Pizza is Delicious

I saw this while I was in Europe recently.  It was in the March 19th Daily Telegraph from the UK.  I looked for a link to the article on the website but couldn’t find it.  Hopefully you can read the scan of the article that I ripped out of the paper.

The New York Times has found the world’s first pizza vending machine in Trentino, Italy. Leave it up to the Italians to come up something as absurdly awesome as this. The certainly love their pizza over there. Apparently this machine, which is called Let’s Pizza!, doesn’t just cook pre-assembled pizza. It actually mixes water, flour, tomato sauce and other fresh ingredients and cooks it in about 3 mins. That’s some fresh and speedy pizza! The question remains: Does it taste any good?  If any Italians out there have sampled from this “pizza robot” please let us know your thoughts.

This pizza is from J & J South Philly Pizza.  There is nothing to say about this pizza other than it is BAD.  Really bad.  The one thing this place has going for them is their pizza boxes are quite good.  Look at the amount of grease on this pizza.  You could fill a small swimming pool with it.  But, the pizza box held strong and not a drop seeped through or dripped onto the table.  Kudos on your boxes.  Now learn how to make a decent pie.

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J & J South Philly Pizza
1177 S 9th St
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 551-1234

I actually ate at Marra’s several years ago but don’t remember anything from that visit. Matt had also been there years ago in the upstairs dining room for a family gathering but was unaware that the pizza was the thing to order at Marra’s at the time. His mistake. Recently we’ve been hearing people say that this was a good sit down place for some pizza so it was our duty to try it.

Nestled right in the middle of the restaurants, stores and hip coffee shops along the up and coming East Passyunk corridor lies this Italian restaurant that’s been around since 1927.  Upon entering we were immediately greeted by a very friendly staffer that told us to sit wherever we liked.  We picked a cozy little booth right by the door and squeezed 5 people in.  The atmosphere is very old world and homey which in a way reminded me of an Irish pub.  It felt warm and relaxing and it seemed like a great place to enjoy a meal or drink.

After a few beers and some appetizers (the garliciest garlic bread ever) the pizza arrived.  Some people ordered personal pizzas with excessive amounts of meats and veggies but the true test of good pizza is the cheese pie and that is what I ate.  They don’t serve pizza by the slice. You can get made-to-order pizzas in 10″ (personal), 14″(small), and 18″(large) sizes. This is very good brick oven pizza. We found out from out server that they still use the same oven her grandparent’s, the founders, brought over from Italy in 1927. The crust was cooked to perfection being nice and very crispy without being too hard.  The soft dough on top of the crispy crust was a fine balance. The sauce had a nice fresh homemade flavor and the amout of cheese was just right.

The crust was cooked to perfection being nice and very crispy without being too hard. 

Some of our crew thought there was not enough sauce. Maybe more sauce would have made it that much better but I didn’t find that to be a problem.  I was very satisfied with my meal.

Marra’s is a great cozy sit down place that excels in pizza.  Operated by generations of family whose pride in their establishment is obvious. Looking for a place for a inexpensive date?  Go to Marra’s. Dinner with friends?  Go to Marra’s.  Just go to Marra’s.  Marra’s is real South Philly Italian with no bells, whistles or gimmicks – just great rustic pizza. You won’t be disappointed.

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Marra’s Restaurant
1734 E Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19148
(215) 463-9249

A Connecticut guy bought and old fire truck and converted it to a mobile pizza party complete with beer kegs. Our hats are off. But really, is Connecticut pizza any good (from a fire truck or not)?  
See the video visit their website

Cacia’s Bakery & Cafe in Northern Liberites is the newest of seven locations opened by the original bakery in South Philly. At some locations they’ve expanded from breads and pastries to offering Italian sandwiches and hoagies. At the NoLibs spot, they branched out to pizza and coffee (two of my favorite things) as well.

People rave about the tomato pie and pizza is clearly the most popular choice of the lunch crowd. Along with pizza, they offer sandwiches and a few standard Italian hot entrees cafeteria-style out of warming trays like meatballs, sausage and peppers, baked ziti, chicken cutlets, lasagna, etc. None of these meals are worth writing home about and they are a bit too expensive (priced per pound) to buy because you are too lazy to make dinner.

Now onto the pizza:
Please note that this business is not called Cacia’s Pizzeria. Maybe because they refer to themselves as a bakery they think it’s ok to cook pizza on cookie sheets. They don’t just make Sicilian and tomato pie in rectangular sheets but ALL of their pizzas are made rectangular!? I sampled the sausage & peppers and a slice of plain. On the slice of plain, the sauce was robust but the flavor wasn’t terribly appealing. The cheese was overcooked and browned. In contrast, the dough was cooked golden brown and was very tasty. The sausage & peppers had no sauce and it looked and tasted like they threw a slice of American Cheese on top. It stuck to my teeth and eating it pissed me off royally.

If you are in need of a fresh Italian bread or are craving a cannoli, Cacia’s can satisfy you. For a good slice of pizza, look elsewhere. Pizza should be round. Round and delicious.

