Lots of Cali folks on this forum but no posts here

Started by HarryHaller73, November 12, 2017, 09:58:03 PM

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sunrainsky

I'm from Singapore and I actually like California Pizza Kitchen Peking Duck pizza with thin crust here.

The crust is airy and crispy. It is among my favourite crusts here alongside another chain of pizzeria here (Pepperoni's).

I wish there was a recipe for it. I am not quite a fan of their normal crust though. I am not sure if their thin crust is just merely taking the same recipe and stretching it thinner. I know that Domino's thin crust was more alike to puff pastry compared to their normal crust.

invertedisdead

I'm not convinced heavy toppings has anything to do with California. Seems pretty common throughout most of the country, and further reinforced by the big chains.


the proof is in the pizza

HarryHaller73


andytiedye

Most pizza places here make "New York" style pizza, though some get a bit more creative with the toppings.

My own tastes run to deeeep dish San Francisco sourdough pizza. With the popularity of sourdough in SF,  you'd think it would be everywhere, but nooo
l had to make it myself.

Mako13

I'm here.

Anyone tried Tony Gemignani's pizza, and can comment on how it compares to those made by the people in Silicon Valley/SF Bay that run Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi Too, or Giorgio's?

A D V E R T I S E M E N T



StateofMind

Quote from: Mako13 on October 19, 2018, 04:44:26 AM
I'm here.

Anyone tried Tony Gemignani's pizza, and can comment on how it compares to those made by the people in Silicon Valley/SF Bay that run Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi Too, or Giorgio's?

I go to Tony's all the time. He doesn't make just one style of pizza at his spot in North Beach so it's kind of hard to compare to an old school spot like F,J, & L. My shop is in Silicon Valley area and I guess you could could consider our style "California" style though we done call it that. 

New Restaurant

#26
Quote from: waltertore on November 13, 2017, 12:28:26 PM
From my observations of living in California for 15 years and now Reno for 2 years ( a Los Angeles, Sacramento, Bay area suburb now with  transplants)  The main thing that is commonly asked for by Californians are lots of toppings and I mean lots - double and even triple- on a pizza both exotic and common ones.  Next is they will load 1/2 a pie with double or more toppings and leave the other 1/2 sauce and cheese.  We are often asked to make 1/4 or 1 slice of different toppings on a pie.  We only allow 1/2's.  Most of these requests come from CA or Reno natives. Reno has becoming a CA suburb for years and is really hitting high gear today with mass exodus to a slower, less crowded,cheaper, lifestyle.  When we get a cheese pie order it is 90%+ a sure bet it is from someone from the Northeast. 

When I hit CA in 1979 pizza there was so different that I stopped calling it pizza.  I spent 5 years on my first CA residency in SF and Sonoma County and never found a pizza that made me want to come back for another one.  Toppings were piled on at 3-5 times the amount of what I was use to,  shops allowed 1/2, 1/4 of the pizzas to have different toppings,  crusts were tasteless, soggy, sauce was amped up with spices beyond extreme to my norm.  They were always undercooked.   These observations were based on what was normal to my roots growing up in the 1950's-70's NJ/NYC pizza world where cheese pies were #1 and 1 toppings ok and 2 the max.  I have yet to find a CA pizza that makes me want to make it a regular stop.  My travels have been limited to SF, Sonoma County, and SACTO

When I go home to NJ/NYC today I find more and more deck oven  pizzerias following in the mega/exotic toppings, and allowing 1/2, 1/4 pie toppings.  Crusts today are also more bland than I grew up with and find most pizzerias have gone way downhill.  It use to be you could walk in any pizzeria in Essex County NJ and get a decent to great pie. No more. You have to know where you are going or it will be a big let down to what I grew up with.  Families don't run pizzerias like they use to and hiring off the street of unskilled pizza people has caused it to slide big time.  On a Nationwide view IMO the internet has caused regional foods, music, to be easily accessed vs. having to move there to experience it and thus a generic product is becoming more the norm everywhere.  We now have so many franchise pizzerias in Reno and many claim east coast, CA, roots.  You tell me what is the difference today with things ??? ???  I give up with it all.  I make the pizza I like and that is the end of it.  How I got there and how I do it can be classified any way you want.  I don't care cause I like it :) This a CA/Hawaii or maybe it is based out of Alabama.... chain example here in Reno.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/longboards-beach-fired-pizza-reno?osq=Longboard+Pizza

Please.......easy.....I am new here, but read the board for awhile on and off. 

