Just the other day, I was surprised to find a pizza had been delivered for dinner, and in that moment, I wondered how long had it been since I had pizza - realzing the last time had been in February of this year, in New York, at Lombardi's in Little Italy, introduced by good friends Joe and Maria. And then I wondered... "Why so long?" and I did not have a respectable answer. What is it about this highly addictive food that just screams obession? Unlike some of my previous posts, I know I'm far from alone on this one. I have handfuls of family and friends who share this obsession.Thin crust, thick crust, Chicago-style, New York folded, it doesn't matter to me. The truth of it is... it doesn't even have to be good pizza! I remember in the early 1990's when I used to be a mystery shopper/theatre checker for an asshole company called Theatrical Entertainment Services (TES), or TNSMI-TES as they are known today (sorry, I know I've mentioned only light and polite on this blog, but there are some exceptions to this rule), and it was my job to infiltrate Stadium Drive-In Theatres in Anaheim, California and pretend to be just any other customer. I was reimbursed for admission and had a very limited budget to purchase products at concessions in order to report/tattle on what I saw, and the one item I would always purchase was a piece of cardboard covered in flavorless sauce and repeatedly frozen processed cheese. And why did I purchase this atrocity every time? Umm... because it's pizza!
So now that you know how forgiving I am of bad pizza, just imagine how I respond to good pizza. Lombardi's in New York, was a pretty good one. They uniquely cook their pizza's in a coal oven, where blackened smudges of soot lay underneath the thin crust, like a BBQ would. And then there was the pizza I had the other night by my favorite local franchise, Papa John's, their BBQ chicken pizza being my favorite because it has another obsession of mine as a topping... BACON!
However, I have to say the best pizza I've had yet, came from Girodano's Famous Chicago Style Pizza from Chicago, and I've never even been to Chicago. Girodano's will send you their pizzas via mail, packed in dry ice, next day air! Please understand, this is my favorite to date and it was also frozen, just think if I had it fresh?! Momma Mia! It's definitely at the top of the list of reasons why I would like to visit Chicago sooner rather than later.
However, good eateries and pizza parlor's aside, one of the best pizzeria's you could possibly eat from is your own home. Years ago, a few friends and myself gathered for a homemade pizza party. This is something I suggest any pizza lover to do if you haven't already. The idea was each person needed to create two original masterpieces, which we would all share and vote on. I don't remember who won the competition, or even both of my creations for that matter. I only remember one: white cheddar and mozzerella cheese layered with pesto sauce and covered with artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes as toppings. Of course, everybody gorged themselves and I believe all were either sick that night or the next day. Fun times.
So if you are one of the masses who loves pizza just as much, or more, then leave a post. Also, if you have a recipe to share or a link to a recipe blog or pizzeria, you can leave that in the comments too! I would love to try some new creations as I'm sure most of my readers would as well.
