The first type of American: people who joyride the day's updrafts like marvelous, glossy crows. They easily recall the locations of treats encountered over their lifetime. They answer this question Glock-shot fast, as if they have been waiting to be asked it. They are happy.
North Italia will plant its flag in downtown Walnut Creek, with a March 25 opening scheduled. The 8,500-square-foot dining room and alfresco bar will offer seating for 200. For starters, brunch every weekend and lunch every weekday, with hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at which point the dinner menu kicks in.
The dough is what really makes a Sodo pizza stand out - the sourdough base is made using flour from heritage grains and is fermented for 72 hours to make it light and digestible. But the toppings are no afterthought, with the team sourcing ingredients from local producers, including mozzarella and burrata made in Acton, pepperoni and nduja cured in Islington, honey from Walthamstow and leaves from a salad farm in Dagenham.
The Flour + Water Pizza Shop is opening Jan. 22 at 269 24th St. on the bottom level of the Lark Uptown apartments, just north of Lake Merritt. It's an offshoot of the popular Italian bistro Flour + Water in San Francisco's Mission District - which the Michelin Guide recognizes for its "evergreen appeal" - and will be the restaurant's third Bay Area pizza shop (and first in the East Bay).
The price range for at-home pizza gear is as wide as the topping choices. On the simple, affordable end, there is the humble carbon-steel slab that slides into the oven you already own it's like a basic cheese pie. At the other extreme is pure splurge: a hulking hybrid oven that burns propane or wood and becomes the centerpiece of your outdoor cooking setup. Think of it as a pizza topped with Italian white truffles.
You may have heard "stone" and "steel" used interchangeably, but the two cannot be any more different. Of course, their purpose is the same - to ensure an even cook and concentrated heat on the bottom of the pie - but their makeup and relative conductivity differ. Stones are usually made from cordierite (a heavy-duty mineral), while steels are made from thin, seasoned metal. Stones tend to be much thicker and heavier than steels as well, which can make them more awkward to move.
Neapolitan pizza is a masterclass in textural perfection. It strikes the perfect balance between fluffy and crisp, making us yearn for more with each bite. As the toppings are traditionally minimal, usually sticking only to tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil, the quality of the dough is very much at the forefront and definitely requires some finesse. There are many steps to making the perfect Neapolitan pie at home, but the process surprisingly starts with a very specific choice of flour.
Enter Di Fara Pizza, a legendary Brooklyn pizzeria now bringing its iconic, handcrafted Brooklyn-style pies straight from the supermarket freezer to your home oven. As someone born and raised in northern New Jersey/New York City, I've tried most, if not all, of the iconic and delicious slices around. So when I caught wind of the famous Brooklyn pizzeria's entry into the world of frozen food last year, I knew I had to check it out for myself.
Budakan's specially developed base uses a high-protein Canadian flour for structure along with a small amount of rye, resulting in a slightly nutty flavour and the perfect NY-style chew. The dough is then fermented for a minimum of 48 hours ensuring a super light, but crisp crust. As for the toppings, Hot Saint will serve classics as well as new takes like the Spicy Hawaiian: San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, guanciale and smoked ham hock, pineapple, smoked chilli and jalapeños;
When you think of the quintessential examples of American pizza, you probably don't think about Connecticut unless you're from that state. New York, Chicago, or perhaps Detroit are more likely to come to mind. But Connecticut can hold its own in the pizza wars, having developed its own highly commendable New Haven-style pizza - known as "apizza" (pronounced "abeets") - which tends to be crispier, more oblong-shaped, and a little extra charred in all the right spots.
The hand-stretched pies, fashioned into 13-inch rounds, can be customized to preference, with gluten-free crusts and vegan cheese available to suit dietary needs. Customers have called Diavola the best pizza in Indianapolis on TripAdvisor, with one person writing, "This place excels at pizza with a perfect thin crust on the bottom and crusty outside." Burrata can be plopped onto orders for an additional $3, but many people feel the recipes need no improvement -
The space shifts depending on where you sit: There's a dim, modern barroom that's ideal for after-work drinks and casual dates; a second dining room that leans nostalgic with booths and old-school Italian restaurant touches like paisley walls bedecked in clusters of family photos; and an intriguing downstairs cocktail lounge that would make Frank Sinatra proud. But the draw here is the crackly, light tavern-style pies that feel dangerously easy to finish solo.