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Cacia’s Bakery & Cafe‎
719 N 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 922-3888

When I lived in NYC near Columbus Circle, Mariella was the shop of choice for delivery.  The pies were huge and tasty and were affordable for 4 poor college students.  They also seemed to deliver 24 hours a day but I may have been drunk.  The thing about Mariella is that the pizza would put you in a coma, almost immediately.  It was a seriously debilitating coma that would prevent you from doing anything for a few hours.  I’m pretty sure I missed a class or two due to this.  We began to lovingly refer to the pizza as “Roofie Pizza.”  

Fast forward several years to September 2008. Matt and I were in NYC the night before for a going away party for a friend.  His wife also just happens to work around the corner from Mariella.  That’s a perfect recipe for a pizza lunch.

We began to lovingly refer to the pizza as “Roofie Pizza.”

In all the years I ordered pizza from there, I hardly ever went there to eat so my only memories are really of just the pizza. It’s a small place in the middle of big office buildings and close to that fancy Columbus Circle mall.  The place was packed with the lunch crowd and the guys behind the counter ran the place with a fire brigade like efficiency. The head dude is constantly yelling out “One stay” or “Two Go” to the guy working the oven.

The pizza was just as good as I remembered it.  It’s a New York City slice of pizza in the best sense.  It’s crunchy, it’s greasy, it’s cheesy and it’s delicious.
 
And, just like I remember, the coma started to set in right around when I finished my first slice.  I found it hard to focus and went into a trance like state.  I did manage to finish my second slice but it was tough (delicious but tough).  Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad a coma as I remember.  We were able to get up and walk around the neighborhood before Wifey went back to work and we went to a pub.  

$6.50 for 2 slices and a drink might seem steep, but in the grand scheme of things and considering it’s in NYC, I guess it isn’t too bad.  $5 would be better but whatever.

Also, there is a sign on the wall that says Oprah and her buddy Gayle think this is the best pizza in the country.  Maybe that had something to do with the crowd.  Personally I don’t think this is the best pizza in the country but it’s still pretty good.

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Mariella Pizza
960 8th Ave
New York, NY 10107
(212) 757-3016‎

Wandering around Rittenhouse looking for a slice and after being thwarted at one place that was closing at 8 (seriously?), we stumbled across Cravings which quite literally is a hole in the wall. 

This place is tiny.  It seats 4 and you have to navigate around the giant water ice cooler but that doesn’t seem to stop the stream of customers looking for a quick bite.

Not only is this delicious pizza but the price is right too.

Sandwiched between a couple of lame bars and a liquor store, Cravings offers a fresh slice.  Upon first glance it looked like just another run of the mill greasy slice but we were pleasantly surprised.  The slice has a nice flaky crust and the cheese has a sharper, refreshing taste.  It was a bit heavy on the cheese which normally doesn’t make a good slice, but this worked.  In between serving up the customers and threatening to beat the shit out of a guy trying to use fake twenties, we managed to get a bit of info out of the owner.  He uses a 4 cheese blend but wouldn’t tell us what they are.  Mozzarella is obviously one of them and I suspect he slipped when he told us Muenster, an oil based cheese, is another one but he kept the other 2 a secret.  He also cooks the pizza at 700 degrees which is also part of his winning recipe. 

Being located next to a few popular (yet lame) bars you would think he would make a killing at last call but he closes at 10 to avoid the drunken chaos and the inevitable criminals looking to rob inebriated yuppies or the open shop.

Not only is this delicious pizza but the price is right too.  Individual slices are less than $2 and there is also a great special of 2 slices and a soda for $4.  This highly recommended slice is perfect for the Center City lunch crowd or that quick bite after work.  We can’t wait to go back.

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Cravings
1911 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 963-1661

As Samuel L says in Pulp Fiction, “Goddamn, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet shit!” Mama Palma’s at 23rd and Spruce is some gourmet shit. They’re all sorts of gourmet with their made to order pies, and their imported from Italy brick oven and their multitudes of fresh ingredient toppings. They are also shit with their mostly tasteless pizza, their $6 pints of beer and their bougie center city prices. Ok so shit is completely overdoing it. We all enjoyed our pizza very much.
 Our mistake was that we ordered the margherita pizza which isn’t the most exciting option on the menu. They definitely did NOT skimp on the fresh basil but the tomato sauce was mediocre. The dough was deliciously soft and crispy and wasn’t too heavy. They cut up the pie into half-slices which was kind of girlie but it made sharing pretty easy.
It was $19.50 for a 16″ pie, even though it feed 3 people that seems a bit steep for a pizza and that was one of the cheapest pie on the menu.
It’s busy as shit and it is hard to find parking in that area. If you don’t live in walking distance from this place and you are really hungry…think twice before heading here. However, we feel this place deserves a second chance so we will give it another try someday. 

Sorry for the shitty quality of the pictures both of us forgot cameras so these were taken on the iPhone

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Mama Palma’s
2229 Spruce St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 735-7357