The above post tells a lot.  However, a lot of people will not read, listen and understand other's views, opinions and experiences.  NOT just in pizza, but in almost everything these days.

People ask, people do not listen, people do not engage, people assume and some do---a lot do not, know how to apply the internet reading and research they do to actual product, service and life itself.  It is a post 2000 thing, IMO and I seriously believe in reality.

This is widespread and applies to everything from Pizza and other foods to service businesses to skilled labor.  Why?  So many things but IMO again, the internet and instant everything and failure to apply, perfect and specialize with heart and soul. 

Now, as far as California, I lived there in the 80's while working for Universal Studios/MCA Television and also the Federal Government in law enforcement.  Then back to New York City and New Jersey.  I am familiar with California off and on ever since.  I go there often.  Still, as an outsider, observer and also having some family members there, so many things I see are lacking depth, quick for the buck, always inventing and moving on, what's there today is gone tomorrow syndrome of sorts, etc., etc.  As far as the food, I find (please do not accept what I am going to say as insulting or degrading), mostly knock-offs of most dishes and things around the country, just with a twist or turn on them to make it California, meaning a special drizzle or flower or piece of raw sushi or vegetable on it, declaring it the hip thing, or the California special or something of the likes. 

Maybe the problem is, I spent most of my life in NYC or NJ, and on the east coast and just for example, when you see people eating in NYC, talking kind of on the loud side, discussing (to others it is arguing always) and ramming the food down their mouths and waving their hands, buying people drinks, smiling and laughing and sharing with people they do not even know, and many other things----as compared to when i visit a California restaurant, the people are mostly reserved, quite, dressed a bit better often times, whisper when they talk, wipe their mouths after every bite and seldom share anything with strangers and unknown people as a general rule, and many other things, to me it becomes a bit clearer as to the lifestyle and overpriced everything in California. 

I have a family member in Riverside County in a city called Hemet.  Lots of Asians, my god, they paid upwards of $500,000 for a house that sells for $200,000 in most parts of the country or less, maybe $325,000 in the suburbs of NYC.  Taxes are triple if not quadrupled out there.  Their car registrations and insurance are as well.  I have an in-law out in Rancho/Palm Springs area.  OMG, not a mansion, a 2,300 sq foot house, over $700,000!  We went for a quick bite to eat in a strip shopping center food place, nothing fancy, a step above fast food and a long way south of a fancy place.  2 people, quick lunch of sandwiches, close to $40.00.   

Pizza out there, I am not an expert.  Ate at many places, not familiar with the SF area except Daly City and Vallejo.  Mostly Asian stuff again.  Anyway, I agree with the under-cooked and the heavy toppings.  But once again, some type of fancy vegetables with 'special house drizzle' of something and an inflated price tag, all IMO and actual experiences.

Something has always stuck with me after all the years of visiting California after I left there.  The billboards with all the plastic surgery doctors and health related everything.

You grew up, you live, you enjoy and then you pass away.  I don't know, maybe California (Southern California?) has a different outlook?  Look good before you die and enjoy but don't spread the joy, excitement and feelings in public??

Oh, one more thing.  I hear the phrase along the lines of, "We don't do 'that', or We don't have 'that' out here" in California frequently.  ????

Also, WalterTore said, ....." We make more $ with the heavy topped pies and I will put on whatever and how much they want. as I am not one to decide what tastes right or wrong for others".....  And, although I can not cite a California or Midwest restaurant of any type refusing to change, add or delete, something from a dish, I have run into that in NY/NJ where the owner or manager will say something along the lines of, "Sorry, we do not change our dish/item at all or put something extra on it, sorry".  Maybe it is that NY attitude or just the extreme belief it is his way or no way at his place, IDK. 

Thanks, and all IMO and experiences.




