Hi all.. I also originated from the Detroit area, east suburbs, grew up in Macomb County. I have had Shields and/or Buddy's once or twice, but since they weren't nearby, we rarely went out for them. We used to hit them up before a night on the town, whipping it up in Detroit, People-Mover, dancing, greek saganaki, the whole nine-yards.. (that was before the casinos came to town - I miss everything.. lol.. ) anyhow, Gene mentioned that when he attempted his clone, he layered cheese, toppings, then covered with sauce - is that how Sheilds/Buddy's also did it? That sounds Chicagoan, but I didn't remember if they did theirs that way?
I have been a fan of Buscemi's Sicilian pizza throughout high school, up until I relocated to Tampa Bay (14 years ago). I recently went back for a family visit, and had to stop in and get some Buscemis.. sadly, their pizza was totally re-branded and resembles nothing like it used to be in the late 70's.. sigh.. Buscemi's Pizza and Subs was not a restaurant, actually it was a 'party store' (as they were called in MI) that sold pizza by the slice and Italian subs.. which also took a dive, I've found..
Anyhow, I have been somewhat successful in cloning the Buscemi technique, using various dough recipes.. seems the trick of the texture is all in the technique - you allow the dough to rise a bit in a heavily oiled pan, then bake at 450 for 4 minutes. Sauce, toppings, cheese, then an additional 'drizzle' of sauce, and baked again until cheese is melted.
I was planning on making one later tonite, using the dough recipe Lydia posted above from Shields, but am hoping someone might notice my note and confirm if the restaurants do the topping technique in the order that Gene mentioned?
- steve