Pizza Compass. No frills, just pizza.
Stumbled upon this tool today. It’s a tool to help pizza get to your mouth. I literally cannot argue with any of this logic. Check out the video before. I’ve reached out to the devs for an interview so hopefully I’ll have more info soon!
Pizza Compass from Oak Studios on Vimeo.
.@pghmarathon hey how much pizza is it customary to eat before a marathon? I’m doing an article on this and your input would be great.
— Dan Tallarico (@woozle) May 1, 2013
One thing that fuels my pizza cravings is my constant running. This whole time I’ve been training for the Pittsburgh Marathon. It was the perfect relationship; I could run dozens of miles a week and in return I’d reward my body with pizza. After especially long runs on nice days I would grab a large pie and my pizza pal Christa for a pizza-in-the-park adventure. It’s the only way to celebrate fitness.
But the question remains - how much pizza is an athlete supposed to be eating before a run? I posed this to the Pittsburgh Marathon and their silence is as terrifying as a gas pizza oven ripe to explode.
.@pghmarathon I’ll be filing my story on “How Much Pizza to Eat Before a Marathon” today. If you want to speak about, this now is the time
— Dan Tallarico (@woozle) May 3, 2013
They refused to respond - luckily I’m not only a pizza journalist, but an inside source on this matter. While I won’t have any concrete data until I finish the Pittsburgh Marathon tomorrow I have a very strong hypothesis on how much pizza you should eat before a marathon.
In the week leading up to the marathon I had pizza on the following days:
You can see the pattern. Start off the week slow, ramp up, plateau add in a day of break, and lay down the hammer the crucial day before the marathon. If all goes well tomorrow it stands that an average marathoner should eat 20 slices of pizza the week leading up to the marathon.
And that’s a little bit of pizza science for you. Have your own pizza regiment? Let me know!
Unfortunately, baseball season isn’t eternal so they have to exist in some capacity They need a thing, a hook to keep people coming back. Something that goes beyond baseball, fried food, and cheap Miller Lite. Many spaces resort to dealing with the downtown lunch crowd, of which I was part of yesterday.
I wandered over to BZ’s Bar & Grill to meet some folks for lunch. I was worried about the large Martini glass in their logo; would we be drinking our lunch? Perhaps partake in a refreshing pizza smoothie? Not today.
As seen above, it’s a very plain looking pie. It’s passive and worried about offending your digestive track. “Don’t worry about me,” the pizza squeaks. “I’m just going to be over here, you know, being a lil’ pizza.” Okay, pizza.
I don’t know if BZ’s puts in a lot of effort into their pizza. I guess I could ask, but eating this pizza reveals so much more. A squishy crust that would be fine to eat for those who can’t find their dentures. The bottom is slightly charred, which would be great if the pizza was only 2-dimensions. But the third dimension, mainly the interior of the pizza, was forgotten It was fluff. The pizza was stuffed with nothingness. A pairing perfect for Miller Lite and a baseball ticket.
The pizza is innocuous. It’s taking absolutely zero chances and I think it’s okay. Like the Pirates who play it safe, the pizza is okay with a losing record. It’s fine pizza in a pinch, much better than the pizza served at PNC Park, and something I would even serve to the Just Ducky Tour ducks.
Three out of five pizza.
Last July this photo of Andrew W.K. shredded across the Internet. Who knew such a party-freak would create this delicious hybrid? A harmony of cheeses, sauces, and music.
Nearly a year later, Andrew W.K. is on tour across America (he’ll be in Pittsburgh on May 19) and this photo is proudly hung in Spak Brother’s pizza. I went to take a photo of this photo and the guy behind the register told me that Andre W.K. knew that this photo was taped to that wall.
Yes, word got back to Andrew W.K. that his pizza guitar was hanging inside a pizzeria. So, of course Andrew W.K. does what any other party expert would do. He sent them a package of autographed photos. I assume it was to reward Spak for supplying so many pizza parties.
