Ask Octopus Anything

[Curt McGirt]

New York style is thin, large slices that droop, origin from first generation Italian immigrants, made in wood-fired ovens, frequently few toppings. Chicago is deep dish pizza made upside-down, toppings on bottom and sauce on top, more like a casserole than a pizza (in fact some people -- generally New Yorkers -- don't even consider it pizza). THEN you have Detroit style which is a square pan pizza with toppings in conventional order that is typically a total grease-bomb. California is just wacky with toppings, like pineapple. And then there is Chicago bar style pizza which is thin crust cut into squares, and St. Louis style which is a mutant version of bar pizza using Provel cheese, which some people don't even consider a cheese but rather a processed cheese derivative, which has some truth to it. 

And then you have Domino's and Pizza Hut which is just trash. Most frozen pizza too. 

Edited July 27 by Curt McGirt

[The Natural]

Just now, Curt McGirt said:

New York style is thin, large slices that droop, origin from first generation Italian immigrants, frequently few toppings. Chicago is deep dish pizza made upside-down, toppings on bottom and sauce on top, more like a casserole than a pizza (in fact some people -- generally New Yorkers -- don't even consider it pizza). THEN you have Detroit style which is a square pan pizza with toppings in conventional order that is typically a total grease-bomb. California is just wacky with toppings, like pineapple. And then there is Chicago bar style pizza which is thin crust cut into squares, and St. Louis style which is a mutant version of bar pizza using Provel cheese, which some people don't even consider a cheese but rather a processed cheese derivative, which has some truth to it. 

Thank you. It'll be New York style then. I don't like deep dish pizza. When I get a pizza takeaway, I always go for thin bases.

[Curt McGirt]

I forgot about Sicilian style which is utilitarian street food in Italy but you get in restaurants in the US. It's rectangular and more like a bread covered in sauce and a sprinkle of cheese rather than actual, you know, pizza pizza.

[tbarrie]

Since you brought Italy into it, I'll just say that Neapolitan style is clearly the best. And I say despite my not being able to enunciate exactly what they do differently there.

And I find it interesting to see pineapple identified as a "wacky" topping and associated with California. Are Hawaiian pizzas not a popular thing down in the States?

[zendragon]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

What's the difference between Chicago and New York style? I'll hopefully be able to answer then. Cheers.

Chicago

New York

You think Pro Wrestling tribalism is bad? You haven't experienced the Pizza wars, based on what I know about some British cuisine I have questions about the quality of the pizza over there

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

42 minutes ago, tbarrie said:

Since you brought Italy into it, I'll just say that Neapolitan style is clearly the best. And I say despite my not being able to enunciate exactly what they do differently there.

And I find it interesting to see pineapple identified as a "wacky" topping and associated with California. Are Hawaiian pizzas not a popular thing down in the States?

Yeah, when I think of California pizza, I think of things like honey in the dough and more veggies. Pineapple pizza being a Canadian innovation is one of my favorite facts and I'm always happy when people learn about it.

[zendragon]

57 minutes ago, tbarrie said:

Since you brought Italy into it, I'll just say that Neapolitan style is clearly the best. And I say despite my not being able to enunciate exactly what they do differently there.

And I find it interesting to see pineapple identified as a "wacky" topping and associated with California. Are Hawaiian pizzas not a popular thing down in the States?

cooked in a wood oven is part of it right? really good place in DTLA

[Log]

Deep dish Chicago style is fine here and there, but not so much my thing. However, was up there back in the spring and had the tavern style and holy shit I fell in love. 
 

I’m from a tiny town (population < 3000) in southern Illinois and somehow, we had a guy move there from Italy and open a pizza place and it’s so great. I guess you might call it tavern style because it’s cut in squares. He has an almost sweet sauce that is amazing. It’s called DiMaggio’s Pizza. I think there’s one other location in some other small southern Illinois town. I’m not sure if they use the same recipe. Man, now I need to plan a visit to my parents to have some. 

[Curt McGirt]

I grew up in Marion down there and we had the incredible Walt's Pizza. Thin crust bar style and the amazing Double Decker! Visit sometime. (Unfortunately it was the only good thing about Marion. There's the max prison where they held John Gotti and Carlos Lehder, and backwoods desolation filled with terrible people. Awful place to grow up.)

[Curt McGirt]

I always thought Hawaiian pizza was Cali by way of, well, Hawaii. Canadian? Explains the ham...

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

4 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

I always thought Hawaiian pizza was Cali by way of, well, Hawaii. Canadian? Explains the ham...

No, it was by a Greek immigrant to Canada who was inspired by salty/sweet creations in Chinese cooking. The only reason it was called "Hawaiian" pizza is because the brand of canned pineapple he used was called Hawaiian.

[The Natural]

8 hours ago, zendragon said:

Chicago

New York

You think Pro Wrestling tribalism is bad? You haven't experienced the Pizza wars, based on what I know about some British cuisine I have questions about the quality of the pizza over there

Cheers. Definitely New York. I have two great authentic Italian restaurants that do great pizza where I live: Pizza Pieces and Italianos.

Curry is my favourite food though and fortunate to have great curry houses in Shimla Spice, the best and Aagrah.

[zendragon]

19 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I forgot about Sicilian style which is utilitarian street food in Italy but you get in restaurants in the US. It's rectangular and more like a bread covered in sauce and a sprinkle of cheese rather than actual, you know, pizza pizza.

PIZZA BOAT!!!

[Curt McGirt]

I can't believe I haven't seen one of those made on some show like The Pioneer Woman. 

