LEO's Eat'N'Blog: Pizza: The all-American snack?

[Robin Garr]

<table border="0" align="right" width="310"><tr><td><img src="http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/luigis_slices.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td>Ready to fold and eat: Four sizzling NYC-style slices at Luigi's. Photo by Robin Garr.</td></tr></table>LEO's Eat 'n' Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Primo, Tony Boombozz, Luigi)

Pizza, as I've pointed out before, traces its roots to Italy, specifically to the seaport city of Naples in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. In the American melting pot, though, pizza has become as all-American a dish as, well, chow mein or sauerkraut.

From the American Northeast, where immigrant families still turn out a respectable variation on the Neapolitan original, pizza evolved as it moved across the nation in the postwar years. It gained a little here, lost a little there, and has gifted us with offshoots that range from the thick, casserole-like Chicago deep-dish pie to Wolfgang Puck's California inventions with their wacky toppings of smoked salmon, sour cream and caviar.

Even Louisville boasts its signature pie, a breadlike crust heavily laden with sauce, cheese, toppings and more cheese, a variation made famous by such local temples as Impellizzeri's, Clifton's and Wick's.

I'm OK with just about every kind of pizza, although I have been known to reject frozen supermarket pies or the flabby mass-market slices at Slugger Field.

But sometimes there comes a craving for the pure simplicity of the authentic Neapolitan original ...

Full reports in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.

Good article, and no doubt that pizza has become americanized to the extent that a Neapolitan might not recognize what we call pizza. But, that being said it is still a food that was clearly developed in another country. The same is true with hot dogs. So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Good article, and no doubt that pizza has become americanized to the extent that a Neapolitan might not recognize what we call pizza. But, that being said it is still a food that was clearly developed in another country. The same is true with hot dogs. So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Nothing is as American as the pepperoni pizza. I am sure it has been mentioned before but don't order a pepperoni pizza in Italy and expect meat. Maybe burgers are the all-American?

[Robin Garr]

Maybe burgers are the all-American?

Not likely. From Attila's Mongol hordes through Hamburg, Germany to the US.

[Robin Garr]

So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Pemmican?

Or beef jerky, maybe.

But really, I think this is the whole point: The US is an ethnic melting pot, and so is our food.

Thanks, Robin. I haven't had my lunch break yet, and now I'm positively STARVING!

Maybe burgers are the all-American?

Not likely. From Attila's Mongol hordes through Hamburg, Germany to the US.

I think I meant fast food rather than a burger in general, but that is more genre I guess, and is a lot older than the US.

Ah ha! Potato chips. All american.


All Kentucky would be

Hot Brown
Benedictine
Burgoo
Derby Pie

I am sure there is more

Good article, and no doubt that pizza has become americanized to the extent that a Neapolitan might not recognize what we call pizza. But, that being said it is still a food that was clearly developed in another country. The same is true with hot dogs. So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Nothing is as American as the pepperoni pizza. I am sure it has been mentioned before but don't order a pepperoni pizza in Italy and expect meat.

What will you get?

Ok, Robin's pictures and reviews made me crave pizza, so I ordered from Boombozz (again). Got the D'Sienna this time, added chicken and roasted garlic, and asked for it extra thin and well done. It was paper thin, and very well executed, but not well done or crispy, so we fried it in a pan. I am a very happy camper!!! I so love my thin crust, but really prefer REAL thin crust. We like to make our own pizza on the grill, and just add whatever we want.

What I like about Robin's reviews since teaming with LEO is they are not reviews that start or have a hint of the critical view point. It's obvious that Robin seeks out and finds the hidden gems and then tells an interesting story using a positive perspective. It helps the establishment by pointing out what they do good and it is informative to the readers.

[Robin Garr]

What I like about Robin's reviews since teaming with LEO is they are not reviews that start or have a hint of the critical view point. It's obvious that Robin seeks out and finds the hidden gems and then tells an interesting story using a positive perspective. It helps the establishment by pointing out what they do good and it is informative to the readers.

Generally speaking, Brian, LEO (and I) like to highlight the positive where we can.

I wouldn't want to get a reputation as a "see-no-evil" critic, though, and I'd like to think that I bring appropriate skepticism to the dinner table along with a positive attitude and a hungry mouth.

For the record, there've been a few bumps in the happy road over the past year or so. One place in particular that needed a whuppin' was the lackluster Islamorada Seafood Co. in the giant Clarksville Bass Pro Shop.

More controversially, within the context of a high-point review, I felt the need to ask some pointed questions about the appeal of foams and molecular gastronomy in the overall awesome Oakroom or the quality-price-ratio for value of lunch at Proof.

Just a few examples, but as I said, I think it's important to emphasize that problems at restaurants don't get a pass from me, whether I'm wearing my LouisvilleHotBytes hat or my LEO hat or both.

Good article, and no doubt that pizza has become americanized to the extent that a Neapolitan might not recognize what we call pizza. But, that being said it is still a food that was clearly developed in another country. The same is true with hot dogs. So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Nothing is as American as the pepperoni pizza. I am sure it has been mentioned before but don't order a pepperoni pizza in Italy and expect meat.

What will you get?

Peppers.

What I like about Robin's reviews since teaming with LEO is they are not reviews that start or have a hint of the critical view point. It's obvious that Robin seeks out and finds the hidden gems and then tells an interesting story using a positive perspective. It helps the establishment by pointing out what they do good and it is informative to the readers.

Generally speaking, Brian, LEO (and I) like to highlight the positive where we can.

I wouldn't want to get a reputation as a "see-no-evil" critic, though, and I'd like to think that I bring appropriate skepticism to the dinner table along with a positive attitude and a hungry mouth.

For the record, there've been a few bumps in the happy road over the past year or so. One place in particular that needed a whuppin' was the lackluster Islamorada Seafood Co. in the giant Clarksville Bass Pro Shop.

More controversially, within the context of a high-point review, I felt the need to ask some pointed questions about the appeal of foams and molecular gastronomy in the overall awesome Oakroom or the quality-price-ratio for value of lunch at Proof.

Just a few examples, but as I said, I think it's important to emphasize that problems at restaurants don't get a pass from me, whether I'm wearing my LouisvilleHotBytes hat or my LEO hat or both.

The choosing your analogy was the funny part of that article. Although I would have equally laughed had you referenced things that cat's leave around for their keepers to step on.

Good article, and no doubt that pizza has become americanized to the extent that a Neapolitan might not recognize what we call pizza. But, that being said it is still a food that was clearly developed in another country. The same is true with hot dogs. So, what is our real All-American snack or dish? Do we have one?

Nothing is as American as the pepperoni pizza. I am sure it has been mentioned before but don't order a pepperoni pizza in Italy and expect meat.

What will you get?

Peppers.

just checking . . .