The Best Pizza in All the World

The Best Pizza in All the World

Last year I moved back to my native land–the greater (i.e. downstate) NY area–after many, many years away. I’ve lived in Philadelphia, Chicago, California, Scotland, and Germany in the meantime, traveling to Rome and Paris in between. In each place, I longed for a real NY slice.

Before singing the praises of my hometown pizza, I give you the utterly biased and probably unfair generalizations of the pizzas from my travels:

Philadelphia: Renzi’s pizza in Bridesburg is good, but kinda salty and overly tomatoey for my taste.

Chicago: Stuffed crust is interesting, but kinda gross, and Chicago thin crust tastes icky and Bisquicky. Plus, why do they cut it like that? And why no pizza “by the slice”?

California: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the California Pizza. Pineapple? Yum. Fresh Veg.? Yum. But still not quite like home.

Scotland: Can’t tell you how I hate to confirm the (sometimes unfair) “Bad Food Britain” stereotype. But CORN and PRAWNS on a prefabricated crust with bland, corn starch thickened ketchup tasting sauce? Why?

Germany: Joey’s Pizza isn’t fantastic, but it has a major advantage for the expat who speaks German haltingly and has no car–ONLINE BESTELLUNG und LIEFERUNG! (you order it online and they bring it to your door, free!) The best pizza in Germany is probably made by my friend Crystal. (Hi Crystal!)

Rome: I seriously offended some Italians by saying so, but I found Roman pizza seriously disappointing. That could be because NY pizza is more influenced by a Neapolitan slice (or so I’m told), but I don’t know.

Paris: Some may think this is blasphemous, but we actually ordered in Pizza Hut while staying with a lovely friend outside Paris. It took much longer than US Pizza Hut and tasted much better, too. (My son had a broken leg and we were in crisis mode. Pizza is the official food sponsor of Stone family crisis mode.)

The FIRST DAY we were back on native soil, I HAD TO HAVE pizza from La Capricciosa Brick Oven Pizza, right here in Greenport, NY. 

Oh, this pizza! It’s made from scratch, right there where you can see it. Its crust strikes a perfect balance of crispy and chewy, beautifully dimpled beneath just the right amount of a tomato sauce that’s at once tangy and savory. And the cheese: neither too little nor too much, and none of this part-skim stuff. Health food? I think so. It’s REAL FOOD. Nothing prefab. Nothing fake. Made before your eyes by people you can talk to.

(in case there was any doubt about where allegiances ’round here lie…)

The pizza man was all "why you wanna take a picture of my hands?"

playing with cars helps you wait for your pizza--my nephew (kind of) Dante

(note that my sons KNOW how to fold a real NY slice. so proud.)

It’s truly delicious! Even among NY pizzerias, it is king. I haven’t had a better tasting slice ANYwhere in the world.

{Not that I’m biased or given to superlative statements.}

I suspect that we all have some food or foods that just taste RIGHT to us, that make us feel that we’re really at home, and call forth from us spontaneous delight and gratitude.

What’s yours?

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8 Responses »

  1. For me, it’s also pizza…the pizza here in my hometown that I’ve been eating ever since a particular pizza place opened up a mile from my childhood home, when I was probably 12 or so. It’s still my first choice for pizza after all these years, and my kids love it too. For lack of a better description, it’s Greek-style pizza (the store is run by Greek immigrants). The crust is sort of French-bread like, very crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. They cut it in squares a la Chicago style. It’s delicious and cheesy and perfect and simple (especially compared with the trendy newer style pizza, which I also like, but isn’t the same). And I’m so glad you label pizza as “good” food because it’s real. It always bugs me when nutritionists or magazine articles label pizza as “junk food.” Yes, it’s high fat, high carb, not something to eat every single day. But it’s got veggies and cheese and good bread. And when you buy it from a neighborhood place, it’s made from scratch. That’s not junk!

  2. I also have been all over the world and have not found better pizza! I’m not just saying that because I work there either!! :)

  3. Man, that is some good-looking pizza! I’ve never been to Chicago — do they always cut it up like that?

    There’s some pretty good pizza in my neighborhood in Philly. It was slim pickins in Seattle. But you’re right, nothing beats NY pizza.

  4. I’m so happy you posted about pizza! My absolute fav! I grew up on thin Chicago pizza cut in squares. I do see now that the squares are a bit silly, but as you mentioned at the end, they are part of my history and I love them. Whenever I am away from Chicago, I crave what I call “pizzeria pizza in a cardboard box.” Somethin’ about that gooey cheese stuck to the box… I visited NY in high school, and we were drawn to the quick and cheap lunch of “pizza by the slice.” But we wondered where all the chairs had gone! Why do New Yorkers eat their pizza standing up? Just for the record, though, we DID fold it in half. :-)

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