Slicing it Up With Dan: Tallarico Toast from Michigan & Trumbull

I guess it was bound to happen. After years of writing about pizza and documenting my avocado toast every morning, someone was going to put two and two together. We went to visit Michigan & Trumbull and ate a slice of Tallarico Toast. The result is an authentic, honest report of the pizza.

The pizza combines the fundamentals of Detroit Style Pizza with the decadent toppings of Avocado Toast. While it's a limited time menu item, here's hoping it makes another appearance. 

Making Pizzas with Pittsburgh Pizzaiolo, Dan Cardone

When I first started dating my now-wife, Christa, I didn't think pizza would become part of the fabric of our relationship. Soon after, I started this website and she has traveled with me on my pizza journeys across the land and film me eat slices of pizza. Around the same time, her father starting really getting into pizza.

His frequent trips to Italy became more frequent. Soon, he was spending weeks at a time at a Pizzaiolo school in Naples. He would return to the states with in-depth knowledge of Neapolitan pizza. A true pizzaiolo. While he has bounced around pizzerias, most of his baking takes place in his backyard where he had a pizza oven constructed next to his bocci court. Some say it's the Little Italy of the North Hills.

This video is from our most recent trip to the North Hills Little Italy. Watch Dan Cardone craft a Margherita pizza - with a big twist. That's right, we defied the strict rules of Margherita pizza and added tiny san marzano tomatoes. They added a nice burst of flavor and a bit of extra zest to the traditional pie.  

Here are a couple of the other pizzas we made that day, as well as the finished Margherita from the one in the video. 

Here's the pizza from the video. It was the first of the day and honestly, I think it could've used some more time in the oven. I like em crispy even though it's technically not "correct." The toppings could've been distributed better, but lots of jostling can happen from the walk on the basement to the backyard pizza oven. 

Now here was a divisive pizza! This one has some of that char I love, but it also has anchovies, or alici. When I served this pizza Dan was very clear not to tell people it had anchovies on it and that instead I should use the Italian word for it, alici. No one was fooled. 

And finally, here's one with a mix of shredded cheese. You know it's shredded because it burns up so quickly while the whole mozzarella stays nice and white. 

Pizza Remix: Get Pumped Up with Driftwood Oven's Archer Pizza

A muse can take many forms. For some it's a beautiful partner, always lingering at their side with wisdom and guidance. For me it's a perfectly baked pizza and amazing lighting. I had extra footage from my visit to Driftwood Oven's new spot in Lawrenceville so I put it to some tunes. 

Enjoy the video and if you've had a chance to make it to Driftwood Oven for their soft opening let me know how you enjoyed it!

A Video of Driftwood Oven's Permanent Location in Lawrenceville

It's no secret that I adore Driftwood Oven's pizza. I spent a lot of money on gasoline chasing them around to every corner of Pittsburgh. But most of their travels have come to an end as they've settled on a permanent home in Lawrenceville.

They've taken up residence at 3615 Butler St (the old Matteo's spot) where they'll be slinging 16 inch pizzas with a full bar and a roof over their heads. Three years of hard work to sell pizzas and an amazingly successful Kickstarter is really paying off for Neil, Justin and the whole Driftwood Oven crew. 

I was lucky enough to pop into their shop during their soft opening. It was a Sunday full of sunshine and I did my best to capture their pizza on video. Look forward to more coverage of Driftwood Oven as they figure out this whole permanent pizza thing. Maybe we'll even see some of their delicious and elusive square pizza slices...

This is Driftwood Oven's delicious Archer pizza. A bit bigger and sturdier than their mobile version.

Slicing it Up with Dan: Michigan & Trumbull Detroit Style Pizza

In this episode of Slicing it Up With Dan, you can watch me eat a slice of pizza from Michigan & Trumbull. This slice has sausage, fennel, and their delicious sauce and cheese. Watch me enjoy the crusty exterior and delicious innards.

Michigan & Trumbull is a delicious pizzeria that is churning out some high-tier flavors. You can read my review of Michigan & Trumbull pizza here. 

Pizza Rematch: Driftwood Oven vs Pizza Boat in the Pizza Dojo

There is a point in every city’s development where we hit maximum pizza. A city, for a short moment, becomes a temporary mecca. A spot where pizzaiolos travel to to forge a new path and hone their craft. This era of pizza development comes after years of stagnation. When a city is reduced to only flour and water. These creators are the yeast that balloon the city to pizza heights.

But, while that era is ripe with innovation and evolution, it breeds contention. Jealousy. Spite.

To settle these scores, pizzaiolos enter the Pizza Dojo. Two enter and, typically, two also leave, but one of these days I’m sure only one will leave. It’s bound to happen. But this latest Pizza Dojo was unusual. It was a rematch between upstarts (and rising stars) Driftwood Oven and the mysterious Pizza Boat, who dips in and out of hiding. Watch the video to see how it ends.

