Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The essence of good pizza
Last night I tried a new pizza place a few blocks from my house-- Pizza Lola. Edina and nearby Minneapolis neighborhoods already have plenty of good pizza-- Carbones, Mazza Mia, Michelangelo's, and Pizza Luce-- but this is something a little different.
At the center of Lola is a big copper pizza oven that dominates the space. That's where the magic happens. It's always fascinated me to watch people work with a wood-burning pizza oven like this one, and the layout here makes that easy.
The pizza is pretty great. The owners are Korean, and have added some Korean elements to the pizza, such as kimchee and Korean barbecue. That said, the star of the show is a fabulous pepperoni and sausage pizza that is the best I've had. The sauce was just right, and the dough was chewy without fighting back.
Here's the question: What do you think makes a great pizza? The sauce? The dough? The toppings? And what makes a cruddy pizza bad?
Comments:
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The best pizza is the one you eat with the one you love. Yes, even if it is a buffet at a tacky place. I can get good pizza in many places. But that company... Not so much.
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# posted by 
: 12:28 AM
: 12:28 AM
Two things for me stand out: a nice crunchy thin crust and excellent tomato sauce that should not taste sweet. Bad pizza is a doughy, chewy crust with no sauce. And salty. The whole thing has to taste salty.
Key for me is not too much grease and please don't embed the crust with cheese - put it on the pizza. I like different styles and the crust has to be appropriate.
If I am in NY I want a slice that I can sop the grease off the top and then fold lengthwise so I can eat it while I walk down the street.
And pizza is meant to be eaten with your hands but if you put it on the foraml china I will use the knife and fork.
If I am in NY I want a slice that I can sop the grease off the top and then fold lengthwise so I can eat it while I walk down the street.
And pizza is meant to be eaten with your hands but if you put it on the foraml china I will use the knife and fork.
You forgot Punch Pizza - the best pizza in the Cities. It is good because it has the perfect ratios of fresh ingredients: sauce, cheese, and crust.The sauce is simple and delicious, a little garlic-y but you can still taste the fresh tomato. And one of the keys is the cooking method: 500 degree wood burning stone oven that cooks pizza in 90 seconds. But this is only one kind of pizza but I think the same rules apply to most pizza. Good sauce, fresh ingredients and high heat.
For those who have never had bad pizza you must not live in the mid-west, terrible pizza abounds. Overcooked crust or just a bad crust recipe, sauce that's too sweet, bland packaged cheese. Ew.
For those who have never had bad pizza you must not live in the mid-west, terrible pizza abounds. Overcooked crust or just a bad crust recipe, sauce that's too sweet, bland packaged cheese. Ew.
Nothing ruins a pizza more than crummy cheese. I like my cheese smooth and creamy. I don't like cheese that resembles shredded glue sticks.
# posted by : 10:34 AM
: 10:34 AM
Nothing ruins a pizza more than crummy cheese. I like my cheese smooth and creamy. I don't like cheese that resembles shredded glue sticks.
# posted by : 10:36 AM
: 10:36 AM
The sauce, the sauce, and the sauce. Too sweet and the pizza is ruined. Did you get free pizza for this post?
What makes a great pizza?
1. Being hungry.
2. A cold beverage--really cold--to go with it.
3. Tangy toppings.
4. Not too much of anything--i.e., good balance--cheese, bread, toppings, sauce, so that nothing is dominant.
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1. Being hungry.
2. A cold beverage--really cold--to go with it.
3. Tangy toppings.
4. Not too much of anything--i.e., good balance--cheese, bread, toppings, sauce, so that nothing is dominant.
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