[Log]

On 7/27/2024 at 3:53 PM, Curt McGirt said:

I grew up in Marion down there and we had the incredible Walt's Pizza. Thin crust bar style and the amazing Double Decker! Visit sometime. (Unfortunately it was the only good thing about Marion. There's the max prison where they held John Gotti and Carlos Lehder, and backwoods desolation filled with terrible people. Awful place to grow up.)

When I was first dating my wife, she lived right around the corner from Walt’s. Love it. 
 

Pete Rose was also in the prison there! Fateful since Marion was where Ray Fosse was from. 
 

When Gotti was in prison there, his family got a big house on Lake of Egypt to stay while visiting him. My grandparents lived on the lake then. I think we found the Gotti house and drove by. 

[twiztor]

i'm not an octopus, but i wanted to chime in here. 

• BK > McD's, although i rarely eat fast food anymore. i never thought i would be the kind of person to say that, since i used to live on fast food. but BK was always my top choice. Wendy's is fine, but i can't eat their hamburgers because they're square. It messes with my head.
• not a coffee drinker, so won't weigh in on the Starbucks debate
• Pickles. yes, but i typically don't get them on fast food burgers because they are pathetic representations of what a pickle should be. Any place with a hearty burger though, hell yes. Also, pickles on pizza CAN be OK, but it is a much tougher balancing game. Pickles as a burrito ingredient is underrated.

 

Chicago deep dish pizza is amazing. i live ~3 hours from the city, and i can get deep dish pizza here. But those authentic Chicago deep dish places are on a whole different level. Absolutely not your everyday 'zza, but it is hearty and delicious and life itself. I kind of hate the casserole comparison, but it's not incorrect.

But i'm also a pizza connoisseur, so when i went to NYC a few years ago, pizza was one of my big attractions to check out. Like yeah, the Statue of Liberty was cool and all, but i got to eat at Lombardi's! the first pizzeria in America! and from another dozen or so places, ranging from standard street pizza fare to the taste of ambrosia. it was magical.

I'm also headed back to Detroit later this year, and scoping out some authentic Detroit style pizza is top of the list. Last time i was there (Mania 23), what we got was much closer to Chicago style. I thought it was excellent, but the buddy i traveled with was not a fan.

 

Pineapple on pizza totally works with the right partner toppings. It pairs pretty well with ham/canadian bacon. Chunks of ham more so than slices. Pineapple compliments jalapeños incredibly well. Perfect balancing of sweet and spicy. However, pineapple on pizza basically has to be eaten fresh. It loses a ton of appeal on leftover/cold pizza. Reheating does it no favors.

[tbarrie]

18 minutes ago, twiztor said:

Wendy's is fine, but i can't eat their hamburgers because they're square. It messes with my head.

You got a laugh icon for this comment.

You could always trim them yourself, you know.

[twiztor]

1 hour ago, tbarrie said:

You got a laugh icon for this comment.

You could always trim them yourself, you know.

i'm kind of a weird guy, but i am absolutely NOT a "buy a fast food hamburger and then trim it whilst in public" kind of weird. i will stick with the spicy chicken sandwich, thank you very much.

[Contentious C]

Their chicken sandwiches are better than their burgers anyway.  The world doesn't need more mediocre burgers.  Back when I could actually eat that sort of crap, we had an interstate exit not far away (meaning every sort of quick bullshit imaginable within 500 yards), and my mother and I would go to Burger King for Whoppers, McDonald's for the fries, and then a local fast food chain for the milkshakes, all in the same to-go trip.

[Curt McGirt]

On 7/28/2024 at 3:13 PM, Log said:

When I was first dating my wife, she lived right around the corner from Walt’s. Love it. 
 

Pete Rose was also in the prison there! Fateful since Marion was where Ray Fosse was from. 
 

When Gotti was in prison there, his family got a big house on Lake of Egypt to stay while visiting him. My grandparents lived on the lake then. I think we found the Gotti house and drove by. 

I forgot about Pete but I saw that on his documentary the other day. Didn't know about Gotti's house. The former location of ICP's Gathering of the Juggalos is down there at Cave-In Rock, too. 

[Curt McGirt]

7 hours ago, tbarrie said:

You got a laugh icon for this comment.

You could always trim them yourself, you know.

Yeah, just eat the corners off first!

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I don't know if it's ever been asked, but does Octopus eat seafood, or is that no-no for seafood to eat other seafood?

[Curt McGirt]

CANNIBALISM~!

[zendragon]

On 7/27/2024 at 8:17 PM, The Natural said:

Cheers. Definitely New York. I have two great authentic Italian restaurants that do great pizza where I live: Pizza Pieces and Italianos.

Curry is my favourite food though and fortunate to have great curry houses in Shimla Spice, the best and Aagrah.

I'm glad you can get some decent cuisine over there and you are not forced to subside on mincemeat pies and spotted dick

[RazorbladeKiss87]

On 7/30/2024 at 1:16 PM, twiztor said:

.

 

Pineapple on pizza totally works with the right partner toppings. It pairs pretty well with ham/canadian bacon. Chunks of ham more so than slices. Pineapple compliments jalapeños incredibly well. Perfect balancing of sweet and spicy. However, pineapple on pizza basically has to be eaten fresh. It loses a ton of appeal on leftover/cold pizza. Reheating does it no favors.

And a pro tip: saute the pineapple before adding it to the pizza. It'll reduce the tendency to make your crust soggy. It's also a good time to add some red chili flakes for a nice kick. If I'm making a pineapple pizza it's, ham, pineapple, jalapenos and a light drizzle of hot honey after it comes out of the oven.