Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza oh and your Free Thread (comes with dough balls)
July 17, 2023 9:44 AM Subscribe
As a version of Chicago pizza comes to Leicester, people put raspberry mascarpone on top, England (history recap: invade nearly everywhere and take all the spices) makes the blandest pizza possible, pizza is stolen, pizza eaters get in the mood for lurve, we remember the president of Iceland previously clarifying that "I do not have the power to make laws which forbid people to put pineapples on their pizza", possible evidence of ancient pizza is revealed, and Sweden is Sweden and Ohio is Ohio, here's your weekly Free Thread...
I put everything on pizza:
salt, garlic, onion, poppy, and both white and black sesame seeds.
what?
posted by gauche at 9:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
salt, garlic, onion, poppy, and both white and black sesame seeds.
what?
posted by gauche at 9:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
One of my favorite pizza-related anecdotes ever:
At some point, my last roommate went to visit friends in Chicago for a week. On his way home, before he even got to our apartment he stopped by a pizza place; I was home when he got in, and he walked in the door with his suitcase in one hand and an entire pie in the other. He dropped his bag by the door, carried the pizza to the kitchen table and flung the box open. Then he turned to me (I was watching curiously) and pointed at it. "Now, THIS," he said declaratively, "THIS....is PIZZA."
And then he instantly grabbed two slices as I cracked up.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:52 AM on July 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
At some point, my last roommate went to visit friends in Chicago for a week. On his way home, before he even got to our apartment he stopped by a pizza place; I was home when he got in, and he walked in the door with his suitcase in one hand and an entire pie in the other. He dropped his bag by the door, carried the pizza to the kitchen table and flung the box open. Then he turned to me (I was watching curiously) and pointed at it. "Now, THIS," he said declaratively, "THIS....is PIZZA."
And then he instantly grabbed two slices as I cracked up.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:52 AM on July 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
There is nothing wrong with pineapple on a pizza, especially when accompanied by ham.
posted by COD at 9:54 AM on July 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by COD at 9:54 AM on July 17, 2023 [9 favorites]
My favorite nonstandard pizza topping: fresh arugula
That's non-standard? It's on the menu of every Italian restaurant and pizza place that's shooting to compete with Domino's on quality rather than price, here.
posted by Dysk at 9:55 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
That's non-standard? It's on the menu of every Italian restaurant and pizza place that's shooting to compete with Domino's on quality rather than price, here.
posted by Dysk at 9:55 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
(My favorite nonstandard pizza topping: fresh arugula. Love it combined with shaved Parmesan, prosciutto, and balsamic glaze)
This is a good one; I've also had fig as an addition to the above toppings and that is quite enjoyable.
posted by gauche at 9:56 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
This is a good one; I've also had fig as an addition to the above toppings and that is quite enjoyable.
posted by gauche at 9:56 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Yeah arugula is nice dropped on the pie after it's out of the oven with a light squiggle of pesto.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:57 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:57 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
In Victorian England, wealthy people would rent a pineapple pizza to carry around at parties, it was such a novelty.
posted by gauche at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by gauche at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
Repping Chicagoland here: deep dish is only something we eat for a change of pace.
Chicago's actual go-to, regular choice for pizza is square cut, tavern style pizza.
My personal favorite pizza place is a Detroit-style place operating out of Toronto called Descendant Pizza.
Just look at this mushroom pizza.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Chicago's actual go-to, regular choice for pizza is square cut, tavern style pizza.
My personal favorite pizza place is a Detroit-style place operating out of Toronto called Descendant Pizza.
Just look at this mushroom pizza.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Pizza topping conversation? You know I'm plugging for green olives again. Trust me on this one, if you have the opportunity to make homemade pizza, give some cheap green olives a try.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:59 AM on July 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:59 AM on July 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
Chicago's actual go-to, regular choice for pizza is square cut
A Midwestern delicacy! mmmmmm. Just don't get stuck with the weird little corner nugget piece.
As a child, the art of eating one at a party was to slowly wait for the bad pieces to go and then strike like lightning to get a glorious full square.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:02 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
A Midwestern delicacy! mmmmmm. Just don't get stuck with the weird little corner nugget piece.
As a child, the art of eating one at a party was to slowly wait for the bad pieces to go and then strike like lightning to get a glorious full square.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:02 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm a big fan of potato on pizza. Had it first in Rome and then periodically see it on menus in the US. Sort of like homefries mixed with pizza. Salty, often with rosemary. Delicious!
Two pizza stories from my time as a student in Russia twenty years ago:
1. There was a movie theater in Voronezh that had a pizza place in the lobby and the pizza was actually pretty good to this American's taste. The first time I went I saw they pepperoni pizza on the menu and I ordered it. The cashier warned me it was spicy. I asked if there were chili peppers on it or something else that would be spicy and she said it was just pepperoni. I said ok, that's fine, I'd still like pepperoni. And then I went to pay and she warned me again how spicy it was. Then while I was getting a drink she warned me again. Then I sat down to wait for the pizza and someone from the kitchen came out, "Did someone order pepperoni? It's very spicy. Are you sure you want it?" Yes, I'm sure. Then the pizza came out and it was just an ordinary pepperoni pizza. Not spicy at all. Just pepperoni. Russian cuisine isn't known for a lot of spices (mostly everything is pretty bland and doused in sour cream; if there's a spice, it's going to be dill), so I guess that counted as spicy there.
2. At another pizza place in Voronezh one of the pizzas on the menu was called "Treasure of Sea." One of my party was feeling daring and ordered it. It had 4 or 5 types of seafood on it...mussels, scallops, shrimp, etc....I think they probably came from a can and the pizza itself was wet. I think it's the worst pizza I've ever had.
posted by msbrauer at 10:07 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
Two pizza stories from my time as a student in Russia twenty years ago:
1. There was a movie theater in Voronezh that had a pizza place in the lobby and the pizza was actually pretty good to this American's taste. The first time I went I saw they pepperoni pizza on the menu and I ordered it. The cashier warned me it was spicy. I asked if there were chili peppers on it or something else that would be spicy and she said it was just pepperoni. I said ok, that's fine, I'd still like pepperoni. And then I went to pay and she warned me again how spicy it was. Then while I was getting a drink she warned me again. Then I sat down to wait for the pizza and someone from the kitchen came out, "Did someone order pepperoni? It's very spicy. Are you sure you want it?" Yes, I'm sure. Then the pizza came out and it was just an ordinary pepperoni pizza. Not spicy at all. Just pepperoni. Russian cuisine isn't known for a lot of spices (mostly everything is pretty bland and doused in sour cream; if there's a spice, it's going to be dill), so I guess that counted as spicy there.
2. At another pizza place in Voronezh one of the pizzas on the menu was called "Treasure of Sea." One of my party was feeling daring and ordered it. It had 4 or 5 types of seafood on it...mussels, scallops, shrimp, etc....I think they probably came from a can and the pizza itself was wet. I think it's the worst pizza I've ever had.
posted by msbrauer at 10:07 AM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]
In other Chicago pizza recs, the traditional Neapolitan-style pizzeria Spacca Napoli was ranked 14th in the US on a recent list by a consortium of Italian food & drink vendors, and has been tipped to be on the top 100 in the world list coming out in September.
Bonus: that restaurant's one-time chef owns and operates a place in the same style, with the same type of oven, using the same ingredients from the same suppliers, and with a very similar menu . It is, of all places, in Schaumburg, across the street from Home Depot and Target. It's called Napoli per Tutti and it is also wonderful.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:11 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Bonus: that restaurant's one-time chef owns and operates a place in the same style, with the same type of oven, using the same ingredients from the same suppliers, and with a very similar menu . It is, of all places, in Schaumburg, across the street from Home Depot and Target. It's called Napoli per Tutti and it is also wonderful.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:11 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm a big fan of potato on pizza.
Oh yeah, that's good too!
Also, I'm completely on #TeamPineapple.
posted by May Kasahara at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh yeah, that's good too!
Also, I'm completely on #TeamPineapple.
posted by May Kasahara at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I can confirm that Heinz baked bean pizzas in the UK were an abomination and should never have been resurrected from whatever hell they had been rightly sent.
posted by dowcrag at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by dowcrag at 10:13 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh and this summer while in St. Louis I made the mistake of ordering pizza that was the local style made with Provel. It was at the City Museum so probably not the best example, but the texture was so off-putting it was difficult to eat.
posted by msbrauer at 10:15 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by msbrauer at 10:15 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Not pizza-related, but hey this is the free thread and everybody likes pet photos...
The A24 Fan Club let me choose a bday gift and we got Rango a lavender A24 collar.
I'm not going to make him watch Midsommar, though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:18 AM on July 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
The A24 Fan Club let me choose a bday gift and we got Rango a lavender A24 collar.
I'm not going to make him watch Midsommar, though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:18 AM on July 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
I don't like pineapple (or any other sweet ingredient) on pizza, but I have no idea why some folks are so militantly against it. There are lots of other toppings and combinations that I do like, but my usual go-to is pepperoni and garlic with extra sauce, and once it arrives I'll add oregano and red pepper flakes. If I'm feeling industrious I'll sauté some sliced portobello or dried/reconstituted porcini mushroom pieces to go on it as well - I won't pay for the tasteless mushrooms the pizza place uses.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dimo's Pizza by me in Chicago sells a thin, wood-fired pie I like, though I'm not generally a fan of pizza. I didn't name it. The arugula, I'd argue, is essential.
(From the menu)
'Shrooms of Rad: The best mushroom pizza in the city. Fresh mozzarella over white sauce topped with a mixed mushroom medley finished with pickled grapes, arugula, pickled shallots, and a truffle porcini cream sauce.
posted by heyho at 10:22 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
(From the menu)
'Shrooms of Rad: The best mushroom pizza in the city. Fresh mozzarella over white sauce topped with a mixed mushroom medley finished with pickled grapes, arugula, pickled shallots, and a truffle porcini cream sauce.
posted by heyho at 10:22 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I lived in Colorado as a young kid (moved just after my 6th birthday), we went to a pizza place regularly that sauced/topped their pizzas to leave an extra wide plain crust and gave you honey to dip the crusts in. I loved it. Since it was something I experienced as a child, I just treated it as the norm. I kinda miss it, but on the other hand, that's not really a very satisfying dessert.
My husband got one of those OONI pizza ovens a couple years ago, and it has really levelled up our pizza making/eating experience. He loves making pizza anyway, but especially using that oven.
I read an entire book yesterday! I can't remember the last time I did that. We installed a screened in gazebo on our deck about a month ago, which allows us to enjoy the nice weather without being beset by the bugs coming from the woods, and it has significantly increased my reading, because I just freaking love sitting out there and reading a book.
Anyway, that's my little grab-bag because I'm trying not to think too much about my resting heart rate creeping up to 125 this morning. It's probably from my cymbalta, which I don't think I can take for much longer. Too bad I took off my holter monitor yesterday and it didn't capture that. Sigh.
posted by obfuscation at 10:23 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
My husband got one of those OONI pizza ovens a couple years ago, and it has really levelled up our pizza making/eating experience. He loves making pizza anyway, but especially using that oven.
I read an entire book yesterday! I can't remember the last time I did that. We installed a screened in gazebo on our deck about a month ago, which allows us to enjoy the nice weather without being beset by the bugs coming from the woods, and it has significantly increased my reading, because I just freaking love sitting out there and reading a book.
Anyway, that's my little grab-bag because I'm trying not to think too much about my resting heart rate creeping up to 125 this morning. It's probably from my cymbalta, which I don't think I can take for much longer. Too bad I took off my holter monitor yesterday and it didn't capture that. Sigh.
posted by obfuscation at 10:23 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
When I was in college in the 90s, I could still bring Good Things in my airline carry-on.
My best routine was to put a few bottles of local beer into white tube socks, which stood up at the back of my backpack.
Then I would pick up a pizza -- spinach-garlic and ham (a.k.a. "the Rush Street Stuffed, but on a flat pizza) -- from the pizza place where I used to work, and pack the slices into large Zip-loc bags. The rest of the backpack would be full of paperback books or any magazines I could scarf up, and some homemade cookies.
