Pittsburgh Pizza Update - 9/2 - Spak Interview, Pizza Company & a Trip to Pizza Taglio
Pittsburgh! The most livable city, dripping with pizza.
Maybe not entirely true, but man oh man is there a lot of pizza activity happening in Pizza. Each week I hear about a new mobile pizza unit, a restaurant trying some new pizza stuff or innovation happening with cooking techniques. Here's some pizza news for you to chow down on.
Spak is Back Baby
I spoke with Ryan Spak of Spak Brothers about their pizzeria, the surge of community support and their role as a pizza shop. They do their best to give back to their community. One of my favorite tidbits from the interview is that thanks to everyone spreading the word about Spak on social media, they saw their highest sales ever.
The Pizza Company Opens in Lawrenceville
The Pizza Company exudes a sense of gawdiness and luxury that is foreign to most pizza places. Most pizza shops favor the neon or plastic sign to advertise their business. They spend most of their time in the kitchen, they'll never see it.
But The Pizza Company opts for a gold-plated sign. What does this mean for their pizza? I'm not sure. I haven't eaten their pie yet, but I know they offer a myriad of slices and their website ends in a .biz. I can't tell if that's genius or what.
The Pizza Company is a franchise local to the Pittsburgh area. The founders, Ray Stahl and Larry Stahl, opened a shop in 1992 then quickly opened three other locations. Is it manifest destiny that compels them to dot western Pennsylvania with pizza franchises?
I'm worried they put an emphasis on business first and quality second, but I'll be stopping in soon for a proper review.
A Quick Trip to Pizza Taglio
I'm trying to do a better job of chronicling pizza trips. They can get a bit crazy and a series of photos just don't do it justice.
Here's video and some thoughts on my most recent trip to Pizza Taglio. Take a look and let me know what you think.
On the pizza innovation side of things, Tony at Pizza Taglio is working on perfecting the 2-minute pizza. He's experimenting with different flours and dough to see what works best. Stay tuned for more coverage on that process right here on Pizza Walk With Me!