I've had a hard time finding good pizza here in Syracuse. I had the same issue when I lived in Boston. Both cities are so close to New York, both have a large population of people of Italian decent, yet for some reason that secret to a good slice seems to elude restaurateurs. Maybe it really is the legendary city water that keeps NYC home to the best bagels and pizza in the States.
Sure, I love the tomato pie at
Dominick's, but with it's lack of cheese and the inability to add more toppings, I'm not really sure I'd officially consider it pizza. And last weekend Bob took me to a place he claimed had some of the best pizza in the area, but I certainly couldn't see what he was talking about. Granted, it could very well have been my fault for deciding we should go for the "gourmet" pizza in a traditional, red sauce, Italian joint, but whatever the reason, it wasn't very good. I guess when the definition of gourmet includes canned mushrooms, frozen broccoli and cheddar cheese (?), then you're best bet is to stick to the meat lovers special.
Which all brings us to last night. On a whim I decided to whip up some
dough before we headed out to the gym. It had just enough time to rise while we were out, then former professional pizza tosser extraordinaire Bob did his thing and flipped out the dough. (I don't think "flipped out" is the technical term, but I'm sticking to it.) It being a Monday night, and us being lazy and not having too many resources in the house, we topped it off with some jarred sauce from a company in Buffalo, some fresh mozzarella and grated parm, and a sprinkling of dried oregano and basil (after lamenting the fact that we had no fresh herbs). We decided to roast some broccoli alongside the pizza instead of on it, and about 25 minutes later we pulled everything from the oven. I took one bite and said, "I think this is the best pizza I've had in Syracuse."
Sure, I love the tomato pie at Dominick's, but with it's lack of cheese and the inability to add more toppings, I'm not really sure I'd officially consider it pizza. And last weekend Bob took me to a place he claimed had some of the best pizza in the area, but I certainly couldn't see what he was talking about. Granted, it could very well have been my fault for deciding we should go for the "gourmet" pizza in a traditional, red sauce, Italian joint, but whatever the reason, it wasn't very good. I guess when the definition of gourmet includes canned mushrooms, frozen broccoli and cheddar cheese (?), then you're best bet is to stick to the meat lovers special.
Which all brings us to last night. On a whim I decided to whip up some dough before we headed out to the gym. It had just enough time to rise while we were out, then former professional pizza tosser extraordinaire Bob did his thing and flipped out the dough. (I don't think "flipped out" is the technical term, but I'm sticking to it.) It being a Monday night, and us being lazy and not having too many resources in the house, we topped it off with some jarred sauce from a company in Buffalo, some fresh mozzarella and grated parm, and a sprinkling of dried oregano and basil (after lamenting the fact that we had no fresh herbs). We decided to roast some broccoli alongside the pizza instead of on it, and about 25 minutes later we pulled everything from the oven. I took one bite and said, "I think this is the best pizza I've had in Syracuse."
6 comments:
Mike and I think you're really selling Sabastino's short. It's the perfect mix of cardboard and grease.
yum yum yum yum.... I made pizza at home recently too but something very wrong happened with the dough. It was hard as a rock (!). Where did you get fresh mozzarella? Don't say the W word. Are there any italian "pork stores" in town that you know of?
We thought of another contender in the worst Syracuse pizza category: the Sbarro's on campus at the Schine center. It's worse than pizza from a hospital cafeteria. I'm sorry--I know exploring BAD Syracuse food isn't really in the spirit of your blog, but we couldn't resist.
Sorry, it was Wegman's. There are a few Italian markets in town though. I've been to Lombardi's Imports in North Syracuse, which is very nice and has all sorts of fresh pasts. The other is Squadrito Foods in the Italian area off N. Salina, that Meredith goes to all the time for homemade sausage.
Yup, Squadrito's is the place. Homemade Italian sausage that I think is to die for. I've put a link on my newly minted blog entry. The Cusamano family makes the sausage fresh on Thursdays, sells it all weekend, then freezes what's left on Monday.
i agree pizza in the cuse isnt the best. i wish i was back in NYC. lol
Post a Comment