So there you have it - Andrew W.K. is a standup guy who can appreciate pizza through and through. Perhaps when he’s in Pittsburgh this May I can interview him about his pizza experience.
Around the corner from Corneldaniel’s Zico shop, the crust as the Foccaciaria is made by an Egyptian. Nevertheless, people anxiously wait outside for a table.
This article is interesting for a number of reasons. First, it delves into the pizza making hierarchy in Italy. It’s not surprising that this is a serious profession, but at the same time it pays poorly. After all, they’re making pizza. While it’s rewarding and emotionally enriching, it won’t make you rich. Until pizza becomes currency.
Many Italians are hanging up their dough hooks to pursue other careers. What does a professional pizza maker do post-pizza? Maybe retire to a beet farm or get into the calzone business.
Back to the hierarchy–pizzerias employ a “Neapolitan” to train and supervise employees. An overseer with pizza sauce flowing through their veins and years of experiencing packed into their DNA. The problem is that there aren’t enough Neapolitans to keep up with demand! This can be the beginning of a failing pizza infrastructure A downward spiral smeared with spoiled vegetables and canned sauce. Without a Neapolitan on staff it’s complete bedlam.
Secondly, many Italian pizzerias employ workers from Egypt and Bangladesh. Proving that pizza is truly the one-food to rule them all. A circular disc that welcomes all life into its delicious portal. Once you succumb to the pizza siren, you’re within its grasp for eternity. One day, pizza shall inherit the earth.
Thanks to Justine for sending this my way.
Also, the article tries to shame the pizza establishment for employing an Egypt native to make pizza which is just disgusting.
On a pizza picnic.
Get a large pie, a couple of beers, sit in the park and you’re living a bonafided hobo-king lifestyle.
Don’t let the cops catch ya or you’ll spend so much money making bail you’ll have to go a month without pizza!
“The Pizza Pie Steams / Heavenly Rests In Oven / Patience - Burnt Mouth.”
“New Yorkers can be prickly over their pizza prices. Students picketed in front of Pizza Suprema when owner Salvatore Riggio raised the price to 25 cents from 20 cents in the early 1970s, his son Joseph recalled.”
A Wall Street Journal article on new $1 pizza slice shops opening around Manhattan. Pizza is cheap to make, but if you want quality you should be paying at least $2 a slice. For $1 what could you possibly be eating? Cardboard with a sprinkle of parmesan? Watered down marinara? It doesn’t bode well for the eternally booming pizza industry.
This isn’t new - there was a New York Times article investigating this phenomenon a year ago where pizza places were selling slices for 75 cents. One of the main players, 2 Brothers Pizza Shop, had 11 shops at the time. A year later they have 12 and are looking to open one more in the Bronx.
This reminds me of the $5 pizza in Oakland. A whole pizza for $5. Great idea when you’ve been drinking. In the light of day, it’s a circle of shame. A stale reminder that you’re cheap, pathetic, and your hunger can be sold to the lowest bidder.
I’ll go to great lengths for pizza. In this case I went 3 miles. We took a seat, waited an extra-long time (because their oven is so small and they had to make a pizza for everyone in Pittsburgh), and got to eating.
Here’s Christa enjoying the free margherita pizza. She really wanted to get her money’s worth so she thought she’d eat the plate too. Poor girl. You think she’d know how to eat pizza by now?
I wish more pizza places celebrated their pizza birthday. It’s more important than ever to understand your pizza roots and measure success! Looking back and seeing pizza progress is the only way to redefine pizza and innovate.
We received this call late afternoon. A worried banana went to clean its windowsill like it does every other Friday at 3pm. This time was different.
On the opposite side of the windowsill, as if the banana was looking through an alternate dimension, there laid a post-mortem slice of pizza. The slice was cut in half. The cut was neither clean nor even. It was sloppy, just like its assailant.
