Pizza Lovers of the World Unite - Visit the Author of the Pizza Bible

Dear follower of pizza. Today is your day to take your pizza passion to the next level. Do you own pizza shoes? Eat pizza for every other meal? Make your own pizza? Then you’ll need to meet the author of the Pizza Bible, Tony Gemignani, today.

Not only can he cleanse you of any pizza sins, but you can ask him very poignant pizza questions. Like, what is the deal with pepperoni? What does he really think of Type 00 flour? How high should you be tossing your dough?

I don’t know the answers to all these questions, but Tony probably does. 

You have two chances to meet him today. So act fast.

Visit Penn Mac in the Strip District at 1pm.

Head to Caliente in Bloomfield at 6pm.

I’ll see you at Caliente, for sure. 

Penn Mac 2:13 - Let There Be True Italian Ingredients

After posting about Tony Gemignani, the author of the Pizza Bible, visiting Caliente tomorrow night, February 13, I received a request from the tour organizer, Scott Anthony. He wanted me to mention that Tony will be spreading the Pizza Bible gospel at Penn Mac at 1pm!

Scott also told me that Penn Mac holds a special place in Tony’s heart. In the Pizza Bible, Tony mentions Penn Mac 13 times, citing the specialty store as a “source for true Italian ingredients.” And he not wrong. I buy all my type 00 flour and cheese for pizza there!

You can visit Tony at Penn Mac at 1pm on February 13th (that’s tomorrow!). 

Author of the Pizza Bible Visits Pittsburgh

Tony Gemignani is a guy who knows pizza. In fact, he wrote The Pizza Bible. This is a well-known book in the world of pizza that helps pizzaiolos decode all of the wonderful pizza secrets. 

Does that mean this is the Rosetta Stone of pizza and now you’ll be able to communicate with your pie? I’m not saying it’s not. 

This Friday, February 13th, Valentine’s Day Eve (a day I use to declare my love for pizza) the author of the pizza bible, Tony Gemignani, will be visiting Pittsburgh. He’ll spend the morning at Penn Mac where he’ll be doing a book signing. In the evening he’ll pop over to Caliente Pizza & Draft House from 6pm to 8pm to sign books and talk pizza.

I’m really excited and I’m hoping to get a chance to interview Tony. He probably has some amazing insights in the world of pizza. Hope to see you at Caliente this Friday!

[update] Pizza Shop Gets on Twitter, World Explodes

[update] - it looks like that Spak Brothers account was a fake. Hope no one got duped by the offer of free pizza. The fact that a fake Spak account could set the world on fire goes to show the community Spak has cultivated, quietly, over the years. Here’s a tweet from the real Spak Brothers account that has since been removed:

@SpakBros @EastEndBrewing @moarhops hey whoever is manning this fake account I’m going to find out who you are and fuck up your entire life.

The following is the original article, complete with the now removed fake tweets.



I’ve worked a few jobs specializing in social media. Depending on where you work it’s like being confined in a crib complete with a rattle and a stuffed animal. It’s fun at first, but boy does it get tired when everything is covered in your slobber.

Spak Brothers, one of my favorite Pittsburgh pizza places, got a fancy new Twitter account and is completely off the handle in the best way possible. Does pizza making day in and day-out turn you crazy? Or does Spak pizza give off an aura that makes life thrilling, exciting, and worth living? Either way, the enthusiasm they show for their fans and product make me want Spak more than ever. Is that what viral marketing is?

Anyways, they’re killing it and I wanted to share some of their tweets with you.

Hey real quick.. if you want Organic Veg’s or Artesian spices, go out in a field and lick some dirt #worldsGreatestPizza

Toying with the idea of setting up apartments above SPAK so #superSpakFans can be close to the pies as possible

Don’t forget fam. Free slice till end of Jan. Stop by and show this tweet

Just a reminder: Chicky Parm, Philly Steak, BBQ, Portobello… All key players in our #HoagieGame.

Another day. Another several dozen of the world’s best tasting pizzas. Voted number 1 8 years in a row by planet earth.

Nothing tastes as good as a slice of Spak soaked in a glass of @WigleWhiskey overnight.

Like this if you think we should get an Adams Family pinball machine for the dining area.

Follow Spak Bros. on Twitter. Worst case scenario you get a slice of pizza.

Practice, Practice, Practice, Pizza

How do you get to the pizza equivalent of Broadway?  Train hard, stay focused, eat pizza and don’t spill any pizza sauce on your nice clothing.

My pizza pals and I have decided to venture outside of our pizza comfort zone and experience pizza that has grown up on the edge of town. Maybe it’s a little less civilized, rough around the edges, but despite its environment it has turned into a beautiful pie ready to be eaten. 

Our first stop is Slice on Broadway. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this place. I’ve heard it’s run by passionate young dudes.  I heard that it is located on Broadway Ave in Beechview. I heard they sell pizza.

We’ll find out tonight. We’ll be shooting some video, taking some photos and doing some in-depth pizza investigation. 