Opening my backpack on the plane released a cloud of rich garlic smell, which made everyone a little grumpy with the weak snacks being handed out by the flight attendants. And when I got home, I would eat that pizza for a couple of days, gradually missing Home more and more.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
My best routine was to put a few bottles of local beer into white tube socks, which stood up at the back of my backpack.
Then I would pick up a pizza -- spinach-garlic and ham (a.k.a. "the Rush Street Stuffed, but on a flat pizza) -- from the pizza place where I used to work, and pack the slices into large Zip-loc bags. The rest of the backpack would be full of paperback books or any magazines I could scarf up, and some homemade cookies.
Opening my backpack on the plane released a cloud of rich garlic smell, which made everyone a little grumpy with the weak snacks being handed out by the flight attendants. And when I got home, I would eat that pizza for a couple of days, gradually missing Home more and more.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
Oh and this summer while in St. Louis I made the mistake of ordering pizza that was the local style made with Provel. It was at the City Museum so probably not the best example, but the texture was so off-putting it was difficult to eat.
It is a taste best (and maybe only) acquired through youth indoctrination. See also Vess cola from the same region.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
It is a taste best (and maybe only) acquired through youth indoctrination. See also Vess cola from the same region.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
There's a real-deal gourmet chef from my town who has opened a few different concepts, but the latest one is a fancy pizzeria. He's been refining his dough and process, and using his kitchen as a place to train new chefs -- you go in to get a slice, and instead of a surly old Italian guy (or his meathead grandsons), behind the counter are two or three eager young chefs taking a break from prepping for the weekend private-chef gig to serve you mind-blowing pizza.
His slices are all named after Black entertainers and their art, and my favorite is the Caribbean Queen -- jerk chicken, grilled pineapple, tiny pieces of plantain, hibiscus BBQ sauce. The Cardi (piri-piri shrimp, fried plantains, roasted corn, spicy truffle aioli) is super-great, too. It's very much Not Pizza, per local tastes, but the flavors and textures are absolutely artful.
I'm dreading the day they close down (there's no way they're selling enough $6 slices to keep this place open as anything but a way to make a little money during the week while maintaining a commercial kitchen), but I'm eating as much as I can in the meantime.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
His slices are all named after Black entertainers and their art, and my favorite is the Caribbean Queen -- jerk chicken, grilled pineapple, tiny pieces of plantain, hibiscus BBQ sauce. The Cardi (piri-piri shrimp, fried plantains, roasted corn, spicy truffle aioli) is super-great, too. It's very much Not Pizza, per local tastes, but the flavors and textures are absolutely artful.
I'm dreading the day they close down (there's no way they're selling enough $6 slices to keep this place open as anything but a way to make a little money during the week while maintaining a commercial kitchen), but I'm eating as much as I can in the meantime.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
my favorite is the Caribbean Queen -- jerk chicken, grilled pineapple, tiny pieces of plantain, hibiscus BBQ sauce.
We're sharing the same dream.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:27 AM on July 17, 2023 [13 favorites]
We're sharing the same dream.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:27 AM on July 17, 2023 [13 favorites]
@ obfuscation that pizza place is Beau Jo's and "Honey on the Crust" is their claim to fame.
posted by jazon at 10:29 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jazon at 10:29 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sweden is Sweden and Ohio is Ohio
And then there's this.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:30 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
And then there's this.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:30 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
@ jazon yes! My dad mentioned the name last time he visited, but it didn't stick, and my most cursory of google searches was not helpful.
posted by obfuscation at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by obfuscation at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’ve been dreaming about cashew pizza ever since this post from SituationNormal last week.
Like, I got a big thing of cashews and Mrs Glaucon came back from a work trip Friday, and I was pretty excited that we might get pizza but she was all fried food-ed out from eating all week at the Calgary Stampede for work.
So hopefully this week I make it happen. I hope you all have wonderful pizza in your near future.
posted by glaucon at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Like, I got a big thing of cashews and Mrs Glaucon came back from a work trip Friday, and I was pretty excited that we might get pizza but she was all fried food-ed out from eating all week at the Calgary Stampede for work.
So hopefully this week I make it happen. I hope you all have wonderful pizza in your near future.
posted by glaucon at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Creating the Pompeii Pizza. Where "E Plluribus Unum" comes from-- a poem by Virgil about making pesto.
_Lizard Music_ by Pinkwater starts with a spirted defense of anchovies on pizza.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
_Lizard Music_ by Pinkwater starts with a spirted defense of anchovies on pizza.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 10:32 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
"I made the mistake of ordering pizza that was the local style made with Provel."
I, for one, welcome St. Louis style pizza in all its Provel-covered glory. I grew up near but not in St. Louis and I love, love, love Imo's pizza in particular and St. Louis-style in general. It's definitely a comfort food. I'd choose it for my last meal, preferably with an Orange Freeze from Steak 'n Shake to wash it down.
Having moved to the East Coast after a few years back in St. Louis I can't overstate how much I miss Imo's pizza...
If you find Provel* off-putting there's a few local restaurants on or near The Hill neighborhood that have the same kind of pizza with traditional pizza cheese. If memory serves, Joey B's On the Hill has it, and so does Guido's Pizzeria & Tapas. Sadly the best purveyor of St. Louis Style Pizza without Provel shut down around the pandemic (Cicero's in U-City).
* Provel is basically the Velveeta of pizza cheese. Legally it cannot be called cheese, but processed cheese product. More about Provel for the curious.
posted by jzb at 10:37 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
I, for one, welcome St. Louis style pizza in all its Provel-covered glory. I grew up near but not in St. Louis and I love, love, love Imo's pizza in particular and St. Louis-style in general. It's definitely a comfort food. I'd choose it for my last meal, preferably with an Orange Freeze from Steak 'n Shake to wash it down.
Having moved to the East Coast after a few years back in St. Louis I can't overstate how much I miss Imo's pizza...
If you find Provel* off-putting there's a few local restaurants on or near The Hill neighborhood that have the same kind of pizza with traditional pizza cheese. If memory serves, Joey B's On the Hill has it, and so does Guido's Pizzeria & Tapas. Sadly the best purveyor of St. Louis Style Pizza without Provel shut down around the pandemic (Cicero's in U-City).
* Provel is basically the Velveeta of pizza cheese. Legally it cannot be called cheese, but processed cheese product. More about Provel for the curious.
posted by jzb at 10:37 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Deep dish is amazing and given the choice between that and a regular pizza I will choose the deep dish every time. As for what goes on it go nuts. I don't care. Eat whatever you like. I dream for but have never seen a Thanksgiving pizza with a crust made of stuffing and topped with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, etc.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Repping Chicagoland here: deep dish is only something we eat for a change of pace.
Chicago's actual go-to, regular choice for pizza is square cut, tavern style pizza.
What Chicago actually loves is pizza debate and telling people they are wrong about Chicago pizza.
posted by srboisvert at 10:50 AM on July 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
Chicago's actual go-to, regular choice for pizza is square cut, tavern style pizza.
What Chicago actually loves is pizza debate and telling people they are wrong about Chicago pizza.
posted by srboisvert at 10:50 AM on July 17, 2023 [10 favorites]
My radical Pizza take is that I prefer Neapolitan style Margherita pizzas. San Marzano tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala (or Fior di Latte) and, most importantly, bread that has been allowed to rise for a few days. The bread is so soft that you can roll up the pizza, or fold it into a Portafoglio and carry it with you.
When we make pizza at home, we just use a simple passata, some fresh mozzarella and prepare the dough the night before. Easy and delicious.
That said, I also love Pizza al Taglio when its made with a thick, focaccia crust.
posted by vacapinta at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
When we make pizza at home, we just use a simple passata, some fresh mozzarella and prepare the dough the night before. Easy and delicious.
That said, I also love Pizza al Taglio when its made with a thick, focaccia crust.
posted by vacapinta at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Pizza topping conversation? You know I'm plugging for green olives again
Tuna (from a can) and green olives: the pizza of my childhood (always homemade). It's actually pretty damn good.
posted by Dysk at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Tuna (from a can) and green olives: the pizza of my childhood (always homemade). It's actually pretty damn good.
posted by Dysk at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'll eat probably almost anything-ish on pizza, as long as there are toppings, because plain cheese pizza is bo-ring.
I will note that office kitten is doing well, went to the vet, is officially a girl kitty without FIV, and my boss spent her Friday night waiting for the kitten to poop so a poop sample could go to the vet....which happened around 1 a.m. Kitten so far gets along with the dog, but the real test is going to be whether or not kitten gets along with the big ol' male cat or has to find a new home if not. Fingers crossed.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
I will note that office kitten is doing well, went to the vet, is officially a girl kitty without FIV, and my boss spent her Friday night waiting for the kitten to poop so a poop sample could go to the vet....which happened around 1 a.m. Kitten so far gets along with the dog, but the real test is going to be whether or not kitten gets along with the big ol' male cat or has to find a new home if not. Fingers crossed.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
the real test is going to be whether or not kitten gets along with the big ol' male cat or has to find a new home if not
Hoping they get along well or at least agree to ignore one another. Since it's a kitten I am optimistic about your chances, especially since with a male cat. In my limited experience, boy cats tend to be less territorial and are more apt to make friends with kittens. Sending good thoughts.
posted by jzb at 11:06 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Hoping they get along well or at least agree to ignore one another. Since it's a kitten I am optimistic about your chances, especially since with a male cat. In my limited experience, boy cats tend to be less territorial and are more apt to make friends with kittens. Sending good thoughts.
posted by jzb at 11:06 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I was the weird kid who hated pizza, and so was not excited about Book-it despite reading voraciously and basically ate nothing but desserts at all birthday/classroom parties throughout childhood.
I have since come around, although I'm still picky about what pizzas I will eat. Very little sauce, lots of garlicky and salty toppings, please and thank you. Crust thickness is flexible, but absolutely no deep dish or STL pizza, abominations both.
posted by the primroses were over at 11:12 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have since come around, although I'm still picky about what pizzas I will eat. Very little sauce, lots of garlicky and salty toppings, please and thank you. Crust thickness is flexible, but absolutely no deep dish or STL pizza, abominations both.
posted by the primroses were over at 11:12 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh! We have some kind of wildlife in our walls / ceiling. We've only heard them in one particular place above the kitchen, and only during the daytime, so it's probably ... squirrels? Sounds too big to be birds or mice. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not going to be cheap to remediate, so that'll be fun. I'm just hoping we can get away without having to tear open the kitchen ceiling or remove the cabinets.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:12 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 11:12 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
When I was a kid, there was the obligatory North Jersey Pizza Place in town (well, two, but the one in question was by the bowling alley and the movie theatre, so it got most of the business). It was closed about 20 years ago when the entire strip mall (including the bowling alley and the movie theatre) got torn down and rebuilt as a brand new strip mall with a very large grocery store and some ancillary stores nearby.
I have had much better pizza since then (and much much worse, which keeps me from moving back to Seattle, along with the city's inability to make a bagel), but sometimes, when I'm in the area, I hit another pizzeria that's kind of cheap for a couple of slices and a can of diet Coke. Sure, you have to drain a little grease off of it, but it's the kind of place I can do a proper Pizza Fold and eat it the way that God intended, which you can't do with a lot of other kinds of pizza. It's a little trip to the better parts of my childhood, like remembering May 1978 when Star Wars finally came to our movie theatre, and we were waiting in a line that went two-thirds of the way around the strip mall, and Angela's having a "movie line special" where they would bring you a pizza and drinks in line, so you could have dinner when waiting.
posted by mephron at 11:21 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have had much better pizza since then (and much much worse, which keeps me from moving back to Seattle, along with the city's inability to make a bagel), but sometimes, when I'm in the area, I hit another pizzeria that's kind of cheap for a couple of slices and a can of diet Coke. Sure, you have to drain a little grease off of it, but it's the kind of place I can do a proper Pizza Fold and eat it the way that God intended, which you can't do with a lot of other kinds of pizza. It's a little trip to the better parts of my childhood, like remembering May 1978 when Star Wars finally came to our movie theatre, and we were waiting in a line that went two-thirds of the way around the strip mall, and Angela's having a "movie line special" where they would bring you a pizza and drinks in line, so you could have dinner when waiting.
posted by mephron at 11:21 AM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just don't get stuck with the weird little corner nugget piece.
