PIZZA CLUB 2006

[I_call_the_duck]

what's up with all the spoon usage?  you don't eat water ice with a spoon...

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This may be a silly question, but if that's the case, how does one eat the water ice that your tongue can't reach?

ETA: I may have been able to pull it off when I was much younger, but I think my face is now a little too big to get inside that cup.

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you squeeze the cup. by the time you're down to the very bottom it's mostly melted anyway and you can kinda drink it.

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Thanks. Makes sense. But like Sandy, I don't get brain freeze, but chest freeze--most uncomfortable--if I eat it too fast. Such the hazards of a great dessert.

Getting back on topic, thanks for sharing the day, Sandy. Looks like I missed another great outing.

[Sfuffy]

what's up with all the spoon usage?  you don't eat water ice with a spoon...

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This may be a silly question, but if that's the case, how does one eat the water ice that your tongue can't reach?

ETA: I may have been able to pull it off when I was much younger, but I think my face is now a little too big to get inside that cup.

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you squeeze the cup. by the time you're down to the very bottom it's mostly melted anyway and you can kinda drink it.

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But, unfortunately, the waxed paper cups used to serve water ice can crack and split when squeezed. Better suited to squeezing are the fluted paper cups I got Italian Ices in my North Jersey youth.

[Mummer]

The Marra's loaded pie was one of the best I've ever had. The huge slice I reheated yesterday was still pretty good, altho' the sharp prov didn't have the bite it had on Sunday afternoon. Their plain was fine (great crust,) but I prefer fresh mozz on such a basic pie.

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I'm not much of a Sicilian pie fan, as they tend to be doughy and unevenly cooked. Not so with LaRosa's convection oven, even with the loaded pie we had. (You can see the add-on blower box at the top right of the photo.) They had to extra bake our pie, due to all those toppings. It was the day's pleasant surprise. And you can stop by just for a slice.

[Cath]

Picked up a La Rosa "flight" last night. Like Charlie, I really liked that the crust wasn't doughy or spongy and was on the thinner side. One quibble is that it was a tad greasy, but that's inevitable when slices sit around. Will return for a fresh whole pie.

Thank you all for shaming me into stopping at this place a whole five blocks from me!

[rlibkind]

. . . the waxed paper cups used to serve water ice can crack and split when squeezed. Better suited to squeezing are the fluted paper cups I got Italian Ices in my North Jersey youth.

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That's the way to slurp! I still remember the taste of those cups. as well as the spectacular lemon ice, at DiCosimo's in Elizabeth, just down the block from Spirito's (a perfect post-pizza dessert). DiCosmo's still exists and serves ices in front of the same shack; I was most recently there last October, but don't recall if they have the same pleated cups. But you're right, they were perfect for squeezing.

[jwjon1]

Took me a while to get back to this thread, but I've been thinking about pizza today... so I'll do the next best thing and relive our Marra's experience. Needless to say, I found both offerings to be damn good pies! Still worthy indeed! The provalone on the white pie was a huge hit, and as Charlie mentioned, had a great bite. The freshness of the toppings was also noteworthy, but even the standard cheese pie was outstanding in my book. I tend to rely heavily on basic plain cheese pies to compare place to place, and I doubt I'll find many other places around the area that can top Marra's. In addition to the lightness and crispness of the crust as mentioned previously, it was nicely salted... I'm not talking salty, but subtly seasoned. Moreover the sauce was fresh and the brick oven broil did wonders to the cheese as evidenced in Sandy's photos. I loved this pie, which held its own against one of my other downtown fav's, Lombardi's, which is a sob story in and of itself!

As for La Rosa's, I'm with Katie on this one:

I'm usually not a fan of the square Sicilian style pie but this one was really quite good.

The convection oven made a world of difference, but not enough for me to frequent the joint. If there were a Sicilian style category of best pizza, La Rosa would be in the running... but it would not get my vote for a general pizza category. But that's just personal preference. All in all, it was tasty and the potatoes and sweet peppers were worthy of recognition.

So when's the next outing?

[MarketStEl]

So when's the next outing?

