Pizza. What's the best part? What "makes" it?

[weizemanner]

I've had mozz, cheddar, american, bleu, provolone, and kraft singles on my pizza. They were all pretty tasty actually.

One of my favorite pizzas is sausage, mushroom, onions, sauerkraut, and anchovies. Hawaiian is a close second. Fruits, veggies, cured fish, rotten cabbage ground up bits of leftover animals... No bad toppings for pizza.

Places with their own awesome zesty garlicy sauce are great, but they won't make a bad crust taste good. And honestly IMO the stuff in a can tastes fine on a good crust with some cheese and toppings.

I gotta say it's the crust. Put awesome toppings on good cheese with a tasty sauce on crappy dough, and you just made a noodless spaghetti on a semi-edible plate.

 

[Bebe]

In the early 70's, I would take the train to NYU at Ave J and E 15 St. At the corner was Di Fara's.

in the late 70's/early 80's i lived on E15th and J...jump my backyard fence right into the train station... Pizza was $1 to $2, depending on topping(s).... and Dom was just as old
Next door bagel/pizza joint was .75 cents/slice (a bagel was .25, .50 with schmear - that's lox spread).
I still go there once in while - 10 min drive now - to get a pie or two. I don't mind paying, back in the day i got plenty of free slices.. besides, is well worth 5 bucks, everything is done from scratch with real good stuff

 

[Rushman2112]

Thin crispy crust and the sauce. Toppings are of secondary importance: if the crust isn't any good I'll just scrape the topping off and eat that.

The best pizza I have had was in a small village where a friend of mine lives about an hour from Venice: local pizzeria, cheap as chips and nothing fancy, but just great.

 

[dpm802]

Sometimes, the thing that makes the choice of one pizza over another is DELIVERY.

Tom Monahan built his Domino empire by realizing that there are plenty of people who will pay a little bit extra to have mediocre pizza brought to them, rather than get in the car and drive to dine on something better or whip up a meal from scratch.

When I lived in Baltimore, there was one shop that hit on the idea of having their fleet of delivery drivers staffed by attractive young women in bikinis. They didn't make an memorable pizza, but they were kept very, very busy filling orders.

 

[mrlandpirate]

please post your perfect dough recipes for me it's all in the crust, thin with a little tooth. I have a hard time making it happen.

 

[ouch]

in the late 70's/early 80's i lived on E15th and J...jump my backyard fence right into the train station... Pizza was $1 to $2, depending on topping(s).... and Dom was just as old
Next door bagel/pizza joint was .75 cents/slice (a bagel was .25, .50 with schmear - that's lox spread).
I still go there once in while - 10 min drive now - to get a pie or two. I don't mind paying, back in the day i got plenty of free slices.. besides, is well worth 5 bucks, everything is done from scratch with real good stuff

I'm from Brooklyn. You don't have to explain a schmear to me.
Next thing, you'll be telling me how to make an egg cream.

 

[Atalk]

At first thought, I would have said the crust but after some further thought, I would have to say the sauce can make/break a pizza. I could probably take down a slice that had a mediocre crust, but I refuse to eat pizza that is slathered in bitter, over-cooked, tinny sauce.

 

[SOJA]

Olives, specifically kalamata olives.

 

[djh]

Pizza? Less = more.

 

[Greek Trojan]

Definitely the crust. Pizza really is a simple food. Of course terrible sauce will ruin it, or a great one can elevate it but when talking the difference between a good pizza and a great one then the crust is the most distinctive/defining part of a great pie.

 

[zygalski]

Pizza? Less = more.

Yep.
Nice thin & crispy base, simple tomato sauce, a few slices of mozzarella & some torn basil leaves. Freshly grated black pepper when served.
Job done as far as I'm concerned.

 

[jones2289]

Pizza? Less = more.

+1.

I used to think the more toppings the merrier. This was before I had a pizza made from quality ingredients. Now I prefer Neapolitan style, with minimal toppings. It's great with just some fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and lots of crushed red pepper.