We call that triangle piece "Mr. Snacky" and that's always the first piece I eat. Don't you go disrespecting Mr. Snacky or there will be words.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
We call that triangle piece "Mr. Snacky" and that's always the first piece I eat. Don't you go disrespecting Mr. Snacky or there will be words.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [11 favorites]
Oh man, I just had an unbidden flashback to how mom used to make herself a personal "pizza" - a slice of toasted white bread, ketchup (!), and a couple slices of sharp white cheddar block cheese, and a little oregano on top. The idea still makes me shudder.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Squirrels need to eat and drink, so they are getting in and out somewhere. Look just above the gutters especially at a corner or valley for that's a weak spot. Once you find where they get in you can install a one way exit. They can get out but not back in. Then you can seal the hole up.
You can also buy a small humane squirrel trap and bait it. However you might catch a number of squirrels before you catch your squirrel.
posted by yyz at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
You can also buy a small humane squirrel trap and bait it. However you might catch a number of squirrels before you catch your squirrel.
posted by yyz at 11:24 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Blessings of the masses, blessings of the State, glory to the brave free threaders of Metafilter.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:26 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 11:26 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
Mmmm, pizza.
Back when I came of pizza-loving age, back in the 80s in a southern Minnesota college town, we had Angelo's pizza. Thin crust, cut into squares, that was just so good. As a freshman, we would play hall frisbee against the Juniors across the hall, and the loser had to buy. I had a unique technique, and we never lost. And then Angelo's closed.
But 20 years later, here in Seattle, up popped Zayda Buddies pizza, which was just like Angelo's, and so good. Of course they went out of business with some sketchy accounting shit going on about 7 years ago. Sigh.
And Green Mill up in Minneapolis was my first encounter with Chicago-style deep dish. And boy have I been craving that of late.
And despite my dislike of both green olives and mushrooms, put them on a pizza, and it kind of tastes just like a pepperoni pizza. It's very odd.
posted by Windopaene at 11:29 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Back when I came of pizza-loving age, back in the 80s in a southern Minnesota college town, we had Angelo's pizza. Thin crust, cut into squares, that was just so good. As a freshman, we would play hall frisbee against the Juniors across the hall, and the loser had to buy. I had a unique technique, and we never lost. And then Angelo's closed.
But 20 years later, here in Seattle, up popped Zayda Buddies pizza, which was just like Angelo's, and so good. Of course they went out of business with some sketchy accounting shit going on about 7 years ago. Sigh.
And Green Mill up in Minneapolis was my first encounter with Chicago-style deep dish. And boy have I been craving that of late.
And despite my dislike of both green olives and mushrooms, put them on a pizza, and it kind of tastes just like a pepperoni pizza. It's very odd.
posted by Windopaene at 11:29 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
There is nothing wrong with pineapple on a pizza, especially when accompanied by ham.
Eating hot pineapple isn't even especially new - - the relatively conservative tastes of 1950's America were fine with Pineapple Ham.
posted by fairmettle at 11:33 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Eating hot pineapple isn't even especially new - - the relatively conservative tastes of 1950's America were fine with Pineapple Ham.
posted by fairmettle at 11:33 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just applied for a job that required a "transcript" but it didn't specify what kind of transcript. I jumped to the conclusion that they meant a college transcript and then had to figure out how to get a thing I have never needed in the 29 years since I last set foot on campus. It turned out that I could order it online for $7 through some authorized third party service I'd never had reason to know about, so now I have a PDF.
What I still don't have is a degree, but now I have sent an email to the administrative assistant in the right department to find out what, if anything, I can do to appeal processes that happened three decades ago and maybe rectify that. I'm not hopeful, but my sister-in-law is an educator and administrator at a different university and she's been telling me for years to appeal.
Short version of what I'd be appealing: I lack credits for a couple required classes that were only offered first thing in the day, but where the professor would mark you absent if you were late, and where three absences were grounds for a failing grade. I got high scores on all the tests and homework, but I failed the classes because I was late a lot. I now have a clinical diagnosis of a sleep phase disorder, but back then if you were a college student late for things it was just assumed to be your fault for staying up late all the time. Even when I sought treatment the clinic assumed my problems were self-inflicted. Even typing this, it's weird to think of it as a problem I might actually be able to solve and not just a thing I failed because the system failed me.
posted by fedward at 11:41 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
What I still don't have is a degree, but now I have sent an email to the administrative assistant in the right department to find out what, if anything, I can do to appeal processes that happened three decades ago and maybe rectify that. I'm not hopeful, but my sister-in-law is an educator and administrator at a different university and she's been telling me for years to appeal.
Short version of what I'd be appealing: I lack credits for a couple required classes that were only offered first thing in the day, but where the professor would mark you absent if you were late, and where three absences were grounds for a failing grade. I got high scores on all the tests and homework, but I failed the classes because I was late a lot. I now have a clinical diagnosis of a sleep phase disorder, but back then if you were a college student late for things it was just assumed to be your fault for staying up late all the time. Even when I sought treatment the clinic assumed my problems were self-inflicted. Even typing this, it's weird to think of it as a problem I might actually be able to solve and not just a thing I failed because the system failed me.
posted by fedward at 11:41 AM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
It’s been stupid hot here in Arizona. It’s always hot in the summer but this heat has a lot more staying power; we’re on track right now for the hottest July ever in southern AZ. The worst part? The boredom. There’s really nothing going on in town, understandably. A lot of places will even close for a vacation mid-summer. Can’t hike or bike unless you get started before sunrise so that you can be done as early as possible. Campgrounds these days are busier than ever so it’s really hard to get a spot, and even some of the higher elevation places are seeing triple digits. I tell people this is us paying the bill for the great winters we have here. October, come on down.
There’s a Chicago style pizza place here that has earned very high marks from the transplants. I like to get the deep dish there… that way I get more sauce and the sauce there is phenomenal. I remember a Chicago friend telling me to hit up Lou Malnati’s if I had the chance since they’re in Arizona now. I did get there, and my review was “it’s not bad but it can’t hold a candle to Rocco’s.” Their pizza of the month is always inventive and sometimes straight up fun.
posted by azpenguin at 11:55 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
There’s a Chicago style pizza place here that has earned very high marks from the transplants. I like to get the deep dish there… that way I get more sauce and the sauce there is phenomenal. I remember a Chicago friend telling me to hit up Lou Malnati’s if I had the chance since they’re in Arizona now. I did get there, and my review was “it’s not bad but it can’t hold a candle to Rocco’s.” Their pizza of the month is always inventive and sometimes straight up fun.
posted by azpenguin at 11:55 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
Speaking of Sweden, my little girl, aka Tiny Croft though she's getting less tiny all the time, has started reading to us at bedtime sometimes instead of the other way around.
Last night, she's reading a library book we got which is maybe slightly ambitious for her reading level, so I'm there to help with big words and explain context . The book is about a Swedish boy who's come to Minnesota (apparently during the last great Swedish famine of 1867-69) and must adjust to life in a new country. There's mention of making bread from tree bark back in Sweden, and this kind of confused her. So I'm explaining that he and his family came to America because there wasn't any food in Sweden, which threw her. Why would they not have food in Sweden, so I added, "and this story was a long time ago. You can tell from the pictures too, see? Their clothes look kind of old and they're in a log cabin."
"Yeah," she says, "I think it's the 80s."
Damn kid.
posted by Naberius at 12:00 PM on July 17, 2023 [16 favorites]
Last night, she's reading a library book we got which is maybe slightly ambitious for her reading level, so I'm there to help with big words and explain context . The book is about a Swedish boy who's come to Minnesota (apparently during the last great Swedish famine of 1867-69) and must adjust to life in a new country. There's mention of making bread from tree bark back in Sweden, and this kind of confused her. So I'm explaining that he and his family came to America because there wasn't any food in Sweden, which threw her. Why would they not have food in Sweden, so I added, "and this story was a long time ago. You can tell from the pictures too, see? Their clothes look kind of old and they're in a log cabin."
"Yeah," she says, "I think it's the 80s."
Damn kid.
posted by Naberius at 12:00 PM on July 17, 2023 [16 favorites]
A college friend had a theory that the quality of pizza was connected to how close you were to Italy. This was his explanation for why Chicago Deep Dish was (to his mind) inferior to New York's pizza, which itself came in second compared to New Haven, CT's pizza.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
I just prefer thin crust sausage pizzas now. I've had other preferences over the years, but that's what I've settled on in my old(ish) age.
We're getting ready for Barbie. We've got the clothes picked out, and I'm apparently getting a mani/pedi soon. The Glee Gal's undecided about my getting my fingernails painted, but I'm up for it, I think.
And finally, our oldest dog's now wearing a Freestyle Libre GCM, and her blood sugar's way too high. She's on insulin already, so we're not sure what's going on there.
posted by Spike Glee at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
We're getting ready for Barbie. We've got the clothes picked out, and I'm apparently getting a mani/pedi soon. The Glee Gal's undecided about my getting my fingernails painted, but I'm up for it, I think.
And finally, our oldest dog's now wearing a Freestyle Libre GCM, and her blood sugar's way too high. She's on insulin already, so we're not sure what's going on there.
posted by Spike Glee at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
"Yeah," she says, "I think it's the 80s."
My kid (9) recently described something as old by saying it was "like something from the 1990s." I promptly turned to dust and blew away on a gentle breeze.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:05 PM on July 17, 2023 [14 favorites]
My kid (9) recently described something as old by saying it was "like something from the 1990s." I promptly turned to dust and blew away on a gentle breeze.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:05 PM on July 17, 2023 [14 favorites]
I get spinach on my own pizza all the time, but I don't make others eat it if we are sharing. This is a layer of whole leaves under the cheese and they crisp up nicely on thin crust. I was in Syracuse, NY in May and ordered a pepperoni pizza with spinach from a local place. I got pieces with wet piles of shredded spinach on top of the cheese. I am not sure why you want wet globs in random spots like that when you could have a nice sprinkle of crunchy stuff spread out over the piece. Is that an east coast thing?
posted by soelo at 12:07 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by soelo at 12:07 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Windowpaene: Green Mill up in Minneapolis was my first encounter with Chicago-style deep dish. And boy have I been craving that of late.
Former 'Mill employee here, of the Grand Ave. location in St. Paul. (I worked the Box Office take-out operation in like 1989-92-ish.)
And I still make pizza like that: for my birthday this year, I finally got a "duck-bill" set of pan grippers so I can flip the finished deep dish pizzas out of their pans properly.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:34 PM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
Former 'Mill employee here, of the Grand Ave. location in St. Paul. (I worked the Box Office take-out operation in like 1989-92-ish.)
And I still make pizza like that: for my birthday this year, I finally got a "duck-bill" set of pan grippers so I can flip the finished deep dish pizzas out of their pans properly.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:34 PM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
The primary pizza theory in my circle is that it's like sex. Even mediocre pizza is pretty great.
I grew up in Ohio eating what is now called Dayton pizza - thin, chewy, crust, some sauce, cheese, and salt on the bottom of the crust. It is traditionally cut in small squares. We always order it with pepperoni & green olives, and it must be accompanied by lots of beer because it's so salty and also, Beer. I like Cassano's.
Now I want some Cassano's pizza.
posted by theora55 at 12:43 PM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
I grew up in Ohio eating what is now called Dayton pizza - thin, chewy, crust, some sauce, cheese, and salt on the bottom of the crust. It is traditionally cut in small squares. We always order it with pepperoni & green olives, and it must be accompanied by lots of beer because it's so salty and also, Beer. I like Cassano's.
Now I want some Cassano's pizza.
posted by theora55 at 12:43 PM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]
My favourite pizza from a classic delivery-style place is pineapple, black olives, jalapeños and mushrooms. What is also great about this pizza is that partners and roommates will never want to share it.
posted by vanitas at 1:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by vanitas at 1:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
The bit in brackets in the title is because the extended group of relatives were in a Pizza Express some years back. (This is a slightly sad British pizza chain, known for being mainly for tourists, and divorced dads when it's their weekend for looking after the children). We were there for the 80th birthday party of an aunt; she asked about the pizza offer of the night, and was told that the pizza she wanted "comes with dough balls".
