western Oregon and Washington. And today, there's a wood-oven pizzeria review from the Evergreen State.
The Olympian visits a Farrelli's Pizza and Pool (it's a small regional chain) in Lacey, Wash., and has this to say:
At Farrelli's Pizza and Pool, the crust is the thing. The pizzas are wood-fired, which makes for those crispy brown spots on the crust. And crusts are thin, but not so thin that they fail to support the weight of the toppings....
... You also can branch out not just to the fairly common pesto and Alfredo but the downright adventurous salsa, honey Dijon, blue cheese and ranch. (Hey, aren't most of those salad dressings?)
Food-critic obligations aside, though, I didn't try a pizza with honey Dijon sauce. It's not that I'm that much of a purist, but rather that standard cheese pizza is a must-try for reviews....
... Farrelli's variation on [the classic pizza Margherita] added marinara sauce and balsamic vinegar; the former boosted the tomato flavor, and the latter added a touch of sparkle. The tomato sauce on the basic cheese pizza tasted fresh, but I would have liked a tangier flavor. And the cheese mixed provolone with the mozzarella, yielding a chewier texture.
Balsamic vinegar?!? Provolone? Well, the Northwest has gorgeous terrain and climate, but it won't surpass New York in the pizza category anytime soon.
FARRELLI'S PIZZA AND POOL Location: 4870 Yelm Hwy SE; Lacey, WA 98503 Phone: 360-493-2090 Website:farrellispizza.com
We at Slice really feel for our pizza-lovin' peeps who don't live in New York City. They have to eat either some chain-store garbage or else some crap that some folks like to think of as pizza.
That's why it's always nice to see former New Yorkers (in this case, a Brooklynite) open New York–style pizzerias in other cities.
I found the pizza crust to be more chewy than crispy, and slightly thicker than I expected -- not the super-thin crust with slightly charred bottom that my hard-core Manhattanite friend marks as the gold standard. But the hand-tossed pies were tasty with a slightly sweet tomato sauce.
New pizza combinations are introduced every few years, joining a tried-and-true lineup that includes the Manhattan (artichoke hearts, black olives, mushrooms and coppacola), or the Brooklyn (pepperoni, mushrooms and olives).
I've visited Jet City many times—having lived in beautiful and rainy and nearby Portland, Oregon—but I've never been to Piecora's. Maybe Slice's Seattle-based readers (there's at least one) can enlighten us as to its merits?
If you're willing to drive to Mukilteo and board a ferry to Whidbey Island, I might have some good news for you—and any New Haven grads or former natives still longing for the legendary white clam pizzas at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. Village Pizzeria (108 First St., Langley; 360-221-3363), owned and operated by Brooklyn native Paul Sarkis, offers a version of clam pizza that he and his former business partner developed two decades ago at their Village Pizzerias in the San Francisco Bay area. Their basic "Clam & Garlic" pizza (14-inch $15.75/16-inch $19.75) uses chopped flash-frozen East Coast clams—prepared in a secret recipe of garlic, parsley and "spices"—atop a thin-crusted pie crowned with red sauce and mozzarella. You also can order a "white clam pizza" and they'll leave off the red sauce....
P.S. Whether or not you dig clam pizza, Village Pizzeria makes the most authentic NY–style pizza by-the-slice I've tasted to date anywhere in Western Washington. Forgeddaboudit.
We don't know "The Critic" from Adam and so can't vouch for her taste, but the fact that the owner is a Brooklyn native bodes well for Jet City pizza lovers.
P.S. P-I copy desk take note: It's spelled Fuhgeddaboudit.
P.P.S. We love the names up Washington way. Mukilteo? And the Washington State Ferries are nearly as wonderful as the views you're treated to from their decks. So orderly, so clean, so not crashing into their slips.
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