I finally tried banana peppers on a pizza last night. Before then, they were always one of those unimportant toppings that few people ordered except when they went crazy on our "unlimited" toppings special. Halfway between a pickle and a pepper, they are tangy and spicy at the same time. Now I can't stop trying to think of ways to make their flavor even better. What toppings do you think would go well with them? More

[Photograph: Adam Kuban] Who's Using It Fornino, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Ken's Artisan Pizza, Portland, Oregon Roberta's, Bushwick, Brooklyn Lolita, Cleveland Motorino, Brooklyn/Manhattan Il Cane Rosso, Dallas La Piazza al Forno, Glendale, Arizona Emilia's Pizzeria,* Berkeley, California I'm calling it: Hot soppressata is fast becoming the it topping among serious pizzamakers. Why do I say this? Peep the places at right that feature it as an option. (In an earlier draft of this post, I had Philadelphia's Pizzeria Stella on the list, but the options seems to have dropped off its pre-opening working-draft menu.) It took backyard-pizzamaker-turned-soon-to-be-pro Pauile Gee to call... More

Seen in Times Square. Photograph by Nick "Beef Aficionado" Solares... More

But can sausage trap its own greasy goodness, like this? Jon Eick over at the blog So Good has a great rant about pepperoni. Long story short, he don't like it. Here's why: If pizza is high quality, a mere slice of cheese is delicious. If pizza is mediocre, I understand the need to add toppings. But I have news for you pepperoni: you ain't all that and a bag of chips. Pepperoni, while ok, is simply NOT good enough to have earned it's place as the default pizza order of choice on merit alone. Hell no. I believe... More

What goes into a perfect pizza? The tangible elements are as follows: THE FUEL SOURCE In my opinion, coal-fired and wood-fired ovens produce the best pizza. The high heat given off by both charcoal and wood can char a pizza crust to perfection, and when coal or wood is piled directly into the oven it imparts a smoky flavor to the pizza. Christophe Hille, chef at San Francisco's A16, told me he believes that the flames, and not the wood itself, flavor the pie. Gas-fired ovens can also create a great pizza. Nick Angelis of Nick's gets a fantastic char... More