Pizza Is Meh

[Don Cuevas]

Pizza Is Meh?

Discuss.

[fumobici]

K2 says pizza is meh, and it certainly can be. I doubt most Americans have ever had a really good pizza--when a NY/NJ pie is your high water mark--so I can understand how one might come to such a conclusion. If it arrives on the table sliced into wedges for sharing, you've probably already missed out, a pizza is for one person to eat--with knife and fork.

[Deleted]

Even eating pizza with a knife and fork, as we do in France as well, I will never consider pizza to be a fine food. I just wish it could be returned to its original role as a small opening course rather than the main (or only) part of a meal.

[Don Cuevas]

Jan 28, 2014 8:05:51 GMT kerouac2 said:

Even eating pizza with a knife and fork, as we do in France as well, I will never consider pizza to be a fine food. I just wish it could be returned to its original role as a small opening course rather than the main (or only) part of a meal.

What's to stop you from doing just that? The pizza con alici we had at Restaurante Mexita in Oaxaca could have served as as a light first course for 2-3 diners. (This was the only pizza without cheese, because of the fish.) There were 6-7 modest slices.

[tod2]

Goodness me Don, I have never seen fish or even heard of fish being put onto a pizza!
Shrimps and calamari yes, but fish, never. Thanks for showing us.

[Don Cuevas]

Jan 28, 2014 14:29:54 GMT tod2 said:

Goodness me Don, I have never seen fish or even heard of fish being put onto a pizza!
Shrimps and calamari yes, but fish, never. Thanks for showing us.

You've heard of anchovies? Well, alici are unsalted anchovies.

Anything goes on a pizza. Of course, some are better than others. We have had barbecued pulled pork on a pizza. Not good,  Unusual but good, and very far from pizza's roots. My friends at Tommy's Famous—A Pizzeria specialize in barbecue pork pizzas, as well as orgiastic, hyper loaded toppings.

[Deleted]

I think smoked salmon pizza is the #1 seller in France. Tuna is also popular.

[tod2]

Anchovies? Oh Yeh!! I keep them refrigerated in the cheese compartment of my fridge. They are excellent stuffed into pockets of lamb leg.
We have a restaurant serving their famous pulled lamb.....Mmmmm, only served in pita or such like. Sounds to mushy for me. Pulled shoulder of lamb - fantastic! Pulled knuckle of pork - Fantastic! But I want to do the pulling....that way I get all the Cooks perks!

Keep us entertained with you fabulous photos of all the most unusual dishes I've ever heard of or seen!

[tod2]

Not a smoked salmon fan - but hot smoked YES!! Tuna? You wont get that here. BTW, My matey and I had tinned tuna salads made like prawn cocktails for a light supper on Sunday evening. I found the tuna extremely salty.

[Deleted]

Tuna salty? What on earth do they do to it in South Africa?

[bixaorellana]

Although there is no doubt in my mind that there are excellent pizzas to be found (or made), the fact remains that it is exactly what the Meh article writer said: It’s basically bread with cheese and sauce on it, and maybe some other stuff. It's a SNACK, for heaven's sake, although like all snacks, if you eat enough of it, it becomes a meal.

[Deleted]

One of my best trips ever was when I moved to France from the United States. I sailed on the S.S. Michelangelo from New York to Gibraltar to Naples to Cannes. The Italian Line was on the verge of going out of business, and they came up with a "student fare" of only US$150 for any destination. (This was in 1973.)

The trip lasted a luxurious 8 days and I had a private cabin due to the ship being practically empty in February. Anyway, my greatest discovery in traditional Italian cuisine was the fact that there was a pasta or pizza course before the main course. Quite a few of the passengers skipped it, but naturally at age 20, my appetite was fully capable of adapting to this. Unfortunately, I could probably not deal with that course now, but it remains an extremely fond memory of different ways to serve meals.

[lagatta]

Bixa, it was also a meal of sorts for people who could afford little else. In Southern Italy, they did probably have some kind of greens available to forage or for a very small price.

[bixaorellana]

Precisely, LaGatta. People will eat tree bark, if they have nothing else.

I am not anti pizza, it's just that ........... meh.

[lagatta]

Actually, I like pizza, because I like bread, tomatoes and cheese. I certainly wouldn't eat it every day - or even every week (except when studying in Italy and climbing up and down goat paths all day) as it would be a nutritional disaster. But there is an awful lot of crappy pizza. Isn't there an awful lot of crap among all common foods?

Basically, pizza is a variation on the Mediterranean flatbread, adorned with tomato from America and other bits and scraps. A staple and some embellishments is pretty common wherever humans eat, no?

[tod2]

Kerouac - strange isn't it?! It was a Woolworths product too so expected to be the best of the best. As I had only added a small amount of Hellman's mayo and the same in a sauce called Perinaise - yes, Peri-peri and mayo concoction - I was very surprised by the salty fish.

[Deleted]

In France (like most other countries, I think), you can get tuna packed in oil or tuna packed in water, but they never add salt to it. Perhaps the tuna in that tin was 'naturally' salty for some reason.

[tod2]

Both tins - one Tuna Chunks and the other Solid Packed Tuna were in oil...I think Canola but I know it wasn't olive oil. I couldn't tell any difference in the look of the tuna in their tins either!