I, too, would like to enjoy actually good pizza with Craig.
(In fairness, my distaste for NYC style has much less to do with the pizza itself than it does the obnoxious douchebags I went to BU with who could do little more than rag on Boston for not being NYC 2.0)
As someone from NY area (the island, which has plenty of damn good pizza), I’d be happy to eat a slice of Chicago style. I’m sure if it’s from a good place it would be at least…decent. It’ll never replace the pizza I used to eat after coming out of a jazz show at 3AM in the west village, but there’s nothing near where I live now (Boston) that comes close either.
Boston is a lovely starter city that’s 1/10 of the size, with 1/20 of the things to do, with fewer options on almost every front. If you grew up in the NYC area and expected it to be the same, you’d be real, real disappointed…especially with the pizza. The greek “house of pizza” stuff for the most part is inedible garbage.
I love every kind of pizza, Chicago, New York, frozen, vegetarian, super meats, no-chain, large chain, Dominoes, even crappy Little Caesar’s. What’s funny is I never cared for pizza as a kid, and I hated pizza in college at U of M because all I could afford was the worst trash Dominoes made back then (late 80’s-90’s). On Sundays they closed down the cafeterias so we didn’t have a choice with how to get food if you didn’t have car (I didn’t). So we dreaded “Dominoes pizza Sundays”.
Now I can’t get enough pizza.
Ha! It was the same at my college. Sunday dinner was always a challenge with the cafeteria closed. Dominos was pretty disgusting back then, but we still got it quite often because of how cheap it was. (Roommate special: Medium 1-topping for $6.50) Then later, I used to get Papa Johns for the same reason. (Roommate special: Two large two toppings for $10, bonus, each roommate gets their own large pizza for only $1.75 more).
Delivery drivers all really hated coming to the college cafeteria, I found out later when I got out of college. Because I found out you’re supposed to tip your drivers. And if he’s 2 minutes late, you’re not actually supposed to insist on paying half price, since it comes out of his pay. Man, we were all miserly poor college students. They never got tips from us. I honestly didn’t know tipping was a thing for delivery since no one did it.
How do you know someone is from New York?
They’ll tell you.
This is my experience as well. @stusser, not referring to you, bud. But with Charlotte being a transplant city filled with people from larger cities up north, we have a huge group of nose thumbers down here that poo poo on anything local. “Well if I could get a REAL NY style pizza …” The same thing for any localized food: Philly cheese steaks, tex-mex, Mexican cuisine, Cajun, etc.
Hell, I probably do the same when I have pulled pork outside of the area. We can all be judgmental and territorial about traditions from our home.
Like with that Jon Steward video. The pizza, I expected. But then he added the hot dogs? I demand vengeance!
All faux outrage aside, this is something that informs my food choices when on vacation. I vehemently, insistently, avoid anything national chain*, and non local. Like I would never order a deep dish pizza when outside the Chicago area. I just wouldn’t. I wouldn’t go hunting for burritos in Boston either. I look for something I can’t quite get at home, something local, or at least regional.
Because I’ll cut a fool for putting ketchup on a hot dog.
Not a ketchup fan, hopefully I’m safe. Um … is it okay if I sometimes skip frankfurters in favor of sausage?
Absolutely. Because, being honest, given a choice between a brat or Polish sausage and a hotdog? I’ll take the sausages 9 times out of 10. I like a good Chicago style, but prefer something a little more substantial.
The worst thing about living in NC aside from the politics, pollen, and temperature (sorry allteration) is the BBQ fanatacism. I love TX and Memphis style most, but SC-style mustard sauce is right in there, too, so all this absolutism for “fresh-picked whole pig with vinegar sauce all the time forever” stuff is really trying -.-
I am curious how much you’re gonna start twitching when you read that my favorite hot dog styling is cold, on a white bread bun with a ton of mayo, with Zapps Cajun Crawtaters by the side.
It’s literally the meal I initially gained weight on. I was tiny tiny tiny until about age 8, when my pawpaw down in Louisiana found something which I enjoyed. Which was, uh, the above abomination. Still love it, though.
Yep, there are a lot of BBQ zealots for sure. I have to admit, I’m not a fan of sweet flavored BBQ of any style. I used to like it, but my taste for sweets has faded as I’ve grow old and cranky. But mustard based is good, hell, even mayo based isn’t bad either.
Ok now you’re just baiting me.
For what it’s worth, I’d never had it until going to Buxton Hall, mentioned in this article:
Well I hate mayo, so there is no chance in hell I ever try that.
Most BBQ around me tends towards the tomato and brown sugar/ molasses types. So you can like your (to me) disgusting mayo based, and I’ll enjoy the (appaling to you) Sweet Baby Ray’s of the world. Deal?
That sure is a funny way of writing “Manna from Heaven,” but I’ll allow it.
Sweet Baby Ray’s always has a time and place when it’s divine. Not knocking it at all.
Chicago hot dogs are absolutely superior to NY. Our native dirty water hotdogs suck. Our more renowned dogs, like the frank at Katz’s or the crispy griddled dogs at Grey’s Papaya are great, but not like destination dogs.
Jersey style rippers, on the other hand, are pretty fantastic. I guess I’d still push the chicago dog ahead, but not by much.