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Well, since this is a major undertaking, I guess we shouldn't wait too long between forays, but May doesn't look good for me right now, so perhaps we should shoot for a June Saturday or Sunday. June 10 is a no-go for me--I have a PGMC performance that evening (maybe I'll see some of you in the audience?).

Otherwise, the month's pretty wide open right now.

I'll entertain suggestions for a date in June and enter my own personal preference for the 24th or 25th. As for itinerary, we could start with the South Philly place we left off of our first trip, Celebre's, which is a four-time winner, then add another South Philly place (will have to check to see which of Cacia's, Joe-Joe's or Russo's is still in business)--or stop by Bitar's ("best weird pizza," 1979). Hey, an excuse to pick up lahmejune if they have it in stock!

Or should we focus on another part of the area (Northeast, 'burbs, Center City...) and return to South Philly later?

What say you all?

[aaronwcpa]

As someone who has yet to be at any Pizza Club event, June 24 or 25, at this point, sounds good to me, and I will make every effort to be wherever you select. I am otherwise occuppied every other weekend in June.

Thanks.

Aaron

[I_call_the_duck]

I'm still looking forward to going to one of these things, and there's a good chance that we'll be around the last two weekends in June. Is there a way we can fit Taconelli's into this?

[Fresser]

ETA:  I may have been able to pull it off when I was much younger, but I think my face is now a little too big to get inside that cup.

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Amateur.

[MarketStEl]

Okay, time to nail down the next installment in our odyssey.

I've already put forth June 24 or 25 as the date. However, if we are going to include Tacconelli's in this tour stop, we will have to have everyone committed no later than the morning of Friday the 23d so I can reserve enough crusts--and we will need to have drivers with spare room on hand so we can get from there to the other place(s) we visit as a group.

I'd like to suggest that we make this the Northeast Edition of the Best of Philly Review Tour. Five pizza places in the Northeast have won "Best of Philly" honors: Tacconelli's (six-time Hall of Famer), Joseph's Pizza (7947 Oxford Ave; 1980), Gaeta's Pizza (7616 Castor Ave; 1996, for their tomato pie), Santucci Square Pizza (1701 Welsh Road/4010 Cottman Avenue/901 Tyson Avenue) and Santucci Brothers Square Pizza (eat-in at Knights Road Shopping Center, 4606 Woodhaven Road, and Pennypack Shopping Center, 8202 Roosevelt Blvd; take-out only at Aramingo Village, 2313 E Venango St, and 3862-64 Terrace St; there is also a Santucci at 4019 O St that I believe is part of this operation, but the location is listed on neither Santucci Web site).

If you note some similarity between those last two, that should come as no surprise: this is one of those classic Philly situations where the next generation of a successful family business can't agree on how to run it, so the children split the business and both branches keep the name. I can't figure out which branch is responsible for the "Best of Philly" awards, though from the best info I can gather, it's what's now called Santucci Brothers; that Web site lays claim to two "Best of Philly" awards, and other sites put the 4019 O Street location--the only one of the three I have in my database that is (maybe) still in existence at the same address (the other two are at 3384 Frankford Ave and 1916 Welsh Road; I have all three as being named Best Pizza in the Northeast in 1992)--among Santucci Brothers' locations.

So what say we do Tacconelli's, either Joseph's or Gaeta's and Santucci Brothers? (The other two--whichever of Joseph's or Gaeta's we don't visit and the other Santucci chain--we can come back to later in the tour.)

Take it away, folks. Comments encouraged, and state whether or not you are available on the 24th or 25th--and whether you prefer an afternoon or an evening outing.

Edited May 24, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

[JanMcBaker]

Something about Gaeta's was bugging me so I just called them--- they're take-out only---no eat in! So..... Joseph's instead of Gaeta's?

Also-- I should be available either day, but I prefer starting in the afternoon. I'm also available to drive, and could take 3 other people. I'm in the Northeast, so if anyone wants to take Septa to the NE I can see about picking you up.

[jwjon1]

Amanda and I are unfortunately out of town that weekend, so will have to pass. I can feel the envy already starting to boil for missing out on this adventure.... but I'll take solace in the fact that we'll be trading Tacconelli's for Chez Panisse on the 24th , with other food adventures to follow.

