Pizzamaking Fanatics 2012 NYC Tour – Joe’s, Keste, Paulie Gee’s, Best, Motorino

[norma427]

Terry,

To add to John's post this is the website for Best Pizza. http://best.piz.za.com/  I had also gone to Best Pizza at the end of last year and I really like their pies.  Kelly gave me the recommendation of trying Best Pizza.  Frank told me on my first visit to Best Pizza that the oven was 116 years old, but was used in a bakery before.

Norma

[Essen1]

Looks like things are shaping up for a PM get-together in S.F.

Anyone who would like to join is more than welcome, the more the merrier. Getting everybody on the same page, time-wise shouldn't pose too much of a problem, either, with a little planning ahead. My suggestion is perhaps August or early September. That's usually when the tourist crowds start to thin out a bit and restaurants aren't booked to the fullest.

But regardless of that, there's always a longer wait at UPN, Delfina & Tony's, for example.

[thezaman]

 i need to try upn if i have to i will bring my jammies. where is a-16 at?

[TXCraig1]

i need to try upn if i have to i will bring my jammies. where is a-16 at?

It's in SF near the Presidio. Definitely worth a visit.

CL

[Essen1]

It's in SF near the Presidio. Definitely worth a visit.

CL

And from there it's only a short stroll over to Avellino's for some NY-style slices 

[Woodfiredovenpizzero]

Congratulations to all! It looks like a lot of delicious fun.

[RobynB]

Count me in for the SF tour!!  I live a bit less than 2 hours from there.  Have tried UPN, Pizzeria Picco (same owners as Zero Zero), and have been to Tony's many times.  Most of the others are on my list to try, so it would be a blast to do so in such great company!

[Essen1]

Count me in for the SF tour!!  I live a bit less than 2 hours from there.  Have tried UPN, Pizzeria Picco (same owners as Zero Zero), and have been to Tony's many times.  Most of the others are on my list to try, so it would be a blast to do so in such great company!

Excellent. So we have TheZaman, TxCraig, Vitoduke, you, JConk007 and myself. Maybe PizzaEater101 could make the trip up from SoCal to join us, too.

Let's see if we can get more people together. The good thing is that SF is a small town so there's not much driving required and given the parking situation here, cabs or MUNI (if they get their act together) might be a much better option.

[Jet_deck]

Is there a proposed date in mind for the meet?  There is no way I am letting Craig have all this fun alone.

[Jet_deck]

Well, I finally got to read the entire thread and look at the pictures on a normal size screen.  Thank you PM Fanatics for sharing your evening with us.

Thanks Scott for your review of Joe's and Best.  I was really curious what your thoughts were on the NY slice subject.

One thing I can't wrap my mind around, since it (the dough) seems "inconsistent" with many examples of Neopolitan that I have seen, is the dough box full of grown together dough balls at Keste's.

Did Roberto comment about it, or his preference for "doing it this way" ?

Thanks guys and gal.

[norma427]

Well, I finally got to read the entire thread and look at the pictures on a normal size screen.  Thank you PM Fanatics for sharing your evening with us.

Thanks Scott for your review of Joe's and Best.  I was really curious what your thoughts were on the NY slice subject.

One thing I can't wrap my mind around, since it (the dough) seems "inconsistent" with many examples of Neopolitan that I have seen, is the dough box full of grown together dough balls at Keste's.

Did Roberto comment about it, or his preference for "doing it this way" ?

Thanks guys and gal.

Gene,

This is just my take, but even the last time I visited Keste, Roberto’s dough balls looked almost the same, or almost overblown to me.  I guess this is the way Roberto ferments his dough until it looks like the photo you had in your post.  I watched as Roberto and the other people at Keste opened the dough balls.  The dough balls when scrapped out of the dough pans, look kind of flat to me and were square, before fully opening the dough balls.  You can even see on the video I posted that the dough still looked kind of square after it was opened fully.  Only after the pizza was put on the metal peel and stretched a little more, did it then become round.

I would be interested in hearing what other members think that also watched how Roberto opened his dough balls and saw the dough at Keste.