Slicing it Up With Dan - VIA 313 Detroit Style Pizza

In this episode of Slicing it Up With Dan, I work my way through a "slice" of Detroit Style Pizza from VIA 313 in Austin, Texas. Now you may be asking yourself a couple of questions. What's Detroit Style Pizza? Is that a pineapple ring in the thumbnail of the video? How's the pizza in Austin, Texas?

A couple of pizzas ready for action.

Detroit Style pizza is famous for being cooked in square pans that are amazing at retaining heat. They push the dough into the oiled pans and heat them up. What you end up with is a sicilian-style pizza that's crunchier, a bit thinner and softer on the inside. The exterior of this pizza was my favorite part. It had a delicious, oily crunch that was very flavorful. Juicy in some ways. Like the interior crust was marinating in savory oils and cheeses all day.

VIA 313 has an eclectic menu, but they're most famous for their pepperoni pizza. There's two kids of pepperoni. One under the cheese (a shy pepperoni) and an extroverted pepperoni that sits atop the cheese. Despite the double-layer of pepperoni the pizza wasn't overly greasy. How they engineered that is beyond me.

Despite all the tacos and meats I ate during my trip to Austin (a smoke turkey too!), I immensely enjoyed VIA 313. This is the kind of pizza that pairs well with an ice cold beer. The sauce is nice and zesty, the cheese is perfectly melted and that crust is divine.  Definitely check out VIA 313 if you get a chance. 

Slicing it Up with Dan! Episode 3: Mama Lucia's Pizza

In this episode of Slicing it Up With Dan! I eat a slice from Mama Lucia's in Downtown Pittsburgh. Now, Mama Lucia's is an older pizzeria. If you walk a block in most directions of Mama Lucia's you'll stumble over the neapolitan and craft pizzas that litter downtown Pittsburgh.

Mama Lucia's is a bunker of nostalgia and authenticity. The pizza you begged to order every Friday night as a child is waiting for you in this pizzeria. They offer classic slices and Sicilian slices. I've been on the hunt for sicilian style slices of pizzas lately and couldn't resist chomping into one of mama Lucia's. 

The thicker crust was too bready and could have used more sauce. The chef may not have known that the thicker slice needed special attention. You can't treat it with the common-core of pizza education and expect it to come out as high quality of the thin crust. 

If you venture down the Sicilian path, pack a pepsi to wash down the dough. 

Mama Lucia's was a staple in my life growing up. My fondest memories are from visiting Mama Lucia's in the North Way Mall after seeing a $1 movie. I'd grab a greasy slice and dare myself to sprinkle as much parmesan cheese and red-pepper flakes as my body could digest. 

Here's a couple of slices from Mama Lucia's. 

Slicing it Up with Dan! Episode 2: Driftwood Oven Pizza

In this episode of Slicing it Up With Dan! I eat a slice of Driftwood Oven pizza. This slice-eating takes place in the back of Spirit Lounge during one of the many Pizza Dojo competitions.

It was a stressful night for all participants. All eyes were on them and every pizza popping out of the oven had to be as amazing as the one before it. I don't know how often Driftwood Oven trains, but I ate about 9 slices of pizzas that night and the consistency was amazingly level. From the beginning to the end each pie was masterfully crafted.

A few things to note while you watch me eat this slice of Driftwood Oven pizza:

1. I fold the pizza in half to start for a big bite, but some of the ingredients hang on for dear life. I have to perform a couple might chomps to salvage the toppings. Unfortunately, this leaves the rest of the pizza a bit bare.
2. I love tearing up the last quarter of Driftwood Oven pizza. The dough is always soft, fluffy and tears nicely. The crust deserves to have a few moments alone.
3. I'm washing down the pizza with an IPA from Pizza Boy Brewing. It complimented the pizza perfectly. A+ would wash down pizza with this beer again.

If you'd like to try a slice of Driftwood Oven, please find their schedule on their website. 

Introducing: Slicing it Up with Dan! Ep 1: Pizza Boat Pizza

In an effort to authentically document pizza, I've decided to focus on one slice at a time. Introducing: Slicing it Up With Dan. 

Slicing it Up With Dan is a documentary series helmed by yours truly. I have a few episodes queued up and I plan to publish at least 2 a month. Probably more as there is no shortage of pizza in my life.

The only thing stopping this pizza train is a willing camera person! 

Slice ya later!

Pizza Taglio's Sicilian Pizza

Tony at Pizza Taglio is constantly testing out new things in his pizza kitchen. Some days he'll bring out a plate of cheeses from exotic locales, other days he's working on perfecting a calzone filled with ricotta and nutella. 