[Mummer]

The same fellow who brought the Stock's pound cake to the office told me about Gaeta's. It's his go-to pizza spot, even tho' it's a hike; seems their roots trace back to a Mt. Airy area place from his youth.

I'd like to go there; this crew has had pizza in the park before.

There are so many potential spots on the list. We had a winner with La Rosa's, but word of burned mouth is better than anchovy roulette.

[aaronwcpa]

As strange as it may be to believe and as long as I have wanted to make a Pizza Club excursion, we have an engagement dinner on June 25th. Suddenly our calender is full and we are nearer to the northeast than any other section of Phildelphia.

[I_call_the_duck]

I think we're free that weekend, and the 25th is probably better. So can you please tentatively put me (plus one) on the list? We'd also need transportation--we live in the Graduate Hospital area.

Nothing wrong with pizza in the park.

[MarketStEl]

So: what parks are near Gaeta's? Mummer's recommendation leads me in that direction, and if it rains on the 25th, we can always do Joseph's instead.

Just tossing this out as an alternative: With July 4 falling on a Tuesday, I suspect that many of you will take a vacation day Monday to make a super-long weekend of it, but if people's schedules leave them freer on July 1-2 than on June 24-25, I'm willing to entertain that weekend instead. Please post your thoughts here, as my initial inclination is to stick with the original date.

[JanMcBaker]

So: what parks are near Gaeta's?  Mummer's recommendation leads me in that direction, and if it rains on the 25th, we can always do Joseph's instead.

Just tossing this out as an alternative:  With July 4 falling on a Tuesday, I suspect that many of you will take a vacation day Monday to make a super-long weekend of it, but if people's schedules leave them freer on July 1-2 than on June 24-25, I'm willing to entertain that weekend instead.  Please post your thoughts here, as my initial inclination is to stick with the original date.

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All I can think of is Pennypark Park. There's various sections of it in the NE. Or there's Burholme Park at Cottman and Central Aves. That's not too far from Gaeta's. And for anyone thinking of taking Septa from center city, the R8 ends in the NE right by Joseph's . It wouldn't be far from there to Gaeta's and assorted Santucci's. It's not close to Tacconelli's though. Just a thought..... Oh, and I think I'd prefer June 24-25.

[Fresser]

Any chance the Pizza Clubbers will include Centiole's in Girardville on the itinerary?

I think Big Mushy would come out of the woodwork for this one.

Centiole's Pizza 1 E Main St Girardville, PA 17935-1318 Phone: (570) 276-6368

[cdh]

Well, Fresser, there has been wild speculation and idle scheming and plotting to do an extended Pizza Club excursion up to the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area to try the Old Forge Pizza up there... It appears that this Girardville place is a wee bit of a detour away from the straightest route from PHL up to NEPA, but it appears that the Yuengling brewery is right on that detour too.

Maybe an extended North of Allentown Pizza Club Expedition will get arranged eventually... but probably not until Sandy's Pizza Reassessment Tour has run its course.

[MarketStEl]

Hey, folks, the 24th is upon us!

Show of hands, please, once again.

What say you to a 3:30 pm start, meeting at Joseph's in Fox Chase and proceeding from there to Santucci's, then ending at Tacconelli's?

(We'd need to set a time for Tacc's and reserve crusts.)

[skinik]

I can make it on the 25th and can take two, dog friendly, people from

Center City (three, if I leave the dogs at home). I also prefer starting in the afternoon.

[SteveR]

I can make it on the 25th and can take two, dog friendly, people from

Center City (three, if I leave the dogs at home).  I also prefer starting in the afternoon.

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I think it's the 25th (Sunday). Unfortunately I can't make it. I'll make one of these. Preferably South Philly. A do better on weekday evenings.

SteveR

[gbredben]

I'm up for either Saturday or Sunday. Also, see if anyone is interested in adding Tony's Place at 6300 Frankford Ave. And just because it's a half block from the Grey Lodge has nothing to do with this request.

[Mummer]

Are we talking Saturday (6/24) or Sunday (6/25?)

I'm away on Saturday. But this is pizza club, so it's not all about me.

BTW, we did Tony's last year with the Armenian pizza place in the far Northeast.