I tasted and played around with the one dough ball Roberto gave us to play around with.  The dough was very easy to stretch and was very salty in taste.

Norma

[thezaman]

   if you do not use refrigeration to control the dough neopolitan pizza has to change in flavor and texture based on when you are eating the pizza. refrigeration will make it easier to have a more consistent taste pizza to pizza.i think that  the flavor profile changes are a given with the true pizza of naples.if you go back there are a bunch of pictures of pizza from different neopolitan pizzerias posted by ron from il pizzaiolo that he explains the differences based on the time the pizza was served. also the high heat wood oven can give a lot of lift to dough even at the end of its life cycle because of the steam the high heat generates within the dough.

[thezaman]

 here is where ilpizzaiolo comments on pizza differences.http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,806.msg9216.html#msg9216

[TXCraig1]

Thanks for digging up that post Larry. Some great shots there.

CL

[norma427]

Larry,

I also thank you for finding that post! 

Norma

[Jet_deck]

..... and was very salty in taste.

Norma

Did you notice the salt in the finished product, or did it depend on the toppings as to whether you could taste some salty-ness?

[norma427]

Did you notice the salt in the finished product, or did it depend on the toppings as to whether you could taste some salty-ness?

Gene,

I could detect the salt in the baked pizzas, but it wasn’t too much for me.  I was glad to get to taste one of Roberto’s dough balls. The dough also felt very slippery and soft in my mouth. I ate a fairly large piece of the dough ball. Even Steve tasted a smaller piece of the dough ball than I did and he also mentioned how salty it tasted.  Maybe the other members that tasted a piece of the dough ball also want to comment on how salty the piece of dough ball they ate and also say if they noticed more salt in the final pizzas after they were baked. 

These were just my opinions.

Norma

[parallei]

Re: SF Trip

What, no Liguria Bakery!?

When I was a kid, my father often worked the graveyard shift at the PO.  (The graveyard shift would be midnight to 8 a.m., for those that might not know.)
Anyway, he'd often show up at home in the morning with a couple of sheets of bianca and the one with just tomato and green onion. Focaccia, the perfect breakfast! Twenty-five years ago, when I took my then new bride out to meet the folks, the first thing my old man did was take my wife to the Liguria Bakery.     He was brought up in the neighborhood.  I still remember her commenting on the fact that there was nothing on any of the shelves.......

I was out in the BA and SF this late summer and fall, but it was to deal with the death of both my mother and an aunt that was very dear to me.  So no running around hitting the latest hot spots on those trips.  I'd be interested in meeting up with the gang here in mid-late September, early October.  As Mike already pointed out, it is best to wait until the tourist season is over.  Also, the weather is often wonderful that time of year.

Oddly, and this may just another though back to my childhood, some of the best times in the City are at 0-Dark-Thirty.  Consider real early in Chinatown for breakfast, or the same for North Beach or the Wharf.  If anybody wanted to get out there a day or two early, a visit to Chez Panisse in Berkely would be on my list. 
 

[Essen1]

Para,

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. My condolences.

I must admit I have never been to Liguria but have heard only good things about the shop. Might be worth a try.

However, I think if this get-together comes to fruition, a trip across the Bay Bridge to Evelyne Slomon's "Nizza La Bella" in Albany would also be a good one.

http://www.nizzalabella.com/

[TXCraig1]

Gene,

I could detect the salt in the baked pizzas, but it wasn’t too much for me.  I was glad to get to taste one of Roberto’s dough balls. The dough also felt very slippery and soft in my mouth. I ate a fairly large piece of the dough ball. Even Steve tasted a smaller piece of the dough ball than I did and he also mentioned how salty it tasted.  Maybe the other members that tasted a piece of the dough ball also want to comment on how salty the piece of dough ball they ate and also say if they noticed more salt in the final pizzas after they were baked.  

It was salty. John and I discusses this as well after tasting the raw dough. When I was at Forcella, I was discussing the dough with Giulio, and I commented that Roberto's tasted saltier than mine, and he noted that he thought the same thing vs his dough. To be clear, none of us as far as I know thought it too salty in the finished product.

CL