Mako13

Do you own a pizza place, StateofMind?

If so, what's the name of it, and what makes it a California-style pie?

I used to work in Palo Alto, and lived in SJ.  Sometimes ate at a small place in a shopping mall, across from Stanford University.  Can't recall the name of it, but they had tons of 49er memorabilia on the walls inside the shop.  Made a Round Table-like sauce for their pizzas.

Love FJ&L, and Giorgio's.  They make some of the best pizzas I've ever had.

I also love Round Table too.

Gusti's, in Washington D.C. was my favorite back east, as a kid.

I've had real NY pizza in NY, eons ago, but not for some time.

There are lots of places around Sacramento now claiming to be "NY-style", but I think I've only found one in the region that truly is, near down-town Sac.  Can't remember the name of it right now.

StateofMind

Quote from: Mako13 on November 01, 2018, 02:54:08 AM
Do you own a pizza place, StateofMind?

If so, what's the name of it, and what makes it a California-style pie?

I used to work in Palo Alto, and lived in SJ.  Sometimes ate at a small place in a shopping mall, across from Stanford University.  Can't recall the name of it, but they had tons of 49er memorabilia on the walls inside the shop.  Made a Round Table-like sauce for their pizzas.

Love FJ&L, and Giorgio's.  They make some of the best pizzas I've ever had.

I also love Round Table too.

Gusti's, in Washington D.C. was my favorite back east, as a kid.

I've had real NY pizza in NY, eons ago, but not for some time.

There are lots of places around Sacramento now claiming to be "NY-style", but I think I've only found one in the region that truly is, near down-town Sac.  Can't remember the name of it right now.

I do own a restaurant in Los Altos called State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria. Like I said I don't really think of it as California style or really any specific style. I don't like boxes and rules. But many people would consider us of that style because of the fresh seasonal vegetables we use, local meats, and non-traditional toppings.
I grew up in Palo Alto and think you are probably talking about the Oasis which unfortunately closed last year. The place was an institution. I never cared for the pizza (too thick and fought for me) but they made s mean burger.

Mako13

#29
Thanks for the reply, and info.

No, not the Oasis.  I recall that one.

This one was in the same shopping strip-mall as Stickneys (before they closed), off El Camino (east side of that), across from the southern end of Stanford University, towards the back of the mall, on the left hand side (north side of the mall).  It was a pretty small place, with just a few tables.  Seems like he catered mainly to students, and the locals.  I used to drop in there for lunch, from time to time.

I think his sauce was a mix of tomato paste and tomato sauce, and his pies were more like a hand-tossed, NY variety, than the thin-crust of Round Table, though his sauce was very similar.

I will have to stop in and try one of your pizzas, if I ever get back to the area again.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T



StateofMind

Quote from: Mako13 on November 02, 2018, 05:45:47 AM
Thanks for the reply, and info.

No, not the Oasis.  I recall that one.

This one was in the same shopping strip-mall as Stickneys (before they closed), off El Camino (east side of that), across from the southern end of Stanford University, towards the back of the mall, on the left hand side (north side of the mall).  It was a pretty small place, with just a few tables.  Seems like he catered mainly to students, and the locals.  I used to drop in there for lunch, from time to time.

I think his sauce was a mix of tomato paste and tomato sauce, and his pies were more like a hand-tossed, NY variety, than the thin-crust of Round Table, though his sauce was very similar.

I will have to stop in and try one of your pizzas, if I ever get back to the area again.

It may have been Red Boy Pizza. That was at Town and Country village by Stickneys for a long time. Very decent Round Table-esque pizza. The owner was super involved with youth sports when I was growing up there.

Definitely stop by if you are ever close by.

andytiedye

#31
Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMthe internet and instant everything and failure to apply, perfect and specialize with heart and soul.
How are we having this conversation?

