Best Ingredient for Single Topping Pizza

[Prof.Wizard]

BTW I voted for pepperoni. It's so classic...

 

[Pradeep]

I'm still getting used to the fact that in the US, when you want a chicken burger, you have to call it a chicken sandwich.

 

[Cliptin]

I'm still getting used to the fact that in the US, when you want a chicken burger, you have to call it a chicken sandwich.

Ah, seems like the pefect time to ask this question(which I'm pretty sure I've not asked before ). I was told to make sure that when I ordered a hamburger in Oz to be sure and tell them to leave off the beet(beetroot).

As Oz is home to stuff like vegimite and the popular vinegar and potato wedges, I decided it was not too far fetched. Similarly, in at least the southern US if you don't want coleslaw on your BBQ sandwich you should say so.

If it makes a difference we were travelling on the east coast between Sydney and Brisbane.

 

[Tea]

Yup. Beetroot is a common thing to have in hamburbers here. Be sure to call it "beetroot" as if you just say "beet" people will have trouble getting your meaning. It goes well with a real burger, though a thin slice is nicer than a great slab of it. On plastic burgers from McChucks it is a recent innovation and doesn't go at all.

 

[Mercutio]

timwhit, Aurelios, at least here in Indiana (there's one a couple blocks away) isn't all that great. Like a lot of the Chicago joints (Pizzaria Uno, Eduardos, Giordanos), the farther you get from Chicago, the worse the pizza is going to be. I ate at a Pizzaria Uno in New Jersey once. It was one of the worst pizzas I've ever had.

 

[Cliptin]

Beetroot: dark-red, vinegary vegetable, right. Do Aussies really like vinegar that much?

 

[Tea]

A lot of people do, a lot of people don't, Cliptin. Personally, I like it in moderation: some beetroot in a mouthful of lettuce, ham, tomato and onion is very nice, a great slab of it on its own is unpleasant.

It's not a vinegary vegetable, that all depends on how it's cooked. You can just boil it (in which case it's got nothing at all to do with vineagar, it's just another vegetable that sits there on your plate next to the pumpkin and the peas). More commonly it is cooked in vinegar to add flavour (it's pretty boring without, IMHO) but the amount of vinegar flavour in it is entirely up to the cook, and varies a lot. However, it is never as vinegary as the weird vegetable that Americans love to add to burgers and 50% of Australians pull out and throw away- pickle.

Personally, I like pickle. And beetroot. And ... er ... almost every other food I can think of.

 

[Mercutio]

You guys actually eat pumpkin over there? The only thing we do with it here is mash it up with some ginger and cinnamon and bake it into pies.

 

[Pradeep]

A piece of pumpkin goes lubbly with Mum's lamb roast and potatoes. Hey at least we don't carve up perfectly good veges for a holiday decoration

In Aus you will get a slice of beetroot in your Mc Oz burger unless you ask for it without. Personally I much rather Wendy's or Hungry Jacks (Burger King).

 

[blakerwry]

I prefer sweet potato bie to pumpkin.... the taste is nearly indistiguishable to most people, but the color and texture of sweet potato is, IMO, more pleasing.

 

[Mercutio]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

Do you Aussies get Mexican food? Mexico's cuisine is its gift to the world (er, that and cheap manufacturing).

 

[mubs]

I prefer sweet potato bie to pumpkin

Hmmmm. I must try this "bie" thing sometime.... :wink:

 

[Cliptin]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

Do you Aussies get Mexican food? Mexico's cuisine is its gift to the world (er, that and cheap manufacturing).

What you've never had leg of lamb, farm boy!

 

[Pradeep]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

You roast it just like a beef roast. Actually the legs of lamb I buy here in the US are imported from Australia. Worth every cent tho.

I don't mind the odd bit of Mexican, but I hav enough gas problems as is

 

[timwhit]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

You mix it with beef and make gyros...thought everyone knew that...

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

You mix it with beef and make gyros...thought everyone knew that...

Hehe...

 

[Pradeep]

Never eaten lamb, either. What the hell do you do with lamb?

You mix it with beef and make gyros...thought everyone knew that...

Gyro being a souvlaki for those who are wondering.

 

[NRG = mc²]

Gyros doesn't actually contain lamb. Lamb doner, which is Turkish, looks like gyros, and is made of lamb.

 

[Prof.Wizard]

You can find gyros made of pork, pork-lamb, or lamb-only in Greece, Will.
At least by my place.

Pork is forbidden for Muslims, that's why Turks prefer it with lamb. Personally I find the 50-50% pork-lamb gyros the tastiest!

BTW, gyros on pizza... don't try it... :-?

 

[NRG = mc²]

Huh? I've never seen lamb gyro?!? Hmm.. well anyway, lamb doner stinks, and tastes horrible, no wonder they put so much chilli sauce on it.

In fact, the only reason there are so many kebab places in London, and the only reason they make money is due to the amount of people who will eat anything after coming out of pubs and clubs having drunk 4 or 5 beers within a couple of hours. :mrgrn:

 

[slo crostic]

Beetroot: dark-red, vinegary vegetable, right. Do Aussies really like vinegar that much?

How about pickled onions? You do have pickled onions in the US don't you? Even more vinegary than beetroot and even more delicious.
Especially the "Blue Banner" ones from Tasmania, so strong they make your eyes water......mmmmm...yum!