At this exact moment, a senior person at the next table, in a completely different conversation, loudly says "Don't we all."
Cue nearly every teenager and twenty-something in our gathering sniggering, spluttering, or making the pretence of going outside for a cigarette break but in reality to crack up laughing.
"Comes with dough balls" has become a recurring saying or greeting amongst us since. The phrase has been woven into one wedding best mans speech and one funeral oratory since, both to good effect.
posted by Wordshore at 1:12 PM on July 17, 2023 [16 favorites]
At this exact moment, a senior person at the next table, in a completely different conversation, loudly says "Don't we all."
Cue nearly every teenager and twenty-something in our gathering sniggering, spluttering, or making the pretence of going outside for a cigarette break but in reality to crack up laughing.
"Comes with dough balls" has become a recurring saying or greeting amongst us since. The phrase has been woven into one wedding best mans speech and one funeral oratory since, both to good effect.
posted by Wordshore at 1:12 PM on July 17, 2023 [16 favorites]
My kid (9) recently described something as old by saying it was "like something from the 1990s." I promptly turned to dust and blew away on a gentle breeze.
I was working with a teenager who was talking about having seen “the really old” Star Wars movies. This conversation probably happened in 2012 or so. There was a lot of confusion until I realized she was talking about The Phantom Menace.
posted by Night_owl at 2:27 PM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
I was working with a teenager who was talking about having seen “the really old” Star Wars movies. This conversation probably happened in 2012 or so. There was a lot of confusion until I realized she was talking about The Phantom Menace.
posted by Night_owl at 2:27 PM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]
I don't like pineapple (or any other sweet ingredient) on pizza, but I have no idea why some folks are so militantly against it.
I'm guessing because most people's first experience with it was canned pineapple mixed with a bunch of flavors that don't mesh well with pineapple. The "Caribbean Queen" pizza described above sounds great to me. I think sweet toppings can work, but it takes a bit more effort/thought to do them well.
posted by coffeecat at 2:30 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing because most people's first experience with it was canned pineapple mixed with a bunch of flavors that don't mesh well with pineapple. The "Caribbean Queen" pizza described above sounds great to me. I think sweet toppings can work, but it takes a bit more effort/thought to do them well.
posted by coffeecat at 2:30 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
My kid (9) recently described something as old by saying it was "like something from the 1990s."
I recently had the realization that the 90s are to today, what the 60s were to the 90s. Which definitely counted as old to me, as a kid in the 90s.
posted by coffeecat at 2:33 PM on July 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
I recently had the realization that the 90s are to today, what the 60s were to the 90s. Which definitely counted as old to me, as a kid in the 90s.
posted by coffeecat at 2:33 PM on July 17, 2023 [8 favorites]
This section from the bland-pizza link made me laugh out loud. Thanks, Wordshore!
Please calm down.
Baked beans do not belong on pizza! That’s probably why Heinz stopped selling baked bean pizzas 19 years ago, because nobody on Earth wanted to eat them.
So why did they bring it back?
Because the world is on fire. Will that do?
Next year I am planting way more peas, the kind with edible pods. That sentence right there should tell you how lucky and privileged I am. Like, I don’t want to get out of bed in the mornings and so I don’t bother doing that for several hours past my usual time to rise. But I don’t have any reason to feel that way, while I do have two extremely healthy tomato plants with tiny fruit that will ripen soon and flowers on my patio that are still blooming. So all in all, I’m having a much better summer than at least half of the Northern Hemisphere.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:35 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Please calm down.
Baked beans do not belong on pizza! That’s probably why Heinz stopped selling baked bean pizzas 19 years ago, because nobody on Earth wanted to eat them.
So why did they bring it back?
Because the world is on fire. Will that do?
Next year I am planting way more peas, the kind with edible pods. That sentence right there should tell you how lucky and privileged I am. Like, I don’t want to get out of bed in the mornings and so I don’t bother doing that for several hours past my usual time to rise. But I don’t have any reason to feel that way, while I do have two extremely healthy tomato plants with tiny fruit that will ripen soon and flowers on my patio that are still blooming. So all in all, I’m having a much better summer than at least half of the Northern Hemisphere.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:35 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Are "dough balls" like garlic knots or something?
posted by lkc at 2:36 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by lkc at 2:36 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I worked at one of the thin crust Chicago places in the article DirtyOldTown linked to, and I have a lot of nostalgia for their pizza. We were allocated a $5 allowance for food during our shifts, and that just covered the cost of an individual-sized pizza with 2 toppings. I quickly learned that my favorite was shrimp and pepperoni. What a lovely combination.
In later years, I've also found that potato is a great topping. And I do like some pineapple as well. But spice it up a bit: instead of ham and pineapple, try pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeno. Much better flavor and texture. I get that some people just don't like to mix sweet and savory, but I love it.
posted by hydra77 at 2:53 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
In later years, I've also found that potato is a great topping. And I do like some pineapple as well. But spice it up a bit: instead of ham and pineapple, try pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeno. Much better flavor and texture. I get that some people just don't like to mix sweet and savory, but I love it.
posted by hydra77 at 2:53 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
From the "blandest pizza" link: cheesy fish pizza
That would be a good band name.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:09 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
That would be a good band name.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:09 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
srboisvert: What Chicago actually loves is pizza debate and telling people they are wrong about Chicago pizza.
Reminds me of the times I've been set right by Italians about food. Obviously I disagree, but I'm at a major disadvantage: being wrong.
..then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid, like:
hydra77: instead of ham and pineapple, try pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeno
...plus capers and anchovies for meaty, salty, spicy, sweet, tangy (from the pineapple acids and possibly jalapeño vinegar) mix-up.
posted by k3ninho at 3:24 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Reminds me of the times I've been set right by Italians about food. Obviously I disagree, but I'm at a major disadvantage: being wrong.
..then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid, like:
hydra77: instead of ham and pineapple, try pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeno
...plus capers and anchovies for meaty, salty, spicy, sweet, tangy (from the pineapple acids and possibly jalapeño vinegar) mix-up.
posted by k3ninho at 3:24 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Pineapple Acids Mix-Up would also be a good band name.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:41 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:41 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
EmpressCallipygos:
As a person who is unreasonably invested in everyone understanding that New Haven pizza is The Best, I really liked the distance from Italy theory. Until I remembered the atrocity that is Rhode Island pizza.
posted by Baethan at 3:48 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
As a person who is unreasonably invested in everyone understanding that New Haven pizza is The Best, I really liked the distance from Italy theory. Until I remembered the atrocity that is Rhode Island pizza.
posted by Baethan at 3:48 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
So....y'all, I just got laid off.
Leads on secretarial work or office manager work in the New York area, much appreciated right now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
Leads on secretarial work or office manager work in the New York area, much appreciated right now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:01 PM on July 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
Baethan, as a non-Rhode Islander now resident in Rhode Island, allow me to say: I wouldn't eat that shit even while drunk.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:05 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:05 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Empress, are you on LinkedIn? MeMail and we can connect: a bigger network is always useful.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:06 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wenestvedt at 4:06 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yep, just sent you the profile.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:18 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:18 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
So....y'all, I just got laid off.
Oh, jeez. I am so very sorry!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 4:37 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh, jeez. I am so very sorry!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 4:37 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
....it.....it might be okay.
So: I got this job through the employment agency based at the business campus near where I work. they don't get very many EAs, so when I walked in there 3 years ago, one guy started looking at my resume, and then immediately got up and brought 2 more people in the room and I had like 4 leads right away. One of them panned out into this job only 3 weeks later.
So I was already planning on heading back to the employment office this week. But while I was on the web site, I checked what they had for postings....and there is an EA position that was just posted, for the same money, and they're looking for someone who's had experience in construction.
I sent them my resume, telling them I was going to be coming in on Wednesday to discuss further. And then I called my boss to see if he knew anything (he encouraged me to stay in touch). I read him the ad, and his response was "....damn, you've got everything they're looking for." He is writing me a letter of reference tomorrow so I can bring it with me on Wednesday. I'll call him after I learn the company name; he's pretty connected here in the campus and I wouldn't put it past him to go pay them a visit to say "seriously, you want this person". (He was literally in tears during the meeting where I got the layoff news, and fought like ABSOLUTE BLAZES to keep me on.)
So....if I"m really, really lucky, I may end up rolling out of one job right into another one. We'll see.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:18 PM on July 17, 2023 [17 favorites]
So: I got this job through the employment agency based at the business campus near where I work. they don't get very many EAs, so when I walked in there 3 years ago, one guy started looking at my resume, and then immediately got up and brought 2 more people in the room and I had like 4 leads right away. One of them panned out into this job only 3 weeks later.
So I was already planning on heading back to the employment office this week. But while I was on the web site, I checked what they had for postings....and there is an EA position that was just posted, for the same money, and they're looking for someone who's had experience in construction.
I sent them my resume, telling them I was going to be coming in on Wednesday to discuss further. And then I called my boss to see if he knew anything (he encouraged me to stay in touch). I read him the ad, and his response was "....damn, you've got everything they're looking for." He is writing me a letter of reference tomorrow so I can bring it with me on Wednesday. I'll call him after I learn the company name; he's pretty connected here in the campus and I wouldn't put it past him to go pay them a visit to say "seriously, you want this person". (He was literally in tears during the meeting where I got the layoff news, and fought like ABSOLUTE BLAZES to keep me on.)
So....if I"m really, really lucky, I may end up rolling out of one job right into another one. We'll see.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:18 PM on July 17, 2023 [17 favorites]
The primary pizza theory in my circle is that it's like sex. Even mediocre pizza is pretty great.
See, I think that pizza is almost entirely unlike sex, in that even mediocre pizza is pretty great.
Are "dough balls" like garlic knots or something?
The clue is very much in the name: they are balls of dough, baked, then brushed with some garlic "butter".
posted by Dysk at 5:47 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
See, I think that pizza is almost entirely unlike sex, in that even mediocre pizza is pretty great.
Are "dough balls" like garlic knots or something?
The clue is very much in the name: they are balls of dough, baked, then brushed with some garlic "butter".
posted by Dysk at 5:47 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm partial to Chicago-style stuffed pizza, preferably with spinach. Yes, I'm aware that it's considered more of a casserole than a pizza. No, I do not care, because it tastes extremely good.
We've only heard them in one particular place above the kitchen, and only during the daytime, so it's probably ... squirrels? Sounds too big to be birds or mice.
We've had to evict six squirrels from the attic over the past four years. As mentioned above, it takes a one-way trap and then closing the hole. (We kept getting squirrel invasions because it's a 19th-c. house with wooden soffits, many of which turned out to have been thoroughly chewed. Eventually, after one too many bats wandered in, we had some serious remediation work done.)
Mice are surprisingly loud, though.
I am currently running up against a 6000-word limit on a book chapter for a "companion," and so am wondering if most readers really have a yen to know about the internal organization of Nonconformist denominations. Anyway, after that it's back to my own book.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:53 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
We've only heard them in one particular place above the kitchen, and only during the daytime, so it's probably ... squirrels? Sounds too big to be birds or mice.
We've had to evict six squirrels from the attic over the past four years. As mentioned above, it takes a one-way trap and then closing the hole. (We kept getting squirrel invasions because it's a 19th-c. house with wooden soffits, many of which turned out to have been thoroughly chewed. Eventually, after one too many bats wandered in, we had some serious remediation work done.)
Mice are surprisingly loud, though.
I am currently running up against a 6000-word limit on a book chapter for a "companion," and so am wondering if most readers really have a yen to know about the internal organization of Nonconformist denominations. Anyway, after that it's back to my own book.
posted by thomas j wise at 5:53 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not pizza related, but the last Behind the Bastards podcast (parts 1, 2) was about "How the Dilbert Guy lost his mind" and briefly mentioned his Metafilter sockpuppet.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 8:19 PM on July 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 8:19 PM on July 17, 2023 [7 favorites]
NEVER FORGET plannedchaos...
posted by Windopaene at 9:08 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 9:08 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
"Anchovies, anchovies, you're so delicious. I love you more than all the other fishes."- Dawn Summers, 2002
posted by Coaticass at 9:55 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Coaticass at 9:55 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]
In the late 90s I’d go to Florence Pizza in Florence, MA because I loved their “pick-me-up special.” If you walked into the store and ordered a medium pizza you’d get a second free medium pizza which you could either take or donate - donate meant that you’d pay it forward for a medium pizza. Anyone who needed food could ask for a free pizza and get a donated pizza. Mostly I donated, sometimes I ate a donated pizza.
posted by bendy at 11:29 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by bendy at 11:29 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]
Empress, so sorry for your loss; may this be opportunity be everything you need and want in a job.
thomas j wise: I am currently running up against a 6000-word limit on a book chapter for a "companion," and so am wondering if most readers really have a yen to know about the internal organization of Nonconformist denominations.