I think a good crust is the most important part, or at least what I enjoy the most. I would say sauce is second in line, then cheese and toppings. If the crust and sauce are good on a thin crust pizza, then it will still shine, as you will have minimal toppings.

I think the answer to this question varies based on your preferred type of pizza. A deep dish Chicago style pizza will not be enjoyable with poor quality cheese and toppings, as they make up 75% of a 2" thick pizza.

 

[PugslyCat]

Sometimes, the thing that makes the choice of one pizza over another is DELIVERY.

What makes a pizza good for me? Quantity!

Seriously, everything has to be in balance. Mess up the toppings and that can make for a soggy crust. Burn the cheese on top or use something lousy and who cares what's underneath?

 

[oc_in_fw]

It's been so long since I have had a "shop made pie" that I can't recall what they taste like.

I make my own dough and sauce and spice my own Italian sausage (no I don't make the cheese or grow the veggies).

Nix the 'shrooms and I'm there- those look great. For me, it is 75% toward crust and sauce (hard for me to pick which is more important), with 25% going to toppings.

 

[Senshi]

What I would give for just a slice of DiFara's pizza now

I think sauce and crust makes it or breaks it for a pizza.

I'm so excited to have NY pizza when I'm home this summer.

Anyone a fan of sicilian style pizza?

 

[captaincaveman]

Anyone a fan of sicilian style pizza?

Is there a style of pizza of which I am not a fan?

 

[Rockminer]

Pizza? Less = more.

This is so true, but only after someone eats a pizza made with quality ingredients. The less your pizza has, the more each ingredient has to shine. A perfect Pizza to me is thin crust, light on the sauce, chunks of mozzarella, basil and really good EVOO cooked in a wood fire oven.

 

[Ethan.Bassist.]

Hahahaha you guys! I might be the biggest pizza tramp you'll ever meet. I have a few preferences: It needs crust, sauce and cheese. The rest is just icing on the cake- I mean topping on the pizza. The only non-negotiable is the crust. It needs a crust of some sort.

I'm not kidding when I say I've never had pizza I didn't like. I've had pizza that I don't like as much as other pizzas I've had, but never that I didn't like. My go to is Little Caesar's. It's good and it's $5 for a whole pizza! Yes please!

If I'm making pizza at home, I buy uncooked pizza dough from Winco (fresh made that day in the bakery) and put mozzarella, some tomato sauce (usually from a jar... I've made pizza sauce from scratch once), and some fresh basil leaves.

But like I said, any pizza is good pizza.

 

[Edinburgh]

What truly makes for a pizza? In the order of fundamental practicality, the New York Metropolitan Area (Tri State Area).

I realize I took liberty with the OP's supposition, but I'm biased and could not resist stating what I firmly believe to be the truth.

Ad rem: Gooey cheese, just the right amount of oregano, pure tomato sauce (slightly fruity) and thin crust which is charred: for pizza snobs like me, all of these come together and constitute equally the perfect pie.

 

[captaincaveman]

Hahahaha you guys! I might be the biggest pizza tramp you'll ever meet. I have a few preferences: It needs crust, sauce and cheese. The rest is just icing on the cake- I mean topping on the pizza. The only non-negotiable is the crust. It needs a crust of some sort.

I'm not kidding when I say I've never had pizza I didn't like. I've had pizza that I don't like as much as other pizzas I've had, but never that I didn't like. My go to is Little Caesar's. It's good and it's $5 for a whole pizza! Yes please!

If I'm making pizza at home, I buy uncooked pizza dough from Winco (fresh made that day in the bakery) and put mozzarella, some tomato sauce (usually from a jar... I've made pizza sauce from scratch once), and some fresh basil leaves.

But like I said, any pizza is good pizza.

Well said!

On the Little Ceasars's thing: It seems to vary by location. Apparently the ingredients are decent but it takes effort and care to produce a good result. I've had one location where the pizza was consistently at or above common local pizzeria quality, and others have been inconsistent at best, often with very disappointing pizzas that have nasty crust or even taste kinda foul (perhaps local water quality?).