On Pizza
Chef James here…
I have been making and thinking about pizza for the majority of my life. When I was a kid, my grandfather would make a focaccia, deep dish, hybrid pizza in the home oven. By the time I was 15 I was slapping dough at a local Papa John’s. I’ve made some kind of hand tossed flat round ingredient topped bread at every restaurant I’ve ever worked. I’ve organized pizza competitions, installed a wood fired Forno Bravo in my backyard and recently invested in and partnered into a local pizzeria: Amelia Street.
I am fortunate to travel quite frequently throughout the year. I’ve made the pilgrimage to Phoenix for Bianco. I eat slices around NYC every year, I’ve zipped around the back of a moped in Naples with a belly full of pizza fritta. I’m a pseudo-regular at Sabasu in Akasaka, Tokyo. Walked around New Haven with a white clam pie. Tried a Little Caesar’s in Oaxaca (don’t do that). And I pop into independent, interesting pizza places from Galway to Osaka and anywhere in between. And you know what? I’m no expert. I’m an enthusiast. I fucking love pizza. But what is it really? Is Chicago tavern, Neopolitan, Detroit style, Roman pizza al metro, Jet’s four corner, frozen cauliflower crust grocery store pizza all the same thing? It’s categorized as such. Which means everyone is an enthusiast. But not everyone will agree on exactly what they are enthused about.
Dough, cheese, sauce, toppings. Although I think cheese is a topping, albeit an extremely popular one. Sauce too. Although sauce can also be sauce on the side. For dunking and drizzling. So maybe it’s just dough and toppings. Because pizza is broad and makes up a large portion of affordable restaurant cuisine I feel there’s automatically a perceived value argument for many Americans about quantity over quality. Some folks want to feel a heavy box when they carry it out. If it’s a “meal” then it needs to be topped. Even though bread itself has been sustenance for over 14,000 years and I personally view pizza as a garnished bread experience, many people view the dough as a simple vessel for the real meal.
I always found the meat lovers or excessive topping culture to be sloppy and unnecessary. I also think midwesterners are conditioned to like a wet, pale, soft pizza experience. Every picture I see posted with some nice char and leoparding will have someone in the comment section shouting “burnt!”. Why are we like this? I don’t look at Hot N Ready’s and shout “wet!” Or “soft!”. Hell, Hot N Ready’s kept me from starving at points in my life. But they’ve also steered our pizza palates into questionable territory.
Pizza in the US is about a $50 Billion industry. So you could say it’s slightly competitive and maaaybe a little saturated. We are the second largest consumer of pizza (behind Norway! What the hell lol). But if Pizzeria Bianco, Lucali and Hungry Howie’s are categorically the same, then what does that even mean?
I remember when my friend Luciano Del Signore opened his first pizza place, Bigalora in Southfield Michigan, he found a local competitor digging in his dumpster to see what brands of products he was using. Before we even opened the doors at Amelia Street we had people posting one-star reviews with elaborate (& very fake) stories of guests hating the pizza. A little light Google detective work would easily lead to these being from competitors in the area.
If you can buy a horribly cheap and nutritionally benign flour from some Big Ag hellscape supplier or an organic, carefully milled, fresh artisan flour from a real farm owned by real people and both can be turned into pizza, where does the responsibility of perceived value lie? Some people can taste the difference and immediately justify any extra expense.
Like coffee. I’ve waited in line at Koffee Mameya in Tokyo to buy hand selected and meticulously roasted beans curated to me by a coffee sommelier, while the hotel I was staying at was literally giving away a free option.
If you buy bulk Folgers and make it at home, you can enjoy a caffeine buzz for about 6-10 cents. But your local coffee shop probably sells a nice pour over coffee for $7. That’s a difference of over 100 fold for “categorically” the same product. But I’m sure we can all agree, they’re not the same.
At the end of the day pizza is food. And regardless of palate and socioeconomic status, we all need food to live. Sustenance. As a chef, I view most moments of sustenance as an opportunity for flavor and emotional stimulation. Not everyone agrees, and not everyone has the luxury to feel that way. I think it becomes problematic when those who eat for sustenance only dabble in the criticism of those who eat for something more. You can buy a plastic folding chair at Walmart for less than $10 or a Minotti lounge chair for $10,000. I’ve been sitting in chairs my whole life. I’ve even spent tens of thousands of dollars buying rounds and rounds of chairs for restaurants. But I am absolutely no expert in chairs. In fact, you could argue I don’t know shit about chairs. So if I were to criticize one because I’ve sat in and purchased them, I would sound quite silly to someone who spent their life building them.
Chefs, pizzaiolos, people who make things get their feelings hurt. In today’s day and age (especially with social media) if you put yourself out there in the slightest, someone is willing to cut your head off for nothing. But that’s just the way people are. Think about your favorite band or the most beautiful actor or actress you’ve ever seen. Your favorite painting. Your favorite movie.
If you look up any criticism or go down any rabbit holes on Reddit, you’ll find a legion of people who despise the exact thing you love. And that’s life. That’s show business. But it doesn’t have to be. I recommend you leave positive reviews when you have a positive experience. And don’t return to the places where you don’t. Or if it’s really bad, email the owner and let them know your situation. I assure you, pizza is a happy experience. There’s that old saying that pizza is like sex. Even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good.
So let’s all relax and be grateful that we live in a time where there’s so many pizzas to choose from. And remember the other Famous quote: “Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough”. - Bill Murray