It's splitters the whole way down, right? Who and Why are always interesting in these kind of affairs so, if there's not room in the book to flesh out human drivers, "true crime" needs a sibling genre in "organisational chaos" storytelling.
posted by k3ninho at 12:13 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
thomas j wise: I am currently running up against a 6000-word limit on a book chapter for a "companion," and so am wondering if most readers really have a yen to know about the internal organization of Nonconformist denominations.
It's splitters the whole way down, right? Who and Why are always interesting in these kind of affairs so, if there's not room in the book to flesh out human drivers, "true crime" needs a sibling genre in "organisational chaos" storytelling.
posted by k3ninho at 12:13 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
The tired joke about bland British food contains a lot more projection than truth.
The UK didn't invade everywhere take spices - the focus was on tea, cotton, sugar, tobacco, looting stuff and later rubber, none of which make good pizza toppings. OK, maybe tea. The Dutch had a big focus on spices and... let's just say you can adapt the joke.
The British also eat more spicy food than most, if not all, countries in Europe and I wouldn't be surprised if they eat more than the USA. It's not the 1970s here any more, and while this might come as a shock, not all British people are White.
I've had baked beans on a pizza (home made, with better beans) it works well if you also put kimchi on top. Kim Chi is amazingly good with pizza. Swedish banana pizza is also fun. Let people enjoy things.
posted by BinaryApe at 12:45 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
The UK didn't invade everywhere take spices - the focus was on tea, cotton, sugar, tobacco, looting stuff and later rubber, none of which make good pizza toppings. OK, maybe tea. The Dutch had a big focus on spices and... let's just say you can adapt the joke.
The British also eat more spicy food than most, if not all, countries in Europe and I wouldn't be surprised if they eat more than the USA. It's not the 1970s here any more, and while this might come as a shock, not all British people are White.
I've had baked beans on a pizza (home made, with better beans) it works well if you also put kimchi on top. Kim Chi is amazingly good with pizza. Swedish banana pizza is also fun. Let people enjoy things.
posted by BinaryApe at 12:45 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Empress, good luck with your search, I'm sure it will end well. And what a nice boss.
I am forever impressed with the MetaFilter community's endless appetite for pizza arguments. But it is endlessly interesting. My favorites are plain, anchovies or potato -- in no particular order. And a Shawarma pizza is surprisingly good. I've noticed that when I wake up after a party where a multitude of pizzas were eaten, those that are left are the weird ones, not my favorites. Which makes me think that people just order them for fun or to impress someone (who?), but in reality they prefer the same as me.
posted by mumimor at 12:47 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I am forever impressed with the MetaFilter community's endless appetite for pizza arguments. But it is endlessly interesting. My favorites are plain, anchovies or potato -- in no particular order. And a Shawarma pizza is surprisingly good. I've noticed that when I wake up after a party where a multitude of pizzas were eaten, those that are left are the weird ones, not my favorites. Which makes me think that people just order them for fun or to impress someone (who?), but in reality they prefer the same as me.
posted by mumimor at 12:47 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, on blandness: Finnish food is considered bland even by Germans, but the food I've eaten there had lovely flavours - light on herbs and spices, but the ingredients themselves were very good.
Japanese food is also often "bland" in this way, and can also taste amazing. I've eaten plain raw tofu in Japan that was astonishingly good*.
Good cooking isn't just about loading something with spices, it's quality of ingredients and attention to the cooking process.
A lot of old-style British food isn't lacking because it's bland, it's lacking because the UK tends to focus on price not quality. It's just bad.
All of this is leading up to me defending MY baked beans pizza, which was much higher quality than Heinz's frozen novelty pizza.
* I did get back from Japan absolutely craving a good curry, though
posted by BinaryApe at 1:15 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Japanese food is also often "bland" in this way, and can also taste amazing. I've eaten plain raw tofu in Japan that was astonishingly good*.
Good cooking isn't just about loading something with spices, it's quality of ingredients and attention to the cooking process.
A lot of old-style British food isn't lacking because it's bland, it's lacking because the UK tends to focus on price not quality. It's just bad.
All of this is leading up to me defending MY baked beans pizza, which was much higher quality than Heinz's frozen novelty pizza.
* I did get back from Japan absolutely craving a good curry, though
posted by BinaryApe at 1:15 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
BinaryApe, there should be a movement for good bland food. The biggest problem in food culture is not blandness, but the over-seasoning the food industry uses to compensate for bad quality produce. And this has begun to spill into home cooking during the last 30 years or so. I have a ton of old cookbooks and newspaper/magazine clippings that I enjoy reading, but that I also cook from now and then. And back in the day, good books would have a lot about how to find the best produce and prepare it carefully. There was also Betty Crocker, which was horrible.
But now, almost all recipes seem to be "inventive" or "spicy". And I am all for spicy, that's not it. It's just that at this time of year, simply prepared seasonal vegetables are sooooo good. I hate it when I go somewhere, at someones home or a restaurant, and the delicious new potatoes and fresh fish have been covered with noise. Even garlic can be a distraction sometimes.
posted by mumimor at 1:32 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
But now, almost all recipes seem to be "inventive" or "spicy". And I am all for spicy, that's not it. It's just that at this time of year, simply prepared seasonal vegetables are sooooo good. I hate it when I go somewhere, at someones home or a restaurant, and the delicious new potatoes and fresh fish have been covered with noise. Even garlic can be a distraction sometimes.
posted by mumimor at 1:32 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
A lot of old-style British food isn't lacking because it's bland, it's lacking because the UK tends to focus on price not quality. It's just bad.
Doesn't the incredibly long hangover of rationing and scarcity, post-WWII, have something to do with it, too? That lasted for decades, AIUI.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:02 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Doesn't the incredibly long hangover of rationing and scarcity, post-WWII, have something to do with it, too? That lasted for decades, AIUI.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:02 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am sorry to announce that New Jersey is no longer a pizza utopia. It used to be, and there are still a few holdouts, but - not counting trendy new artisanal neapolitian pizza places in gentrified neighborhoods (I'm talking about you, Jersey City!) the standard of pizza in New Jersey has dropped far below that of its one time rival, New York City. Most places order their dough ready made from giant dough factories, and most mozarella comes from similar industrial sites. That is not how it used to be when I was growing up. A pizza place would be run by Italian Americans, they would make their sauce and , often, mozarella on site, and offer things like zeppole, calzone, and anything else that could be stuffed in a pizza oven. Sadly, today very few are run by sons of Garibaldi. I mourn their passing.
posted by zaelic at 3:20 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by zaelic at 3:20 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Doesn't the incredibly long hangover of rationing and scarcity, post-WWII, have something to do with it, too? That lasted for decades, AIUI.
Yes and no. Rationing lasted pretty much as long in parts of the rest of Europe that have seen a very different food culture trajectory in the second half of the 20th century. Trad British food can be amazing, it's just not a big part of the staple diet here, except as ready meals.
Compared to Denmark for example, the access to spices and curry and Caribbean food is incomparably better here, but the quality of ingredients in shops in generally a little worse, and Iceland (the shop, not the country) exists.
posted by Dysk at 3:44 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yes and no. Rationing lasted pretty much as long in parts of the rest of Europe that have seen a very different food culture trajectory in the second half of the 20th century. Trad British food can be amazing, it's just not a big part of the staple diet here, except as ready meals.
Compared to Denmark for example, the access to spices and curry and Caribbean food is incomparably better here, but the quality of ingredients in shops in generally a little worse, and Iceland (the shop, not the country) exists.
posted by Dysk at 3:44 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
....Make that TWO jobs in the same business campus that I have already applied for.
And on Indeed there are a swath of jobs, one of which is walking distance from me.
I'm going to lay low today and catch my breath, but then tomorrow will start looking into the next phase.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:45 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
And on Indeed there are a swath of jobs, one of which is walking distance from me.
I'm going to lay low today and catch my breath, but then tomorrow will start looking into the next phase.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:45 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
My favourite pizza, to date, was one in Oxford. Not the England Oxford, but the one in Ohio, as I was hanging out at Miami University there (yes I was initially confused too). Ah, found it, the Lavoch in the Quarter Barrel which doesn't seem to be open any more.
Other good pizzas include one in Bristol in 2019 which was heavy on quality mushrooms, one in Loughborough in 2014 which was heavy on Mediterranean toppings, and a quite fiery pizza in the famous Motor City Brewery Company in Detroit in 2009.
Not pictured was a great pizza I had in Coventry last year, and I'm returning there imminently to track down the place again (stupidly I didn't take notes or put a picture on Flickr). If I can't find it, my default option in the city is Emmy's Pitta, a Greek cafe close to Coventry railway station where I've consistently had really good meals for bizarrely little money. Though knowing my (restaurant) luck, it'll be closed down the day before I turn up.
posted by Wordshore at 5:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Other good pizzas include one in Bristol in 2019 which was heavy on quality mushrooms, one in Loughborough in 2014 which was heavy on Mediterranean toppings, and a quite fiery pizza in the famous Motor City Brewery Company in Detroit in 2009.
Not pictured was a great pizza I had in Coventry last year, and I'm returning there imminently to track down the place again (stupidly I didn't take notes or put a picture on Flickr). If I can't find it, my default option in the city is Emmy's Pitta, a Greek cafe close to Coventry railway station where I've consistently had really good meals for bizarrely little money. Though knowing my (restaurant) luck, it'll be closed down the day before I turn up.
posted by Wordshore at 5:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
(Nothing, nothing at all, for me will ever beat the quite wonderful Panna Cotta I experienced in a tiny family restaurant in the backstreets of Madrid in 2002. Again, no picture or note and there is no way I'd ever find that place again on my own. It will forever stay as a memory within my mind, and perhaps a tiny bit of hard scale within my arteries.)
posted by Wordshore at 5:06 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordshore at 5:06 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pizza is pretty much history for me (thanks, dysfunctional gut) but my love for pizza is pretty damn profound. Back in the 90's there was a guy, Cono, who ran the pizza place by the subway and he had a way with his tomato sauce that was just *chef's kiss.* He left, eventually and they started making the sauce out of cans and it was just, blah. To get Cono's slice now you had to go up to McGuiness Blvd: turned it into a whole 'thing' - and each time the pizza was that good.
There's a place down the street from us (I was very very relieved to find out) that has remarkably consistent and good pizza. A realm balm, then about five years ago the 'other' pizza place (that closed because the owner - a teensy bit of a hot-head - locked some guy who owed him money into a basement, not for long, only a couple hours, and had to pay his debt to society) was replaced by this very ambitious couple who accidentally turned it into a really acceptable substitute - more expensive but they make a good sour-dough crust. More importantly, between these two places a Gen-u-ine Neapolitan pizzeria (in Berlin but run by Neapolitans ) opened up and what comes out of the oven there is like some gentle whisper from the god of your choice. It's glorious, shocking even. The dough is so fine you can almost tell on what day and from what field the wheat was harvested. (I spent about five years trying to duplicate competent pizza dough but German flour is... efficient. This dough was ... seductive. (I finally found a source for Italian flour and improved my dough immensely - right up to satisfactory. My really clever trick, to get a hot enough cooking surface, was to buy a pizza-stone/ also known as a granite paver from the builder's market/D.I.Y. store. One side is polished to cook on, at a kitchen store it would cost 40 bucks or something. I leave it in the oven, on the 'floor' to be heated by the lower element (the element is not exposed) until it's damn hot - takes about an hour - then put the oven on 'fan' when I make them.)