Forensics think that this pizza was attacked late at night. It was leaving a bar after drinking too many High Lifes and stumbled into the wrong crowd. There’s signs of excess struggle and a wallet was found nearby. All ID was missing, save for a phone number written in lipstick that said “Call me, love."
In the wake of this attack were drops of cheese and blood mixed with a bit of sauce (that was way too sweet to be on a pizza). If anyone has any information about this attack, please contact the Pizza Victims Unit
Went to Mercurio’s the other day with some pals. Aside from a seating debacle, it seems they’re actually getting better at serving pizzas that are fully-cooked and piping hot.
Enjoy the photos - I’ll get back to more pizza reviews and less glamour shots of me posing with pizza soon!
I recently had the “pleasure” of visiting Roland’s in the Strip. This is face, the face I’m making at that pizza, is usually the last thing any pizza sees before meeting its maker. It’s the “I’m going to eat this whole pizza in one sitting” face.
The pizza of Roland’s must have sensed that doom was following it out of the oven and deployed a self-defense mechanism: awfulness. Thanks to some miserable sauce, soggy cheese, and a floppy crust this pizza fought me away. Like a wolf biting a porcupine, I had to turn tail and flee from my prey.
The only edible portion of this pizza were certain spots of the crust. I carefully tore off the crust like I was opening up a valuable envelope. A pull in the wrong direction and I’d have spoiled my dinner with some of that candy sweet sauce and flat as paper cheese.
This pizza made me crave texture. It flopped down my throat like I was swallowing a dead fish whole. Which is too bad because it looks nice. The roasted red peppers are spread throughout and the cheese covers the dough like a blanket on a freshly made bed. But looks can be deceiving.
I’d stick to the fish at Roland’s.
When is a pizza not a pizza? This is cutting it close.
Here’s me posing with one of my birthday gifts, a Rocking Pizza Cutter by Pizzacraft.
Looks like you can just rock it back and forth and it’ll slice and dice anything! I truly feel like I won the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right.
Thanks the Pat for trading in the toaster I got him for his birthday and getting me this. Just kidding about the toaster thing.
My dad sent me this photo of pizza all the way from Spokane, Washington! This could be the start of a “Pizza Postcard” business.
I asked him if that was pepperoni on there hiding under the cheese. He said “I think so.” His hesitation and uncertainty is making me weary.
West Coast pizza represent.
My dad said the slice was “pretty good.” Which is a decent review coming from the guy who created “hot dog casserole.” This slice is from David’s Pizza.
“Sorry, I don’t do stock images of pizza. Take a hike.”
Some pizza I’m currently eating. From Fazio’s. No use ordering a medium because they will up sell you to a large or die trying.
The pizza witching hour is the hour before the pizza you plan to eat arrives. Here’s what typically happens during such a time:
Law & Order: Pizza Victims Unit.
Here we have two young pizzas dead in an alleyway. Crime scene is greasiest than Pizza Hut’s forehead. Their pizza table was overturned by rage and jealousy. Is this mess the result of a grimy fling? Did a jealous calzone have their pepperoni burnt and resorted to lashing out?
Mayonnaise has become pretty popular lately and has been quite the hit on sandwiches. Jimmy John’s subs come with mayonnaise on default and Subway has a buffet of mayonnaise variants to choose from. You can’t swing a dead cat without it hitting a vat of mayonnaise. Despite this I’ve yet to dive head first into the world of mayonnaise. But now I finally have a reason.
Japan is a pioneer of trends and I look to them to show me the food of tomorrow. This week, that food is pizza with a grid of mayonnaise. According to an on-the-street report from Rocket News 24, mayonnaise is a staple on pizza. I guess Domino’s adopting the creamy gunk for its own pies just makes sense in that region.
How does mayonnaise complement a buttery crust, soggy vegetables, and canned sauce? We may never know without visiting Japan.
If this story has taught me anything it’s how to properly spell mayonnaise.
