Oddly enough I watched Al Mancini’s chats with John Curtas & the Due Forni guys AFTER I wrote this blog. They mentioned good pizza as an upcoming trend. Apparently NOT in my neighborhood…..
As in many families, pizza is one of the top 5 fave foods of the members of my household. My Dad and Hubby John will cheerfully eat leftover cold pizza from the fridge. And I have eaten pizza everywhere. My Dad is of the opinion that bad pizza is better than NO pizza – I disagree. And for the record, I LOVE anchovies!
In my waitressing days I worked at La Bella Pizzeria, if you are from Hudson, NY, I know you know where this is. And even in the small rural town of Hudson, you could get a decent pizza. I can think of 3 places off the top of my head where the pizza was good, inexpensive and within a 15-20 minute drive of my house and I lived on a country road. Growing up, pizza night was one of two dining extravagances we were able to afford, and we’d go to La Bella’s. It was kinda fast food for us. When I worked a La Bella’s I would bring home a pie on Friday for the family before I went out to my cocktail waitressing gig.
I vividly remember going into a pizza joint while visiting my Dad on Campbell’s Island. We went up crooked steps, in the back door, across cracked linoleum, “Amy” by The Pure Prairie League (I know – WAY random) was playing on the jukebox and the pizza was cut into little squares. This was my first remembered experience with the “incorrectly” cut pizza. It was fantastic! I think I was 14.
I want a good pizza, and I want it delivered to my house, so I can sit on my couch and drink beer and watch TV while I am eating it. If I have to drive to get it, I don’t want to have to drive more than 20 minutes to pick it up or it will be cold by the time I get home. I do NOT want to eat pizza in a “ristorante”, I want it delivered in a white card board box, with red lettering that says, “You’ve tried all the rest, now try the best”. For me pizza is a “fast food” option, not a fine dining choice. I know there are those out there that will disagree with me and I am sure the “ristorante” owners will shake their fists as me, but let’s face it; pizza doesn’t have to cost $25/pie!
This is NOT the correct box….
My neighborhood is a nice place. I love it – far enough from The Strip to not deal with tourists all the time, but just a short drive away. Incidentally I live in a restaurant desert. Hell, even Chili’s closed up here! In the far NW part of the valley we don’t have that many dining options close to home. We have to drive cross-town to get anything decent. I think I have eaten in every restaurant in my area and there are only 2 that I would eagerly go back to, but sometimes I just don’t want to drive and I go local in favor of driving. But the food isn’t that great with two exceptions, and I can’t eat Mexican and cupcakes all the time.
Every time a so called pizza place opens near me, I try it (don’t mention Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caesar’s or Papa John’s – those aren’t pizza any more than Ball Park is a hot dog). I have tried Streets of NY, North End, House of Vino, Giordano’s, etc. and none of them live up to my expectations for very long. (Moment of truth – the pizza at North End isn’t that bad, but there are 2 flaws – the counter gal is extremely rude and they are BoSox fans – hehehe). They all start out pretty good, and then they decide to make changes to feed the masses and that’s when they start to suck. John is more of a snob than I am when it comes to pizza. I just want it good, hot, fast and delivered!
John’s career with the Air Force took us all over the country and I ate reliably good pizza in only 3 major cities – NY, Chicago, and Boston. We even had decent pies in Maine until the family sold the business. I never had a good pizza in Texas. When we lived in Madrid I used to drive to the subway, take a train and then walk for several blocks (one hour each way) if I needed a pizza fix – yes I was desperate! Making pizza in my Spanish oven was NOT an option! I want a pizza and I don’t want to have to make it myself! Currently, when I make pizza, I grill it. That seems to be the only way I can get a hot enough temp to get the crust to perform the way I want. Making pizza is not difficult, and at the prices a decent pizzeria charges these days, it is WAY cheaper, but sometimes I just don’t want to do it.
Apparently in the Vegas Valley, only the people in Henderson or Summerlin are worthy of a decent neighborhood pizza. Sammy’s Woodfired is pretty close to me, but I don’t want “yuppified” pizza, I just want a traditional, New York Style pie (Moment of Truth – I would lovingly accept a GOOD Chicago style or Boston style if it was GREAT!). So, that being said, here is a very short list of decent pizza in Vegas:
• Settebello – I have never been there, but all the pizza fanatics rave about it. Why haven’t I ever been there? I refuse to drive 40 minutes for a pizza, my Madrid excursions aside, I am not that desperate. In fact I rarely go to Henderson at all. I know where my husband’s office is and that’s all I need to know.
• Due Forni – REALLY good pizza, thin crust that is crispy, yet chewy and closer to my house than Henderson. But they don’t deliver and it’s more than 20 minutes.
• Grimaldi’s – the one in Boca is closest to me, and although they are good, they aren’t great. Again, more than 20 minutes and they don’t deliver.
• The Secret Pizza Place in the Cosmopolitan – if I am on The Strip and in need of a snack, this is where I go. I won’t go out of my way to eat here (hello, it’s The Strip), but if I am in the area, I’ll grab a slice.
These pics are from Secret Pizza:
This week’s Food Memories include disappointing food in Palm Springs, my first ever kangaroo burger (it was overcooked – I think I need a do-over), marginal take-out pizza on the couch with my guys and a trip to The Wicked Spoon buffet (also disappointing – but it was what Jack wanted on his last night before returning to college).
Until next week, go out and make your OWN Food Memories!