Pizza is some kind of perfect food.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:23 AM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
There's a place down the street from us (I was very very relieved to find out) that has remarkably consistent and good pizza. A realm balm, then about five years ago the 'other' pizza place (that closed because the owner - a teensy bit of a hot-head - locked some guy who owed him money into a basement, not for long, only a couple hours, and had to pay his debt to society) was replaced by this very ambitious couple who accidentally turned it into a really acceptable substitute - more expensive but they make a good sour-dough crust. More importantly, between these two places a Gen-u-ine Neapolitan pizzeria (in Berlin but run by Neapolitans ) opened up and what comes out of the oven there is like some gentle whisper from the god of your choice. It's glorious, shocking even. The dough is so fine you can almost tell on what day and from what field the wheat was harvested. (I spent about five years trying to duplicate competent pizza dough but German flour is... efficient. This dough was ... seductive. (I finally found a source for Italian flour and improved my dough immensely - right up to satisfactory. My really clever trick, to get a hot enough cooking surface, was to buy a pizza-stone/ also known as a granite paver from the builder's market/D.I.Y. store. One side is polished to cook on, at a kitchen store it would cost 40 bucks or something. I leave it in the oven, on the 'floor' to be heated by the lower element (the element is not exposed) until it's damn hot - takes about an hour - then put the oven on 'fan' when I make them.)
Pizza is some kind of perfect food.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:23 AM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Doesn't the incredibly long hangover of rationing and scarcity, post-WWII, have something to do with it, too? That lasted for decades, AIUI.
I see this trotted out as an excuse for bland British food and it doesn't wash. The entire Continent was starving. There are many tales out there of Italians roaming the countryside, foraging for food to eat. And yet their food culture recovered just fine.
Lee Moulin, in his huge book Eating and Drinking in Europe: A Cultural History (2002) has a section titled "The Decapitation of English cuisine" and the phrase was actually coined in another book Eating and Taste in England and France from the Middle Ages to the Present (1985) by Stephen Mennell. To quote Moulin:
posted by vacapinta at 5:51 AM on July 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
I see this trotted out as an excuse for bland British food and it doesn't wash. The entire Continent was starving. There are many tales out there of Italians roaming the countryside, foraging for food to eat. And yet their food culture recovered just fine.
Lee Moulin, in his huge book Eating and Drinking in Europe: A Cultural History (2002) has a section titled "The Decapitation of English cuisine" and the phrase was actually coined in another book Eating and Taste in England and France from the Middle Ages to the Present (1985) by Stephen Mennell. To quote Moulin:
A French traveller wrote in 1690: ‘Arriving at the time when pudding is served is to arrive at the moment of happiness!’ The appetite of the English in the Middle Ages was well known. In 1498 a Venetian ambassador wrote that the English like to have : 'many good meats at table’ to the extent that, even at time of war they wanted their “ben mangiare’ and all other comforts.So what happened? The author attributes it to an enormous anti-French feeling that started centuries ago and continues to this day. If the French like extravagant food, then that is something that we, the British, do not like. There's more, including class barriers and Puritanism but the documented truth is that English cooking began its decline in the 18th century and by the 19th century:
The eighteenth century saw the creation of “The Sublime Society of Beef-Steack’, which was to last until 1867. English produce was recognized as some of the best in the world and is still so today. I need only mention Aberdeen Angus beef which is easily as good as Charolais. It was the English who taught Europe to enjoy such wines as sherry, port, madeira and marsala, thanks to the Woodhouse Brothers of Liverpool (1773).
[British] writers place more stress on the cleanliness of utensils, hygiene, the dangers of copper pans and, later in the nineteenth century, on etiquette and laying the table, than on the preparation of sauces and flavors. Thus the first signs of the 'decapitation' of English cuisine begin to show...Sorry for jumping in with references and stuff on a casual conversation. But I lived in Britain. I still believe their desserts are the best in the world. They are the custard kings and so the French creme brulee and the Portuguese custard tarts are, I am certain, originally British. They have never lacked good produce and meat and cheese. But they just don't seem to know what to do with them, so they rush to Indian restaurants and cooks (to another non-French cuisine) that do know what to do with them.
posted by vacapinta at 5:51 AM on July 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
Pizza is some kind of perfect food.
Unless it comes from Pizza King. Ugh. That stuff...I can’t even. Living in Indiana, not liking PK is like being from Mars to some folks you meet. In so many small towns, PK is, sadly, the only pizza available, which is kinda weird considering how relatively expensive PK is.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Unless it comes from Pizza King. Ugh. That stuff...I can’t even. Living in Indiana, not liking PK is like being from Mars to some folks you meet. In so many small towns, PK is, sadly, the only pizza available, which is kinda weird considering how relatively expensive PK is.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I’ve been making these memes in Adobe Express, like Everything is Fractally Horrifying and It’s Hard to Write Marketing Copy for People when you Want to Beg them to Kill You. People like them, but if I try to monetise this my stalker will notice. I hope I…
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:23 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:23 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
(Oh, if the above is too much, i understand, please do send me a mod mail if so. I’m safe and working.)
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:24 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:24 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I was in Sweden for a month, I was desperate enough for pizza one day to go to a Pizza Hut. Which was, apart from the really weird way they were describing things on the menu, fairly similar to normal Pizza Hut pizza. Which is to say, it wasn’t great pizza, but at least it was familiar. I was homesick and happy to have it.
When I eventually flew back home, and my mom picked me up from the airport, I asked her, “can we get some Rosati’s for dinner tonight? I will love you forever.” Rosati’s is our family’s go-to for tavern style pizza, as described upthread.
posted by notoriety public at 6:24 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
When I eventually flew back home, and my mom picked me up from the airport, I asked her, “can we get some Rosati’s for dinner tonight? I will love you forever.” Rosati’s is our family’s go-to for tavern style pizza, as described upthread.
posted by notoriety public at 6:24 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, there is a fancy garlic bread place in Manchester called Ciaoooo with glorious garlic breads with delicious cheeses and sauces and meats on them and I would like to eat there. Given my current state it is entirely reasonable for me to make pilgrimages to places and eat there. It might happen, if I can make sure my home will be safe while I’m away
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:25 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 6:25 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I hadn't noticed a decline in pizza quality around me in New Jersey, but thinking about it a bit, I probably wouldn't with my pizza history and consumption habits. I already get what I like from places I know. I grew up near Trenton, which has its own historical style of pizza, Trenton-style tomato pie - thin crust, light cheese, crushed tomatoes, in that order. As a kid, it's what my dad always got when we got pizza, so I was disinclined towards heavily cheesed pizzas and sweet pizza sauces early on. Even a lot of the traditional Jersey slices aren't quite to my taste, but they were certainly more suited to my tastes than the pizza I could find when we live in Minnesota.
posted by mollweide at 6:36 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 6:36 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Dimo's in Chicago, mentioned above, is also known for its vegan options. Lizzo's glowing TikTok review went viral.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:42 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:42 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
vacapinta: I see this trotted out as an excuse for bland British food and it doesn't wash. ... Sorry for jumping in with references and stuff on a casual conversation.
Oh, no -- by all means, I am grateful to learn more!
I once lived in Reading for half a year, and have visited the UK since the 1980s. I love the place, but the food is just...different than Continental dishes. Some things are truly wonderful (the cheeses, oh, the cheeses!) while others amaze me that they are still eaten. :7)
I thought that Britain's post-war rationing went on for much longer than the rest of Europe, but I guess I don't know where I "learned" that -- so I never verified it. I appreciate those two book recommendations, and will track them down.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:44 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, no -- by all means, I am grateful to learn more!
I once lived in Reading for half a year, and have visited the UK since the 1980s. I love the place, but the food is just...different than Continental dishes. Some things are truly wonderful (the cheeses, oh, the cheeses!) while others amaze me that they are still eaten. :7)
I thought that Britain's post-war rationing went on for much longer than the rest of Europe, but I guess I don't know where I "learned" that -- so I never verified it. I appreciate those two book recommendations, and will track them down.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:44 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh, I should added we lived in Minnesota 25 years ago at this point, so my data on Minnesota pizza is no doubt out of date.
posted by mollweide at 6:48 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 6:48 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Pizza all dressed or toute garnie.
Quebec pizza goes sauce then toppings then cheese last.
In Toronto pizza goes sauce , then cheese , then toppings last
Just a regional quirk.
posted by yyz at 6:56 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Quebec pizza goes sauce then toppings then cheese last.
In Toronto pizza goes sauce , then cheese , then toppings last
Just a regional quirk.
posted by yyz at 6:56 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
The book "The Domestic Revolution" by Ruth Goodman is a fascinating read about how the British were the first to adopt coal as a household fuel from the 1600s onwards. She traces some of the divergence of British cookery from Europe to that.
On a wood fire you have a lot of fine control over temperature, and can simmer things for long periods. But coal burns hotter: it's easier to boil but harder to simmer. So dishes like "frumenty" that were the equivalent of paella or risotto fell out of favour. Puddings (sweet or savoury) that require boiling became more popular. With coal it was also possible to bake more reliably so people could bake tarts and cakes at home, on the Continent baking was more the preserve of professional bakers so they tended to have fancier but more expensive patisserie cakes and pastries.
Even so I don't think it was coal so much as the Industrial Revolution that started British food becoming more bland, at least for urban populations.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 8:05 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
On a wood fire you have a lot of fine control over temperature, and can simmer things for long periods. But coal burns hotter: it's easier to boil but harder to simmer. So dishes like "frumenty" that were the equivalent of paella or risotto fell out of favour. Puddings (sweet or savoury) that require boiling became more popular. With coal it was also possible to bake more reliably so people could bake tarts and cakes at home, on the Continent baking was more the preserve of professional bakers so they tended to have fancier but more expensive patisserie cakes and pastries.
Even so I don't think it was coal so much as the Industrial Revolution that started British food becoming more bland, at least for urban populations.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 8:05 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
Metafilter: like some gentle whisper from the god of your choice
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
“it’s not bad but it can’t hold a candle to Rocco’s.”
Well, Rocco's is certainly my family's favorite, all around, though I tend to prefer other styles and will usually pick Magpies.
posted by Four Ds at 10:22 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, Rocco's is certainly my family's favorite, all around, though I tend to prefer other styles and will usually pick Magpies.
posted by Four Ds at 10:22 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just learned there is a new LOL has dropped (IJBOL = I just burst out laughing). So I guess now I am officially a thousand years old.
posted by srboisvert at 11:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 11:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
I thought that Britain's post-war rationing went on for much longer than the rest of Europe
Early to mid 50s, which is similar to e.g. Denmark (and other places too, I would imagine).
posted by Dysk at 11:18 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Early to mid 50s, which is similar to e.g. Denmark (and other places too, I would imagine).
posted by Dysk at 11:18 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I picked up a couple of hummingbird feeders the upstairs neighbor left on the front lawn (along with some other detritus) when they moved out and took their patio table. I cleaned them up and hung them up at either end of my little deck, and enjoyed seeing the tiny birds show up to sip now and then. But they were gravity-fed and a bit leaky, so I ended up buying better ones - dish type, with a surrounding perch.
That was over a week ago, and it wasn't until last night that I had proof the birds had acclimated to the New Things. Just as I was about to go out on the deck for a post-work sniff of fresh air along with a cocktail*, one showed up. I guess it saw me through the glass door even though I'd immediately frozen; it hemmed and hawed a bit but finally decided I was safe enough. It perched and indulged in a good long hearty quaff, pausing halfway between to switch to a "different" flower. :) Finally it left, but before I could move it returned to the other feeder and did the same thing! Greedy little tiny bugger...
* 3:1 Ford's gin and vermouth (both pre-chilled), a dash of orange bitters, and a twist of lemon - my favorite summertime beverage
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:35 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
That was over a week ago, and it wasn't until last night that I had proof the birds had acclimated to the New Things. Just as I was about to go out on the deck for a post-work sniff of fresh air along with a cocktail*, one showed up. I guess it saw me through the glass door even though I'd immediately frozen; it hemmed and hawed a bit but finally decided I was safe enough. It perched and indulged in a good long hearty quaff, pausing halfway between to switch to a "different" flower. :) Finally it left, but before I could move it returned to the other feeder and did the same thing! Greedy little tiny bugger...