I was lucky enough to be hanging out in Tony's kitchen the night he made Sicilian pizza. The dough rose for two days and was cooked in a pan, giving it a crispy exterior and a soft interior. With a smile on his face he told me how bewildered pizza eaters are to find that the cheese goes underneath the sauce in a Sicilian pie. 

"Little do they know it's to prevent the cheese from burning." Genius. And look - it bubbles up to the top naturally.

You can watch a video of the pizza being made up above. It's a tiered process—as the pizza cooks you add more items on top of it. In total it took about 20 minutes to cook a single pie.

I couldn't keep my mits off it. It was crunchy and soft. The sauce was made a few hours before. The sauce contained a single anchovy. I don't know if it made a difference, perhaps because the total package was so delicious. I didn't have time to think about the effects a single fish could have on an amazing pizza. Thinking about it now...is it possible a single fish could impact the flavor of the pizza? Hmm...

I hope this becomes a staple of Pizza Taglio's menu. It's the perfect pizza to share with pals. As you work your way towards the center you find yourself in the midst of a pizza mess. Sauce and cheese gloop every which way. It's then that you drop your guard and simply enjoy the pizza. No need to worry about a mess or looking good for whomever. A deliciously sloppy pizza will warm your spirit and instill pizza confidence into your soul. 

Pizza Dojo 3 - Pizza Boat vs Driftwood Oven. Is the World Wide Enough for Two Mobile Pizza Units?

The build up to Pizza Dojo 3 was tense and uncomfortable. Witnessing two pizza artists prepare for battle is never easy. At the end of the day, can't we all just survive alongside one another? Pizza Boat and Driftwood Oven thought otherwise; two pizza makers would enter the Pizza Dojo, a parking lot conveniently located behind Spirit Lounge (Pizza Boat's HQ), and maybe only one pizza team would survive. Or both. The rules are somewhat unclear what "winning" is considered at these events.

Much like the famous duel between Burr and Hamilton, this was a battle that would change the course of the pizza stream flowing through time. Would a victory propel whomever to grow and prosper? Would defeat mean that Driftwood oven or Pizza Boat was legally obligated to never make pizza again? 

Luckily, this battle was too close to call. I think at the end it was a honest-to-goodness tie. 

Neil and Justin work the pizza oven. They hired a ninja to work the front of house. 

Pizza Boat and Driftwood Oven each brought two types of pizza to the event. One from the family of Pepperoni and another filled with vegetables.  For $15 you got to have one of each - this may go down in history as the pizza deal of the year.

Driftwood Oven prettied up their pepperoni offering by topping their pie with chili flakes and Spanish chorizo. On a cold autumn evening, the extra spiciness was a welcome reprieve from the surrounding cold.

Here's the Roni from Driftwood Oven. I love how the pizza crust forms a valley of pizza. 

On the other end, we have Pizza Boat who kept it simple. They know what their audience wants and that's a pizza cooked to perfection, with a soft and chewy dough topped with fresh pepperoni. 

There was no decadence with this pizza. This was pizza 101 performed by a master of the craft. Unlike most pepperoni pizzas, there wasn't a pool of grease to traverse. I'm inclined to think that if you looked up "pepperoni pizza" in an encyclopedia you'd see a photo below of Pizza Boat's pizza.

Pizza Boat's Pepperoni Pizza. Textbook execution.

With another Pizza Dojo in the books we close a chapter on a pizza rivalry. Was there a winner? Well, no. Choosing a winner at a Pizza Dojo isn't up to us. Only history and pizza historians will truly be able to judge the winner.  I'm sure they'll cover this event at Mozzarella University in Pizza History 201.

Pizza Dojo isn't about a single night in Pittsburgh, it's about trying something new in the Pittsburgh pizza scene. Pushing one another to innovate and make better pizza.

Instead of existing side-by-side for years on a street in Squirrel Hill and pretending that the world on the other side of the counter hasn't changed, the pizza makers that enter the Pizza Dojo emerge with a new perspective. A new definition of pizza. Confidence to try something new and push the pizza envelope to the edge of the table.

The Pizza Boat crew worked efficiently through the night. A well oiled machine that made sure you didn't wait more than five minutes for a pizza.

Like this pizza article? Feel free to follow me on Twitter for even more pizza updates. 

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Pizza Pitruco Mobilizes Wood-Fired Pizza

A while back I was lucky enough to attend my pal Scott's wedding. It was a great time full of poignant moments, dancing, and a sea of friends. Stellar stuff.

After all the festivities, everyone shuttled back to the hotel to find food truck waiting for us. In the thick of the night, the Pitruco food truck glistened and we fluttered over to them like moths to a flame. They served dozens of wood-fired pizzas from their truck, each one more complex and delicious than the previous pizza. 

I was lucky enough to make my way on the truck and interview one of the owners, Jonah. Enjoy the video and if you're ever in the Philadelphia area be sure to track down the Pitruco food truck!