PIZZA CLUB 2006

[Dorine]

Following myself up to throw a question out to the multitudes:

Would a walk from Old City to Independence Mall to Wash West be beyond anyone's capacity to handle?

I ask this because when I put up the original itinerary, I thought that La Cipolla--the third "Best of Philly" east-of-Broad pizzeria--would be too far for some to walk.  But with Apollo (615 Chestnut) as a midpoint, I think that it might be possible to walk from 132 Market Street to 140 South 11th.  Your thoughts?

←

I walk very slowly but probably can handle it.

[KatieLoeb]

Holly or Katie: Can you put this on the calendar?

Done.

Wish I could join you, but it being Rosh Hashanah, I have prior obligations.

Have fun and we expect a full report.

[Holly Moore]

Holly or Katie: Can you put this on the calendar?

Done.

Wish I could join you, but it being Rosh Hashanah, I have prior obligations.

Have fun and we expect a full report.

←

Holly on the other hand:

1. Reminds members to negotiate dates and to declare who and who isn't attending, or whose plans have changed, to communicate by email; and

2. Asks that requests for calendar listings be made by PM to Katie or Holly.

Thanks.

[herbacidal]

I ask this because when I put up the original itinerary, I thought that La Cipolla--the third "Best of Philly" east-of-Broad pizzeria--would be too far for some to walk.  But with Apollo (615 Chestnut) as a midpoint, I think that it might be possible to walk from 132 Market Street to 140 South 11th.  Your thoughts?

←

I could I'm wrong, but I thought La Cipolla Torta closed.

That would have been the one between Front and 2nd on Market?

Can someone confirm or deny this visually or telephonically?

[MarketStEl]

Neither here nor there, but:

Was in Media's attractive-without-being-precious downtown yesterday at lunchtime to attend a Delaware County Press Club luncheon, and happened to walk past Apollo while killing time waiting for a Route 118 bus back to Chester.

This place is also takeout only, so when we do schedule a Delaware County swing, (1) we will need to pay attention to the weather and (2) we will need to scout out a nearby place we can eat our pies. (The nearby grounds of Media Elementary School, perhaps?)

In the meantime, as the one phone number I could find for La Cipolla is disconnected, I will assume that Herb is right about this place having closed. Our tour will kick off at the Center City Apollo (7th and Chestnut) at 2 and proceed as described upthread.

Oh, and Happy New Year, Katie!

[MarketStEl]

One more note:

My recollection that the Apollo in Center City had been renamed is correct.

The restaurant is now called La Scala's.

However, the menu prominently states that they still serve Apollo Pizza, and the four "Best of Philly" awards Apollo has won hang right next to the entrance.

See you at 2 on Sunday at La Scala's.

[MarketStEl]

It's been a busy week, folks--please forgive the delay in reporting on the latest stop on our epic journey.

Before proceeding, though, a word for Jason, Amanda and Katie, along with any pizza aficionados who were too shy to just show up:

You missed what was probably the best overall tour stop since the beginning of the tour. I will entertain the notion of a repeat visit for those of you who have yet to experience the two first-rate establishments we visited this past Sunday, for both are worthy contenders for elevation into the pantheon of Philadelphia pizza that currently consists of Marra's and Tacconelli's.

Why do I say this? Read on:

Center City, East of Broad: Crunch Time

Time, as we all know, changes everything. Old favorites disappear and new ones take their place. Familiar faces suddenly become alien as the passage of time (or, in my case, a buzz-cut haircut on Tuesday evening) alters their features. And so it is with pizza: a onetime standard-bearer in Old City falls by the wayside while a transplanted Brooklynite puts down roots in Wash West.

But some things never change.

Wait a minute. I could have sworn that this establishment at 7th and Chestnut was called Apollo, after the legendary, four-time Best of Philly Media pizzeria that set up Center City digs in the late 1990s.

