Pizza: a slice of heaven (2005); Sometimes the bear eats you

Tue Mar 15 10:46:46 UTC 2005

SOMETIMES THE BEAR EATS YOU (continued)
...
I should remind everyone looking at the hammer/nail, windshield/bug,
dog/hydrant, bird/statue thread that I'd posted "sometimes you eat/hunt the  bear,
and sometimes the bear eats/hunts you" (1904). I re-checked a little and  found
this.
...
(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
_Other  2 -- No Title_
(http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=325785442&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1110877818&cl
ientId=65882)
Los Angeles Times (1886-Current  File). Los Angeles, Calif.: Apr 16, 1897. p.
6 (1 page) :
Bear hunting is fine sport--so long as you hunt the bear.
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PIZZA: A SLICE OF HEAVEN
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE AND COMPANION
by Ed Levine
with special guest deliveries from Nora Ephron, Mario Batali, Calvin  Trillin
and many others
New York: Universe Publishing
368 pages, paperback, $24.95
2005
...
...
I bought this book a few days ago at the Barnes & Noble on 8th Street  and
6th Avenue, then walked to 28 Carmine Street to sample the new pizza  restaurant
there. The buffalo mozzarrella pizza was very good.
...
On the restaurant wall was the story of the "Margherita" pizza. I looked at
the menu for some time, memorizing it, and then stared at the wall for some
time. "It's true," the waiter told me, happy to share his knowledge with
someone  new at all this.
...
And then I thought, maybe I'll tell him, look, my name is Barry Popik, and
I'm looking at this because...I helped put "Margherita" pizza in the Oxford
English Dictionary..
...
Why wasn't I asked to contribute to Ed Levine's book? Yes, I'm Barry Popik,
and I solved the "hot dog," and maybe in a million years I'll earn a single
penny, but I'm sure Ed Levine could've used some pizza history...
...
Lots of people are here--Eric Asimov, Sam Sifton, John T. Edge, Roy Blount
Jr., Jeffrey Steingarten--and it's an entertaining pizza trip around the U.S.
"Pizza Margherita" was invented in 1889 again, so I'll re-post this piece
here:
;;;
Queen Margaret at Naples.
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington,  D.C.: Jul 25, 1880. p. 2 (1
page)

_Queen Margaret at Naples._

>From the Geneva Gazette.
...
Queen Margaret is in Naples at the palace of Capediamonte, and a story  is
related of her which explains the secret of her popularity among the  people.
A
favorite eatable with the Neapolitans is the pizza, a sort of cake  beaten
flat
in a round form, and seasoned with carious condiments. The Queen  sent for a
pizzaimole, who is famous for his skill in making these cakes, as  she said
"she
wanted to eat likethe poor people." The man went to the palace,  was received,
and having shown a list of thirty-five varieties of pizza, was  sent to the
royal kitchen to make the kind which the Queen had selected. He  made eight,
which
were the ideals of their kind, and the little Prince and  his mother found
them
excellent, but to eat as the poor people in Naples  eat--that is often not
all, and is more than could be expected. But she has  visited the poor
quarter of
Naples, and sympathizes with the misery she sees  there.
...
Pg. 58: An "American Pizza Timeline" is here, but it's just when certain
pizza places opened.
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Pg. 82: Manhattan Pizza. The section is already dated, as I proved that
evening!
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Pg. 140: Pizza a la Grandma. An interesting chapter on "granfma' pizza"
origins. Pg. 143's "where to buy grandma pizza" is "an admittedly incomplete
list." The place I first had it--Maffei pizza, on 6th Avenue, near the Barnes  &
Noble and Bed, Bath & Beyond just below 23rd Street, is not  listed.
...
Pg. 164: New Haven Pizza. Who cares? They make pizza there?
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Pg. 216: Chicago and Midwestern Pizza. No discussion of the Chicago origin of
 "stuffed pizza"? None??
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Pg. 260: Hawaii Pizza. No discussion of the origin of "Hawaiian pizza"
(pineapple and ham, and it might come from New York)?
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Pg. 277: Frozen Pizza. The origins of this are not explained at all.
Tombstone? Put that on your tombstone, Ed? Remember that line?
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Pg. 298: Planet Pizza. This book doesn't care about the planet. FWIW, I
recently had great pizza in the Dominican Republic. My ADS-L travel notes are
better than this!
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Pg. 359: Glossary. It's very skimpy, containing only these words:Cornicione,
DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllate), DOP (Denominazione di Origine
Protetta), Double-zero flour, Fior di Latte, Grandma Pizza, Hole Structure,
Margherita, Marinara, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pizza Bianza, Pizzaiolo, San Marzano
Tomato, and VPN (Vera Pizza Napoletana).
...
And that's the book. The story of "Sicilian" slice pizza is probably here
somewhere, but it's not even a chapter. White pizza? Spinach pizza? Broccoli
pizza? Pepperoni pizza? Anchovies? Eggplant? Closed pizza (calzone)? Apizza?
Pizze? Pizza? Pizza without cheese? Whole wheat pizza? Kosher pizza? Chocolate
pizza? Buffalo wings pizza? Four cheese pizza? Pizza knots? "You've tried the
rest, now try the best" on pizza boxes? The origin of the pizza guy's "OK"
sign?  Pizza blister (see Robert Hendrickson's NEW YAWK TAWK)? Why aren't these
easily  explained and defined and dated? I could have done that for less than
a penny.  Yeah, I know, but I'm Barry Popik. I do parking tickets.
...
Pizza in song? "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie"? Not here.
Pizza in the movies? Danny Aiello in DO THE RIGHT THING? Not here.
...
The book will surely get glowing reviews. As an assembly of the authors and
places you know about already, it's all here. But is that what "the  ultimate
guide and companion" should be?