* 3:1 Ford's gin and vermouth (both pre-chilled), a dash of orange bitters, and a twist of lemon - my favorite summertime beverage
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:35 AM on July 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
Welp, my therapist announced her retirement (next year), so...there's that. I can't say I'm totally shocked since she's been ill with various things more often than not over the last year and it's probably About Time. I have called for the alt-org that supposedly covers therapy by insurance and put in for them to find me potential people, so we'll see.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:24 PM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:24 PM on July 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Dang, jenfullmoon, finding a new therapist is like finding a new hairstylist, except instead of maybe your hair not looking as good, you can might stress out and go into an emotional tailspin.
Sending you positive mind atoms.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:53 PM on July 18, 2023
Sending you positive mind atoms.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:53 PM on July 18, 2023
jenfullmoon,
That's both good and bad news. Now, you've got the time to start find a replacement--one who actually makes her appointments, and you won't have to feel guilty for switching. Yes, I know that it's going to be a challenge to find somebody new, but at least you'll be moving in a forward direction, rather than treading water with you current one. Fingers crossed you find somebody better.
posted by sardonyx at 3:22 PM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
That's both good and bad news. Now, you've got the time to start find a replacement--one who actually makes her appointments, and you won't have to feel guilty for switching. Yes, I know that it's going to be a challenge to find somebody new, but at least you'll be moving in a forward direction, rather than treading water with you current one. Fingers crossed you find somebody better.
posted by sardonyx at 3:22 PM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
butts.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 7:30 PM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
My divorce was finalized this morning.
You know how when someone you love has been suffering in hospice for a long time, and you learn that they have died, and you say "thank god Frank has died, Frank needed to die," but that isn't the right thing to say at all?
I took the day off of work because I wasn't sure how I would feel … I mostly slept.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:14 PM on July 18, 2023 [17 favorites]
You know how when someone you love has been suffering in hospice for a long time, and you learn that they have died, and you say "thank god Frank has died, Frank needed to die," but that isn't the right thing to say at all?
I took the day off of work because I wasn't sure how I would feel … I mostly slept.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:14 PM on July 18, 2023 [17 favorites]
Cillian Murphy looks like Eric Roberts and I am not sure how or why because they don't really look alike.
posted by srboisvert at 3:04 AM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 3:04 AM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
fantabulous timewaster, getting divorced was one of the smartest things I ever did (and getting married was perhaps the dumbest, including that time where I "borrowed" an unridable horse, fell of it, and got dragged over a hedge)
posted by mumimor at 4:03 AM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 4:03 AM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
So we just had a total Babette moment: tonight is the last night of the kids' holiday here at the farm, and my eldest had requested a stuffed roast chicken from one of my cookbooks she has been reading. The sides were what we call "tilted fridge": an attempt to use as many leftovers and unused produce as possible, since I'll be alone here the next couple of weeks, and I couldn't eat everything that was in there before it would go bad. It ended up being a total feast: we had sweet potato falafels, cauliflower pakoras, something like a tzatziki, boiled new potatoes, watermelon and feta salad, greek salad and home made bread. (I've mentioned before that my youngest is a chef, this is not a normal tilted fridge situation. It's more like at home with Sohla and Ham).
But the most fascinating thing was how everyone started talking and sharing stories and getting agitated in a good way, just like in the Babette movie. We didn't drink more than a shared bottle of wine for four adults, and we eat well every day, but the abundance was somehow stimulating, even for the toddlers and the dog. Even the washing up sounded fun (those who don't cook clean). Love is all we need. And food. Mostly vegetables.
posted by mumimor at 11:57 AM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
But the most fascinating thing was how everyone started talking and sharing stories and getting agitated in a good way, just like in the Babette movie. We didn't drink more than a shared bottle of wine for four adults, and we eat well every day, but the abundance was somehow stimulating, even for the toddlers and the dog. Even the washing up sounded fun (those who don't cook clean). Love is all we need. And food. Mostly vegetables.
posted by mumimor at 11:57 AM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
....So an in initial report from the job hunt front....
One of the positions that caught my eye already has just been filled. In fact, when I went to the job center today and met with them, they looked at my resume and said "where were you then?"
"....uh, up until 4 pm on Monday I was employed elsewhere."
I met with 3 people at the job center - all of whom expressed shock that my company had done layoffs and were very sympathetic, and all of whom said that "it's a little slow right now" but still got ideas for people to call and so they will beat the bushes. I asked one of them what he meant by "slow". "Oh, it typically is slow in the summer what with people going off on vacation and that kind of thing."
"Oh, so this is to be expected and it will pick up?"
"oh, yeah. Like mid-August and September we'll start getting more stuff in."
So, that's not bad. That's only a few weeks, and I've got my last paycheck that will probably cover me for that before I even start dipping into what I get from unemployment - and I'll be squirrelling that away before i get into savings, by which time I may have something starting up already.
In fact - it's got me thinking that this is like a summer vacation from school. And that just reminded me of what my favorite summer job was back in the day, and....
....And I am now very, VERY seriously considering calling up a local movie theater and asking if they're hiring ushers or box office people. This would be strictly for pin money for a month or two, but the idea is actually feeling really, REALLY fun.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:24 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
One of the positions that caught my eye already has just been filled. In fact, when I went to the job center today and met with them, they looked at my resume and said "where were you then?"
"....uh, up until 4 pm on Monday I was employed elsewhere."
I met with 3 people at the job center - all of whom expressed shock that my company had done layoffs and were very sympathetic, and all of whom said that "it's a little slow right now" but still got ideas for people to call and so they will beat the bushes. I asked one of them what he meant by "slow". "Oh, it typically is slow in the summer what with people going off on vacation and that kind of thing."
"Oh, so this is to be expected and it will pick up?"
"oh, yeah. Like mid-August and September we'll start getting more stuff in."
So, that's not bad. That's only a few weeks, and I've got my last paycheck that will probably cover me for that before I even start dipping into what I get from unemployment - and I'll be squirrelling that away before i get into savings, by which time I may have something starting up already.
In fact - it's got me thinking that this is like a summer vacation from school. And that just reminded me of what my favorite summer job was back in the day, and....
....And I am now very, VERY seriously considering calling up a local movie theater and asking if they're hiring ushers or box office people. This would be strictly for pin money for a month or two, but the idea is actually feeling really, REALLY fun.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:24 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
You know how when someone you love has been suffering in hospice for a long time, and you learn that they have died, and you say "thank god Frank has died, Frank needed to die," but that isn't the right thing to say at all?
Been there, lived this. I believe the polite terminology I learned was "he's not suffering any more."
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:27 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
Been there, lived this. I believe the polite terminology I learned was "he's not suffering any more."
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:27 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
Divorce is unlike death, because when it comes, your suffering doesn't end, it gets tedious and complex.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:50 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
So this thread seems to be shifting from pizza to divorce. Which, interestingly, often leads back to pizza...in my experience at least.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:20 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
Please let's talk about pizza again.
Pizza never scarred me for life.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:46 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
Pizza never scarred me for life.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:46 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
There is one aspect of pizza which I think has been woefully over-looked, and that is its potential as a desert. More than a few times while preparing pizza dough and (once I got the flour sorted out) luxuriating in the smell of the yeast doing its work, it occurred to me that with the right toppings and a little sugar added to the dough, you could easily make a delicious 'sweet' pizza.
maybe grilled peaches on top, then just before serving a dollop of whipped cream. (Add cinnamon or cardamom or vanilla as desired).
Similarly, chocolate shaved onto the dough followed by roasted almond shavings and ... berries maybe of some kind?
Always struck me as a woefully under-explored opportunity.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:23 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
maybe grilled peaches on top, then just before serving a dollop of whipped cream. (Add cinnamon or cardamom or vanilla as desired).
Similarly, chocolate shaved onto the dough followed by roasted almond shavings and ... berries maybe of some kind?
Always struck me as a woefully under-explored opportunity.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:23 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Brunsviger is pretty much a Danish sweet focaccia if you squint (and don't speak Italian, perhaps) and it is delicious, so you may well be onto something.
posted by Dysk at 2:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 2:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
This morning, I baked pita breads for the kids to eat on the train, with the very last leftovers. We live far out in the country, so I usually have to bake if they want anything else than Danish rye bread (good) or Danish white bread (bad).
I feel that after 40+ years of baking, today I have finally cracked some sort of secret dough code, and the dough was relaxed, pliable and windowpaneable. It's not that my former breads have been bad, just that finally, I made it to the next base. I don't know what I did differently, so that's a challenge. If anything, it was easier than when I follow a bread-making video. No sourdough, no measures, no excessive stretching and folding.
Anyway, I baked two of the breads too much, so they became cracker-like, and just now, I ate one of them as a snack. It tastes like really, really good pizza crust. So now I have a project: to make a good pizza from scratch in my completely normal oven. I do have a carbon steel paella pan in there, that I heat up well in advance of baking. And I have solar power, so I can use all the electricity I want during daytime and quite a bit from the batteries at night.
posted by mumimor at 4:33 AM on July 20, 2023 [6 favorites]
I feel that after 40+ years of baking, today I have finally cracked some sort of secret dough code, and the dough was relaxed, pliable and windowpaneable. It's not that my former breads have been bad, just that finally, I made it to the next base. I don't know what I did differently, so that's a challenge. If anything, it was easier than when I follow a bread-making video. No sourdough, no measures, no excessive stretching and folding.
Anyway, I baked two of the breads too much, so they became cracker-like, and just now, I ate one of them as a snack. It tastes like really, really good pizza crust. So now I have a project: to make a good pizza from scratch in my completely normal oven. I do have a carbon steel paella pan in there, that I heat up well in advance of baking. And I have solar power, so I can use all the electricity I want during daytime and quite a bit from the batteries at night.
posted by mumimor at 4:33 AM on July 20, 2023 [6 favorites]
There is one aspect of pizza which I think has been woefully over-looked, and that is its potential as a desert.
Beaver tails are pretty much just fried dough with cinnamon sugar on them. It's kind of a pizza.
posted by srboisvert at 5:24 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Beaver tails are pretty much just fried dough with cinnamon sugar on them. It's kind of a pizza.
posted by srboisvert at 5:24 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just learned a 32 year old song I thought was by Stone Roses was actually by Blur.
This changes .... nothing.
posted by srboisvert at 5:26 AM on July 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
This changes .... nothing.
posted by srboisvert at 5:26 AM on July 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
Pancakes are pizza. Change my mind.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:55 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:55 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
We definitely have dessert pizzas in my area. More like giant cookies, though.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:33 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:33 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
....Holy crap, I'm thinking of ways to network and shit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:02 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:02 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Some places by us have started serving Nutella pizza as a dessert. Basically just a really thin crust covered in Nutella.
posted by mollweide at 7:56 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 7:56 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Pizza never scarred me for life.
Ever try eating it straight out of the oven?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:13 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ever try eating it straight out of the oven?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:13 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
My kids are just now getting old enough to like pizza toppings - pineapple of course.
My biggest button pusher is put *any* toppings on pizza - they are all better than cheese pizza. Cheese pizza, yeah even at the so-called good places, sucks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:14 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
My biggest button pusher is put *any* toppings on pizza - they are all better than cheese pizza. Cheese pizza, yeah even at the so-called good places, sucks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:14 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's fascinating to me to hear about all these people making pizza at home. To me, the whole point of pizza is that someone else cooks it and delivers it to your door ready to consume; it's an occasional self-indulgent treat.
Not that I'm right and they're wrong, or vice versa, I'm just marveling at the very different attitudes toward pizza.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Not that I'm right and they're wrong, or vice versa, I'm just marveling at the very different attitudes toward pizza.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
My issue with Nutella 'pizzas' and such is that they aren't really pizzas. A defining characteristic of pizza is that most or all of the toppings are baked with the dough. If you allow baked dough with stuff on it to fall under the definition of pizza, then buttered toast is pizza, pittas smeared with hummus are pizza, a cream cheese bagel is pizza. No. A dessert pizza must still be a pizza - not just round bread with stuff added after it's baked.
posted by Dysk at 8:23 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Dysk at 8:23 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is a hot dog a pizza?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:29 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:29 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just want more fruit-based baked desserts. Bet pear slices with almond and brown sugar would stand up to the heat of a pizza oven, and actually have some interaction with the base as it cooks, rather than just being a slab of bread spread with some stuff.
posted by Dysk at 8:34 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Dysk at 8:34 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
is an open faced apple pie pizza? be careful of what you wish for
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is it on bread? Then yes. Is it on pastry? Then no.
posted by Dysk at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 8:58 AM on July 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm not a dessert person at all, and actually we didn't have one dessert while the kids were here, even though we thought about bringing out the ice-cream machine. There was fruit, and tons of sweet snacks. I even ate some of them (and regretted).
