Peter’s Blog, August 8th — Alright, Controversy!!
I’m packing and getting ready for the big book launch over the next two weeks in SF and the Bay Area, so will keep this short. The schedule is listed below in my previous Peter’s Blog, if any of you can make it to any of the classes or book signings. There are still a few seats left for the classes but you’ll have to call the venues for more info.
But this week I think we’re going to have to address the controversy that emerged in the Comments section of my last posting, thanks to someone named Scott007 and a few other voices, including another Scott — Scott123. It’s actually kind of exciting — apparently, I’ve pissed a few people off and am not sure why but would sure like to find out what I did (if you aren’t up to speed, please check out the Comments thread in the recent Peter’s Blog — last time I checked there were 14 comments). So, what I’d like to do is open up the discussion here on this posting, via a new Comments section, the one on this posting, and ask any and all of you to chime in. If I’ve trashed NY pizza culture, as Scott123 accuses, or passed on misinformation about pizza methodology or dough science, let’s get it all on the table so we can clear it up. Scott(s), how about getting specific and make your case — I hear that 123 is a well respected pizza authority so maybe I have something to learn from you. None of us have a monopoly on the whole truth and Pizza Quest was created to be a forum for the sharing of our mutual pizza journeys and celebration of artisanship. I’m open to learn from you but also would like to know the actual specifics of where you think I went wrong, rather than generalized attacks. The only rule for this discussion is civility — I reserve the right to edit out ad hominum attacks, unnecessary language, and nasty language. But differences of opinion — sure, I’m okay with that. So, for those who want to play along, go ahead and express yourselves — but let’s do it respectfully, please.
I won’t be posting another Peter’s Blog till I return at the end of the month, but will try to join in the Comments section from the road if my i-Pad and local WiFi will allow it. In the meantime, let’s get to the heart of it — we’re on a search for the truth (or, perhaps, truths). Let the discussion begin….
Recent Articles by Peter Reinhart
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Neapolitan can be wonderful, and coal style (Patsy’s, Lombardi’s, Grimaldi’s etc.) has a huge place in history, but the NY slice is sacred. It was as if God was sitting around sometime after WWII and said, well, you’ve got something great, but I’m going to give you something that will blow your mind. I’m going to give you the single food, that, even when it’s done piss poorly, it still tastes pretty good.
For at least two decades, all New Yorkers were completely enveloped in this rapture. We were pigs in poop. Grins from ear to ear. We never dreamed, in a million years, that something so treasured, so revered, would ever cease to be. It would be like the end of chocolate. Can you imagine, waking up one day, and there being no more chocolate? Of course not! We laughed at the chains when they started popping up. But, then, maybe out of curiosity, ignorance, a susceptibility to marketing, or perhaps all three, the chains started doing better. The fall from grace had commenced. The snake was in the garden and Adam was destined to eat dirt.
None of this happened overnight. The transition was just slow enough for the majority of people to be completely oblivious. Owner by owner would see the business that the chains were doing and say to themselves, “Hey, if people are paying good money for this garbage, why am I spending so much on the fuel it takes for hotter ovens/faster bakes? Why am I spending the extra cash to hire skilled stretchers?” Slowly but surely, the ovens were turned down, the unskilled teenagers replaced the crusty old pizzaiolos, and the bake times were increased. Goodbye, puffy rims. So long, oven spring. See ya later, thin, hard to stretch crusts. Great pizza, farewell.
At least, farewell to 99.99% of the great slices. There are a handful of holdouts that have managed to beat the odds and endure the test of time. Earlier this year I manage to catch the normally quite cranky co-owner of Pizza Town (circa 1958), Michele Tomo, in a chatty mood.
Michele Tomo: We have a second location down in Ocean Grove.
Scott123: Really? 2 locations? That’s great.
MT: Yes, we used to have 5 locations.
s123: 5?!? What happened?
MT: They closed down.
s123: Why?
MT: They cut corners. The pizza wasn’t as good.
s123: Really. What kind of corners?
MT (with a pround glint in her eye): You, know, corners.
If you read between the classic pizzeria owner evasiveness, you’ll see that she’s talking about the other locations doing the same oven temp lowering dance that thousands of other pizzerias have succumbed to. She’s not going to tell you the secret to her success (a 4 minute bake), but the glint in her eye tells you how proud she is that all of these thousands of nitwit owners thought that they were smart enough to save a nickel here and there, but she didn’t fall for any of that garbage. Not for a second- and she’s secretly smiling all the way to the bank. Pizza Town is in an area with plenty of pizzerias, it’s basically Sopranoville- and, while the other joints are pretty much ghost towns, Michele, during her slowest times, is selling about a pizza a minute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7BEwJeocY