Got insights about Slice on Broadway? Find me on Twitter or ask me a pizza question anonymously. 

Pizza Boat: The End is Nigh

Dang. Just dang. 

Can you believe that tomorrow is the seasonal finale of Pizza Boat? As they prepare to pack up their brick oven and vanish from the pizza landscape (perhaps as pizza ghost?) they’re having one last pizza celebration.

It’s sad when some of the best pizza in Pittsburgh goes into hibernation, but I’m sure they’ll come back stronger, sturdier, and more delicious than ever. 

I was going through my pizza archives when I found some photos I took of a Pizza Boat outing that I never published. My friend Mark wanted to meet me in the Strip District after a morning of tailgating. He was walking from Heinz Field to 20th St in the Strip just for pizza. 

It was the only type of sustenance that could save him at that point in his life. 

We each had our own pie. I defaulted to the classic margherita and he chose the white pizza topped with arugula as green as Kermit’s coat and cheese that spread itself around the pizza without a care in the world. Carefree cheese is the best cheese. It fills your insides with an aura of optimism that makes you feel like you can digest an unlimited amount of pizza.

Here’s Mark who cannot wait to get that pizza in his mouth. He was even willing to meet the slice half-way like estranged parents meet up to exchange kids for the weekend. 

Shouting his name to look at the camera at this point was no good. He was in the zone. Tranced out on pizza. To him he had reached nirvana. And it was only slightly oily. 

After eating his pizza he was out of sorts. He kept mumbling about a higher existence and trailed off mid-thought to look in the distance. Was he seeing a truer reality than the one I’m experiencing? Did the pizza knock something loose in his mind?

Mark was a changed man after his Pizza Boat experience. 

It’s not too late to get on the Pizza Boat and drift off into your own personal pizza nirvana. 

Be in the Strip District tomorrow for one finale pizza showdown. 

Coffee & Pizza at Espresso A Mano

Saturday mornings at Espresso A Mano are hectic. You have everyone in the Lawrenceville area piling in for one of the best cups of coffee in the city. The  line accordions its way out the door, tables are hard to come by. A team of bikers orders 10 cappuccino’s and the espresso machine hisses in excitement.

And what is better than a cup of coffee? Obviously, if you’re reading this you think pizza is great. And it is. But it has its place. Usually in the afternoon or evening. But maybe we should start exploring pizza’s contribution to the world of coffee? 

Coffee spills into my stomach, causing it to grumble with delight. I pour all the coffee down my gullet and while I’m energized to the point that I can see into the future and tab through 30 browser windows, my guts are feeling forgotten. 

A body cannot subsist on coffee alone. The folks at Espresso a Mano realize this after witnessing their customers began to quake. Scones and croissants aren’t potent enough to ward off “Coffee Stomach.” Something had to be done. To steady the human body and soak up caffeine, they summon pizza to their coffee shop. 

The soft dough and oils bring harmony to the digestion tract while the cheese and fresh toppings provide a flavor that complements your cappucino.

The pizza is brought in from La Tavola Italiana in Mt Lebanon. It’s not a place I’ve heard of before, but there’s a reason they import pizza from miles away. If you didn’t know any better you would think it was being shipped in from Rome every morning.

By the time you’re eating the pizza (which arrives by noon on Saturdays at Espresso A Mano) it’s mildly warm, in a comforting way. The quality of the ingredients keep the pizza from fizzling out. Like a great cup of coffee that’s easy to drink piping hot and smooth when it hits room temperature.

The crust is chewy and soft. There’s some tearing that needs to happen and you’re definitely getting your flours worth. If you’re feeling adventurous you’ll grab some of that doughy crust to dip into your coffee. No one will look at you with shame. It’s something we’ve all wanted to every so often, you’re just the brave person who took action.

Sauce is tangy and thick like a pasta sauce. There are swirls of toppings and a layer of cheese as white as the fence Huck Finn painted. 

I’m a proponent of eating pizza from the source—but these large slices delivered to Espresso A Mano hold their own. They’re a tease of the real pizza, the pizza that hasn’t been removed from its natural habitat. The pizza that bursts from the oven and into your mouth is a pizza that you cherish.

Yet, this is amazing. And I cannot wait for their pizza shop to open up in East Liberty. Their shop, Taglio, will specialize in Roman Style pizza. If it’s anything like the pizza I had in Rome, they’ll charge you by the gram. 

These slices were built for endurance and make great traveling companions. Get one to-go with your espresso or save it for later. The genius of this pizza is the minimal toppings. There’s nothing offensive or over-the-top on this pizza. It’s clearly the fundamentals and nothing more. The lack of exoticism acts as its own preservative. There’s no gloopy cheese to erode the pizza and there’s the right amount of oil without becoming slippery.

The this dough soaks up any ingredients that try to escape. The longer you wait, the better this pizza tastes. It’s a functional masterpiece of pizza engineering. 

I’ll be interviewing the owner this Saturday. Stay tuned for more insight about Taglio. Got questions? Get in touch.