Now the signs on the awnings read "La Scala's." Other than the awnings, everything else looks the same as it did when it was called Apollo: the contemporary casual décor, stone walls and tile floors are all pretty much the same.

And so is the pizza, according to the menu.

That's because this place is still Apollo. Our waiter explained that the owners decided to change its name because patrons were unaware that the Center City location is a full-blown Italian restaurant with much more than pizza on the menu. Such is Apollo's reputation that its name is associated with pizza and nothing else.

The two pies that Dorine, I_call_the_duck and Mr. Duck, Chris and I shared--well, we had to force Chris to share some; he's not that big of an eater--on Sunday demonstrate why this is the case.

In addition to the margherita "control pie," we ordered a pie with prosciutto and roasted peppers, largely at the urging of Mr. Duck, who averred that most places that serve prosciutto pie use an inferior grade of the specially cured ham.

The control pie was a promising harbinger of things to come, loaded as it was with huge springs of fresh basil, heaping chunks of fresh mozzarella and whole tomato slices atop a thin layer of tomato sauce.

The crust on this pie was evenly browned:

and the flavor was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. (Luckily for Dorine, the tomato slices were easily removable, which allowed her to sample this pie without triggering a severe allergic reaction to tomato seeds.)

The prosciutto pie was IMO even better:

The sweetness of the roasted peppers and the saltiness of the prosciutto played against each other well, with the mozzarella cheese acting as mediator. The prosciutto also passed Mr. Duck's exacting standards.

The crusts were that rare combination of chewy and crispy, a feat that's difficult to pull off. The prosciutto pie's crust was also evenly browned, but had more of a caramel color to it:

Still Worthy? You betcha, in spades--these are first-rate, 20-mile pies.

As the ducks had a prior commitment, they took their leave of the party as we departed La Scala's, which left Dorine in the company of two handsome black men, neither of whom were attracted to her physically. (Give us a call the next time you contemplate heading out to a pickup bar and need a defense against unwanted advances, Hon.)

We spent the next several blocks craning our necks upward and remarking on the wonderful architectural details to be found on Center City's older buildings as we made our way to the 11th Street precinct house of the New York Pizza Department.

That's Chris on the left. He begged off eating more, leaving the job of re-evaluating this newest addition to the Best of Philly ranks to Dorine and me.

NYPD is a typical "in-town" neighborhood pizzeria in that it offers both whole pies and pie by the slice--the former for residents and nearby office workers, the latter for the many passers-by who want something quick to eat. It offers a good range of both regular and specialty pies:

Top row, left to right: Sausage and pepperoni slices, spinach -- yes, spinach! -- and fresh mozzarella, broccoli and bell pepper in front/tomato in back. Bottom row, left to right: Ground beef and cheese slices, Buffalo chicken, space available.

in an atmosphere that feels a little bit like a basement rec room, with exposed brick walls decorated with trappings celebrating New York and Italy, plus a little cop-shop stuff.

They're hard to see from this angle, but on top of the yellow I-beam are model police vehicles, gifts from New York and Philadelphia police officers.

Guy, the owner of NYPD Pizza, explained to me on a prior visit that his Best of Philly honor--earned in his first year of business--came as a complete surprise. "I kept getting people calling me and stopping in, saying 'Hey, congratulations, you have the best pizza in Philly.' I'd say 'Thank you--I think it's real good too.' I had no idea they were talking about an award until I got the letter from Philadelphia magazine."

(How the public found out about it before he did is another mystery. Maybe we should call in the NYPD to investigate.)

Because we were down to two, we ordered two "personal size" (10-inch diameter) pies--the control pie and a white seafood pizza topped with shrimp and scallops.

As you can see, the margherita pie here used aged rather than fresh mozzarella and was also a bit stingy with the basil, qualities that caused it to lose a few points in our final evaluation. (We found out afterward that we could have asked for more basil on the pizza--Guy's customers apparently are a bit basilphobic, for as he explained to us, he got comments about using too much basil on the pizza.) The extra sauce on this pie also appeared to affect the crust, for the crunchy crispness characteristic of NYPD's pies was strangely missing from this one.

