PHOTOS: "Slice" (Pizza Blog) presents the "Top 8 Pizzas of 2009"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Here are the first four. See the rest at the URL below.

:toast:

The Year That Was: Daniel's Top 8 Pizzas of 2009

Posted by Daniel Zemans, December 29, 2009 at 5:00 PM

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/12/daniel-zemans-top-8-pizzas-of-2009.html



Penn Cove Clam Pie, Serious Pie, Seattle: The crust was unquestionably the airiest I've ever had. By no means do I necessarily equate fluffiness with quality, but the texture really worked here, particularly in the cornicione, which was crisp and chewy perfection. The toppings and cheese on the pie were all excellent. The local clams had just the right amount of chew and took to the tangy pecorino cheese particularly well. The house-cured pancetta had a strong peppery overtone, but was otherwise excellent with a strong porky flavor and a nice crisp and chewy texture.



Pizza alla Benno, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles: This pizza, which comes with speck, pineapple, jalapeños, mozzarella, and tomato sauce, was rapidly devoured by some already very full diners. The crust and mozzarella were flawless, and the thinly sliced pineapple and jalapeño played well together. This pie, unquestionably the best Hawaiian pizza on the planet, was the perfect end to a night of outstanding dining.



Sausage Pie, Stop 50 Wood-Fired Pizza, Michiana Shores IN: The crust is thin, but has great hole structure and enough body to support the good amount of cheese and toppings. While it is cooked in a wood-burning oven at high heat for 90 seconds, this is not traditional Neapolitan pizza. It's thicker in the center and does not have the soupy center that Neapolitan pies have. The crust has less blistering than some people crave, but it still had a very good combination of crisp and chew. I appreciated that the cornicione was not too big as I prefer as much of my pizza as possible to have cheese and toppings on it.



Heirloom Tomato Pie, Great Lake, Chicago: Nick Lessins does things to his crust that I didn't know could be achieved in a gas oven. The crust is thicker, particularly in the middle, than traditional Neapolitan-style crusts. The perfectly charred crust is astounding; the bread has great flavor and a flawless hole structure that gives it a spectacular degree of chewiness.

[MilesColtrane]

1. Two notes:

I don't know what "great hole structure" is, but it sounds dirty, and...

clams don't belong on a pizza.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

2. Eretici! Blasfemia... la vera pizza e` quella napoletana

:)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. I have a client who shipped an authentic pizza oven here from Italy...

...one of the wood-burning 900 degree jobs, the kind that is used to prepare the ONLY authentic Italian pizza.

This guy is a REAL DIVA...

...he was pretty pissed when, instead of celebrating his artisan pizza skills, customers complained about the pizza being brought to the table with a knife so that they could cut it themselves (THE WAY IT'S DONE IN ITALY)...poor lil' yuppies pissed and moaned about how it "got cold" before they could cut it.

Also, in Italy, the sauce is NOT a garlic-heavy, tomato paste-heavy affair, and you get ONE (maybe TWO) toppings...

...so the Pizza Hut, Round Table, etc. fans didn't appreciate the "real deal" at all.

The place does good business...it's just that there is never a shortage of customer complaints from people who don't understand the concept behind what they're eating.

[kentauros]

8. Ooh, I love that!

I've read about those high-heat wood-fired ovens, long time ago in either Eating Well, or Cook's Illustrated. I remember they talked about the temps were well above 700F, usually around 800F. At that temperature, it's like when I bake pita: in the oven no more than a few minutes. That's all you need! The water in the dough turns to steam and everything puffs up perfectly. The rest of the few ingredients cook just enough in that time and you have a perfect pizza :9

Of course, like you say, the pizza-chains here have ruined the concept of pizza in this country. Americans determine "quality" by heft and how much they'll take home than by flavor and enjoyment.

I remember this place my girlfriend and I ate at in Waiheke, NZ, where the crust was almost paper-thin, the tomato sauce practically just painted on and the few toppings very minimal. It was the best pizza I've had in a very long time, and it was a popular place with the locals, not just the tourists :D

[KamaAina]

4. The blogger seems to be rather biased toward Chicago and vicinity

three of the four not shown are from the Windy City; mercifully, only one is the dreaded deep-dish. ;eyes:

[Chan790]

9. Everybody knows...

the 3 best pizzas in America all reside in New Haven, CT. THe 4th best is at Lombardi's in NYC and is a bastardization of New Haven pizza.

(Reason #22 New Haven is the epitome of all that makes America great.)

[Odin2005]

5. OMG, I SOOOO want that wood-fired sausage pizza!

[Twillig]

6. That makes me so hungry, makes me in the mood for some Queensryche!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS7SrhYTZjc

mmm. pizza. Not necessarily Tombstone.

[greenbriar]

7. I am usually not one for pizza

but those look good