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMNow, as far as California, I lived there in the 80's while working for Universal Studios/MCA Television and also the Federal Government in law enforcement.  Then back to New York City and New Jersey.
From TV to law enforcement to pizza. That sounds like an interesting career trajectory.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMI am familiar with California off and on ever since.  I go there often.  Still, as an outsider, observer and also having some family members there, so many things I see are lacking depth, quick for the buck, always inventing and moving on, what's there today is gone tomorrow syndrome of sorts, etc., etc.
It comes with the territory to some extent. Even the ground won't stay put.
Of course some are here for the latest version of the Gold Rush.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMAs far as the food, I find (please do not accept what I am going to say as insulting or degrading), mostly knock-offs of most dishes and things around the country, just with a twist or turn on them to make it California, meaning a special drizzle or flower or piece of raw sushi or vegetable on it, declaring it the hip thing, or the California special or something of the likes.
From around to world, actually. We don't usually see it advertised as "California" anything though (except for a particular type of sushi roll).

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMMaybe the problem is, I spent most of my life in NYC or NJ, and on the east coast and just for example, when you see people eating in NYC, talking kind of on the loud side, discussing (to others it is arguing always) and ramming the food down their mouths and waving their hands, buying people drinks, smiling and laughing and sharing with people they do not even know, and many other things----as compared to when i visit a California restaurant, the people are mostly reserved, quite, dressed a bit better often times, whisper when they talk, wipe their mouths after every bite and seldom share anything with strangers and unknown people as a general rule, and many other things, to me it becomes a bit clearer as to the lifestyle and overpriced everything in California.
I assume the New Yorkers are loud because their ears are still ringing from the subway.
I see more sharing in California, especially of the excellent weed.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMI have a family member in Riverside County in a city called Hemet.  Lots of Asians, my god, they paid upwards of $500,000 for a house that sells for $200,000 in most parts of the country or less, maybe $325,000 in the suburbs of NYC.
They got robbed.  I don't see anything that high in Hemet on Zillo.  Most less than half that.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMTaxes are triple if not quadrupled out there.  Their car registrations and insurance are as well.
Compared to New York?? I don't think so.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMI have an in-law out in Rancho/Palm Springs area.  OMG, not a mansion, a 2,300 sq foot house, over $700,000!  We went for a quick bite to eat in a strip shopping center food place, nothing fancy, a step above fast food and a long way south of a fancy place.  2 people, quick lunch of sandwiches, close to $40.00.
Certainly real estate has gotten quite expensive where there is high demand,  especially in the Bay Area. That has driven up commercial rents as well, and those costs must be passed on to customers.

Whenever you are, it's pricier it you don't know the area.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMPizza out there, I am not an expert.  Ate at many places, not familiar with the SF area except Daly City and Vallejo.  Mostly Asian stuff again.  Anyway, I agree with the under-cooked and the heavy toppings.  But once again, some type of fancy vegetables with 'special house drizzle' of something and an inflated price tag, all IMO and actual experiences.
I like the toppings, but give me deep dish.  Or I'll make my own.


Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMSomething has always stuck with me after all the years of visiting California after I left there.  The billboards with all the plastic surgery doctors and health related everything.

You grew up, you live, you enjoy and then you pass away.  I don't know, maybe California (Southern California?) has a different outlook?  Look good before you die and enjoy but don't spread the joy, excitement and feelings in public??
You worked and lived in the center of the movie and television industry. Isn't spreading joy and excitement their raison d 'etre? 
How you look would have a big effect on employment for those whose work is in front of a camera.  We don't have all those plastic surgery ads up north. I suppose most of us are healthier, but surely this is not a bad thing.

Quote from: New Restaurant on October 19, 2018, 09:59:43 AMAlso, WalterTore said, ....." We make more $ with the heavy topped pies and I will put on whatever and how much they want. as I am not one to decide what tastes right or wrong for others".....  And, although I can not cite a California or Midwest restaurant of any type refusing to change, add or delete, something from a dish, I have run into that in NY/NJ where the owner or manager will say something along the lines of, "Sorry, we do not change our dish/item at all or put something extra on it, sorry".  Maybe it is that NY attitude or just the extreme belief it is his way or no way at his place, IDK.
You think that attitude is better?
California is a very diverse place and so are our tastes.

Mako13

Yep, Red Boy sounds like it.

Thanks for the reminder.  I did enjoy the pizzas he made.  A very personable chap too.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T