It was present in abundance on the seafood pie, a truly superlative specialty pizza with a nicely charred crust.

These "personal" pies are large enough to make a complete meal for one very hungry person or a good snack for two ordinarily hungry individuals.

By the way, NYPD turns out these great pies using regular, off-the-shelf pizza ovens--no coal, no bricks, no turbocharging. It's the ingredients and the skill with which they are prepared that make these pies standouts--very much Still Worthy pies. Ordinarily, I would rank these as the equal of Apollo's, but the margherita pie we had on our visit forced us to drop them down a bit: We decided these were 17.5-mile pies. By the time you all visit, they should have gotten the missing 2.5 miles back. (Hey, we're a tough crowd.) If you go, be sure to allow time to eat your pie on the premises--the crusts definitely suffer from continued cooking in the box, losing most of their crunchiness. They still taste great, though.

Edited September 28, 2006 by MarketStEl (log)

[Dorine]

...You missed what was probably the best overall tour stop since the beginning of the tour.  I will entertain the notion of a repeat visit for those of you who have yet to experience the two first-rate establishments we visited this past Sunday, for both are worthy contenders for elevation into the pantheon of Philadelphia pizza that currently consists of Marra's and Tacconelli's.

The control pie was a promising harbinger of things to come, loaded as it was with huge springs of fresh basil, heaping chunks of fresh mozzarella and whole tomato slices atop a thin layer of tomato sauce.

The prosciutto pie was IMO even better:

...Still Worthy?  You betcha, in spades--these are first-rate, 20-mile pies.

...As the ducks had a prior commitment, they took their leave of the party as we departed La Scala's, which left Dorine in the company of two handsome black men, neither of whom were attracted to her physically. (Give us a call the next time you contemplate heading out to a pickup bar and need a defense against unwanted advances, Hon.)

As you can see, the margherita pie here used aged rather than fresh mozzarella and was also a bit stingy with the basil, qualities that caused it to lose a few points in our final evaluation.  (We found out afterward that we could have asked for more basil on the pizza--Guy's customers apparently are a bit basilphobic, for as he explained to us, he got comments about using too much basil on the pizza.)  The extra sauce on this pie also appeared to affect the crust, for the crunchy crispness characteristic of NYPD's pies was strangely missing from this one.

It was present in abundance on the seafood pie, a truly superlative specialty pizza with a nicely charred crust.

Such sweeties, Sandy and Chris! I'm not enough over my husband's death to even contemplate singles bars, but I'll keep your lovely offer in mind! Maybe you can point me to a nice gay bar where I can have a cocktail in peace. Sigh, good thing I know better than to be hurt that you don't find me attractive! ;-)

Oh, yes, I could definitely do a repeat of Sunday, and think more of you should join us. We had some *very* good pizzas! Those folks at La Scala definitely know what they are doing! I think I could do with another group excursion to Taconelli's and Marra's. Gotta try that 90-mile pie!

And that seafood pizzaat NYPD was exquisite. As you said, my shre of the leftovers suffered a bit from being walked home in the rain in the box, but the abundanat garlic was still there. Yum!

I suppose we lost some people as a result of the holiday. If the rest of the members of this group are as lovely as the aforementioned handsome men and the Ducks, it is a group well worth spending a pleasant afternoon with! Good people, good pizza, what more could you ask?

[I_call_the_duck]

Now I'm bummed that we missed that seafood pie.

Thanks Sandy, for arranging this trip.

[KatieLoeb]

Sorry I missed this, but would try and make it for a repeat journey. Great pics too! Looks like a lot of fun.

I had no idea that La Scala even existed, so having that on my radar for a future visit is a side benefit to your wonderful reporting.