Anyways, I feel that I have seen dessert pizza at some of the insane pizzerias in Rome, where they have a lot of choices of pizza slices. Not made for tourists, as some may assume, but for a very local customer base. The reason I started off by saying I'm not a dessert person is that I can't for the life of me remember what the ingredients were.
It's fascinating to me to hear about all these people making pizza at home.
Try living in a village where there are two pizzerias but no edible pizzas in 200 kms distance.
posted by mumimor at 9:01 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Anyways, I feel that I have seen dessert pizza at some of the insane pizzerias in Rome, where they have a lot of choices of pizza slices. Not made for tourists, as some may assume, but for a very local customer base. The reason I started off by saying I'm not a dessert person is that I can't for the life of me remember what the ingredients were.
It's fascinating to me to hear about all these people making pizza at home.
Try living in a village where there are two pizzerias but no edible pizzas in 200 kms distance.
posted by mumimor at 9:01 AM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
That's a fair point. I've lived an hour+ outside of cities/decent pizzerias before and never had a pizza during those times.
But come to think of it, I was also married during those times, and we never had pizza anyway...which brings me back to my divorce and subsequent singlehood where pizza (delivered) has been a much more frequent occurrence. Leading me in turn to contemplate how much of a stressor pizzalessness might have been on our marriage...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:03 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
But come to think of it, I was also married during those times, and we never had pizza anyway...which brings me back to my divorce and subsequent singlehood where pizza (delivered) has been a much more frequent occurrence. Leading me in turn to contemplate how much of a stressor pizzalessness might have been on our marriage...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:03 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
I don't think pizza could have saved my marriage, and that says everything about my marriage, but as a single parent, friday night was pizza night and it was glorious. We had pizzas delivered and watched things like Dancing with the Stars, or you know, whatever was friday night entertainment, and then all the sweets, and a glass of wine for me. We also had playdates where the main event was pizza baking and mess making. Pizza is life.
But all that was in the city. Here, pizza is a challenge. If I manage to make a good pizza in my regular oven, I may make a business out of it. But I could also break out my gas grill. I don't know yet.
posted by mumimor at 11:19 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
But all that was in the city. Here, pizza is a challenge. If I manage to make a good pizza in my regular oven, I may make a business out of it. But I could also break out my gas grill. I don't know yet.
posted by mumimor at 11:19 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
My understanding of pizza cooking is that you want the crust to be thin and the oven to be extremely hot. I have a friend (who is very stupid) who has defeated the door lock on the cleaning cycle on his electric oven and cooks pizza with it after the temperature indicator pegs itself -- cooks it for a very short time. He swears by it, but I am a little suspicious of cooking methods where the smoke alarm goes off no matter what.
I mean, it checks out, the best pizzas come out of brick ovens either wood or gas fired, and they are really, really hot. Maybe try that gas grill before you use the cleaning cycle.
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:10 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
I mean, it checks out, the best pizzas come out of brick ovens either wood or gas fired, and they are really, really hot. Maybe try that gas grill before you use the cleaning cycle.
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:10 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
We have plenty of good pizza (both the aforementioned fancy-flatbread and traditional NY-style) within a mile of our house, but I still make pizza at home all the time. For one, it costs about $3 to make (almost all of which is the cost of cheese), and for two, I like working with dough! I have a formula for pizza dough that goes like this:
Pizza is fun!
posted by uncleozzy at 12:28 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
- Bread flour 100%
- Water 62%
- Olive oil 10%
- Sugar 5%
- Salt 2%
- Instant yeast 2%
Pizza is fun!
posted by uncleozzy at 12:28 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
It's fascinating to me to hear about all these people making pizza at home. To me, the whole point of pzza is that someone else cooks it and delivers it to your door ready to consume; it's an occasional self-indulgent treat.
Homemade pepperoni pizza costs about $3usd for an entire 12 inch pie. Maybe takes about 10 minutes of labor to make and about 12 minutes of of 500F+ oven electricity to make. 15 minutes of labor if you make your own sauce and freeze some. The only family sized meal roughly as economical is grocery store rotisserie chicken.
I find it easier to make pizza than ordering it and waiting for it to be delivered and then having to go down my building's elevator at dinner time to collect it.
posted by srboisvert at 12:44 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Homemade pepperoni pizza costs about $3usd for an entire 12 inch pie. Maybe takes about 10 minutes of labor to make and about 12 minutes of of 500F+ oven electricity to make. 15 minutes of labor if you make your own sauce and freeze some. The only family sized meal roughly as economical is grocery store rotisserie chicken.
I find it easier to make pizza than ordering it and waiting for it to be delivered and then having to go down my building's elevator at dinner time to collect it.
posted by srboisvert at 12:44 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
If, and this is a big if, I succeed in repeating the crust I just made as pita breads, it's the difference between our local cheap Lebanese pizza maker and the other local but nationally famous Italian pizza maker and I will save loads of money, Not even calculating what I could earn by making the pizzas.
But those are birds on the roof.
posted by mumimor at 12:51 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
But those are birds on the roof.
posted by mumimor at 12:51 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Until this Summer of Tumult I had been making myself something more-or-less like this King Arthur Detroit-style Pizza every Saturday. I like it because you make it in a 9×13 pan and I find that easier to manage in my oven. Although I must admit I quite often leave off any kind of tomato and just have cheese and pickled jalapeno slices on it.
posted by ob1quixote at 1:11 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ob1quixote at 1:11 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Did someone say dessert pizza? This sounds exactly like the mixed-berry dessert pizza my friends and I used to order for stoned tv nights. Unsurprisingly, I can't remember where we ordered from, but they also sold an apple one that was very similar, with brown sugar sprinkled over it. It was focking delicious. I don't actually want to know where we used to get that, come to think, in case they still sell it.
posted by heyho at 1:14 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by heyho at 1:14 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Cillian Murphy looks like Eric Roberts and I am not sure how or why because they don't really look alike.
An intensity in the eyes which is slightly unsettling.
posted by Glinn at 1:49 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
An intensity in the eyes which is slightly unsettling.
posted by Glinn at 1:49 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have worked in tech for the majority of my career but after a pretty painful experience with an employer who fired me while I was recovering from heart surgery I decided to take a break from that for a while to work on my health a bit and finish two big renovation projects. So this summer I've been mostly focusing on completing the construction projects but also took on a seasonal job to smooth out the cash flow a bit and also get me out of the house.
My summer gig is as a "Marine Mammal Observer" - basically there's a local construction project building a new public facility that requires a significant marine construction sub-project and as part of the permitting requirements for driving pilings for the marine portion of the project the contractor is required to have observers posted any time they might be engaged in drilling or using the vibratory or impact hammers - to try to minimize the chance of endangered or threatened marine mammals entering the harmful zone when the construction equipment is in use.
My responsibility basically consists of sitting at the assigned monitoring location and watching carefully for marine mammals and reporting them to the construction team if any are spotted in the zone. This involves a lot of sitting by the water, watching the harbor while listening to audiobooks.
Eagles are a dime a dozen on most days and require no talent to spot (but are still fun to watch) but it's only when you sit quietly that some of the other wildlife around becomes apparent, such as this curious mink who emerged from the rocks to check me out the other day.
There are certainly worse ways to spend the summer than getting paid to watch wildlife and using the proceeds to finish your building projects.
I'm running out of the current audiobook series I'm listening to so next week I'm expecting to switch to Shakespeare - I'm going to try to make it through as many of the plays as I can by the end of the season. Although I'm also open to suggestions of particularly enjoyable audiobooks - nonfiction preferred, as I've kind of overdosed on fiction recently (but if you've got a particular gem in mind go ahead and recommend it anyway.) Perhaps MeMail the recommendations so as not to hijack this thread.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:18 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
My summer gig is as a "Marine Mammal Observer" - basically there's a local construction project building a new public facility that requires a significant marine construction sub-project and as part of the permitting requirements for driving pilings for the marine portion of the project the contractor is required to have observers posted any time they might be engaged in drilling or using the vibratory or impact hammers - to try to minimize the chance of endangered or threatened marine mammals entering the harmful zone when the construction equipment is in use.
My responsibility basically consists of sitting at the assigned monitoring location and watching carefully for marine mammals and reporting them to the construction team if any are spotted in the zone. This involves a lot of sitting by the water, watching the harbor while listening to audiobooks.
Eagles are a dime a dozen on most days and require no talent to spot (but are still fun to watch) but it's only when you sit quietly that some of the other wildlife around becomes apparent, such as this curious mink who emerged from the rocks to check me out the other day.
There are certainly worse ways to spend the summer than getting paid to watch wildlife and using the proceeds to finish your building projects.
I'm running out of the current audiobook series I'm listening to so next week I'm expecting to switch to Shakespeare - I'm going to try to make it through as many of the plays as I can by the end of the season. Although I'm also open to suggestions of particularly enjoyable audiobooks - nonfiction preferred, as I've kind of overdosed on fiction recently (but if you've got a particular gem in mind go ahead and recommend it anyway.) Perhaps MeMail the recommendations so as not to hijack this thread.
posted by Nerd of the North at 3:18 PM on July 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Well, poo -
I'd tried to round up a bunch of people to go to a free screening of RRR in a park tonight, and at the time everyone was down with it. But then over the past couple days everyone has been dropping out, and I'm a bit reluctant to head out (I'm in a "leaving the house means I spend money" phase today) and so I am probably just going to blow it off myself after all and do my book club instead.
I did decide to invest in a sandwich from the pizza place next door, though.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:13 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'd tried to round up a bunch of people to go to a free screening of RRR in a park tonight, and at the time everyone was down with it. But then over the past couple days everyone has been dropping out, and I'm a bit reluctant to head out (I'm in a "leaving the house means I spend money" phase today) and so I am probably just going to blow it off myself after all and do my book club instead.
I did decide to invest in a sandwich from the pizza place next door, though.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:13 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pizza never scarred me for life.
I’m pretty sure some of the burn scars on my arms are pizza-related, but I no longer know which scar is which.
posted by fedward at 5:28 PM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
I’m pretty sure some of the burn scars on my arms are pizza-related, but I no longer know which scar is which.
posted by fedward at 5:28 PM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
My brain was singing this little ditty to me when I woke up this morning:
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:06 AM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Hurry up and fill me up...Your guess is as good as mine...
With little bags of 7-up
I won't have to chew them up
Ear-lie in the morning
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:06 AM on July 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
These occasional morning tidbits are not the product of my conscious brain. They come to me as I'm fully asleep in the minutes or seconds before my alarm goes off, like the tide of my night brain pushing a few random scraps of flotsam and jetsam onto the shore of my waking brain while the rest of my dreams sink back into the depths from whence they came. Most of them are pure nonsense or snippets too small to make any real sense, but once in a while a proper idea shows up.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:42 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:42 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
And after playing it on the piano, I realize it sounds like an old TV commercial jingle. Me, who hates advertising of all kinds, coming up with a jingle... I think my brain is messing with me.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:43 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:43 AM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
If anyone is quietly working on a Tony Bennett obit post, please make sure to include this excellent WaPo piece on how he was a committed anti-racist and a pacifist. Archivew link.
“My life experiences, ranging from the Battle of the Bulge to marching with Martin Luther King, made me a life-long humanist and pacifist,” Bennett said in 2011, “and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior.”posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:22 AM on July 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
« Older Gilgo Beach Long Island Serial Killer Arrested | Climate Crisis Disproportionately Impacts Disabled... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
(My favorite nonstandard pizza topping: fresh arugula. Love it combined with shaved Parmesan, prosciutto, and balsamic glaze)
My sister-in-law's wedding went well, and I bought myself some Lego. An exhausting weekend, but a good one.
posted by May Kasahara at 9:48 AM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]