 

[The Grammar Police]

Blue Banner: yes, Slo - they are the best.

PS: the great secret to vinegar on chips is that you must not use vinegar from a bottle - that is acrid and horrible - you need to use the liquid that the pickled onions were in. This is why fish shop chips taste so good - the proprietor, in his quest to save money, tries to save the small added cost of a bottle of vinegar and uses his pickled onion water instead. Quite by accident, the result is fabulous!

 

[Buck]

Nice signature TGP.

 

[Cliptin]

Beetroot: dark-red, vinegary vegetable, right. Do Aussies really like vinegar that much?

How about pickled onions? You do have pickled onions in the US don't you? Even more vinegary than beetroot and even more delicious.
Especially the "Blue Banner" ones from Tasmania, so strong they make your eyes water......mmmmm...yum!

Never heard of it. I am a pickle fan; I'll have to look for some.

There is actually a special variety of onion grown in the area that I prefer called Vidalia. Only onions grown in South East Georgia can legally be called Vidalie. They have a mild taste.

http://www.agr.state.ga.us/html/gg_vidalia_onions.html

 

[timwhit]

I'm going to have to agree with you on that one Cliptin. My grandpa grows those and they are quite tasty. He doesn't grow them in Georgia but it's still the same onion.

 

[Splash]

...I ate at a Pizzaria Uno in New Jersey once. It was one of the worst pizzas I've ever had.

I rarely eat pizza, but I have had both the NY and the Chicago recipes and I would have to say -- unequivocally -- that the Chicago approach to pizza construction is better. The NY approach is a bit too, er... greazy for me and I definitely prefer the thick crust.

I do believe that the NY style is closer to the original Italian pizza pie, though.

 

[Mercutio]

I woke up this morning with an insane craving for pizza.
The place where I live now does not have any good pizza restaurants and I don't really want to drive 30 miles to get some.
And it's way too hot to want to run the oven and try to make one.

So I thought, since I'm not going to be getting a pizza any time soon, we could re-visit this five year old topic (I love the fact that we have five year old topics) and talk about what makes a good pizza some more.

 

[timwhit]

Is there an Aurelio's near you? Go for that.

 

[Mercutio]

Also, in re-reading the Necro-thread, I find that a great question has been left unanswered:

Do Aussies get Mexican food, or is it an unimaginable delicacy for the antipodeans?

 

[Mercutio]

Is there an Aurelio's near you?

I think the nearest one is in Crown Point, which is 25 miles away.

There's an Eduardo's in Hammond, which would be my choice (they, by the way, have an AWESOME thin crust pesto and spinach pie).
Or Uno's in Merrillville.

The closest Papa Johns is closed because of fire and the next closest is also way far away.

The problem with Chicago-type Pizza joints is that, invariably, as you get farther from Chicago, the suckier their pizzas get. This is scientific fact. The Uno's in Merrillville is suckier than the Uno's in Chicago proper, but much better than the one in Champaign. Two different people I have met who have been to Uno's in New Jersey have told me they thought it was garbage.

This phenomenon may also explain why my experience with Aurelios has not supported timwhit's "Aurelios is actually good."-theory.

 

[timwhit]

You need to go to the original Aurelio's in Homewood. Possibly the greatest restaurant in the world. Don't bother with their thick crust pizza, it's not good. Go for their original crust. Ask for it cooked in the old oven. The new oven sucks comparably. It is also supposed to be the largest pizzeria in the country. Their dining room holds over 600 people on three levels.

For Chicago style pizza my favorite chain-type place is Giordano's. For a more local variety it is My Pi on the north side.

 

[Mercutio]

Every Giordano's I've ever been to is an unhygienic hellhole.
I was served a Pizza with maggots in it at a downtown Giordano's.

I mean it was infested.
And the fuckers wouldn't even give me my money back. I ended up talking to a cop. The cop told me I must've put all the maggots in there.

 

[ddrueding]

If I'm really lazy, the local Round Table pizza is 80m away. At 120m and across a street is a Papa Murphys. The closest good pizza is Pizz'a Chicago, whose on-line ordering system gives the geek in me something to look forward to. If I were to talk about how good it is, all you people who live where it snows would say I'm unqualified, so let's just say that I like it quite a bit

 

[timwhit]

Every Giordano's I've ever been to is an unhygienic hellhole.
I was served a Pizza with maggots in it at a downtown Giordano's.

I mean it was infested.
And the fuckers wouldn't even give me my money back. I ended up talking to a cop. The cop told me I must've put all the maggots in there.

For future reference, which location was this and when was did this happen?

I eat lunch at Giordano's about twice a month and get their lunch special for $5.50 and have never had a problem.

 

[Fushigi]

We usually go to Maciano's, but then it's walking distance. Good pizza, decently cute waitresses. Their double-dough is a good compromize between thin crust & deep dish. Good Calzones.

The local Giordanos is OK. I've never been too much of a fan of Connies. Home Run Inn is fine, but I still consider Gino's East to be the quintessential Chicago pizza joint.

 

[Mercutio]

timwhit:
Two blocks south of the ComEd building. Several years ago.
I've also been served rotten food (salads) there on multiple occasions and in different locations and the location that was in Merrillville used to have problems with insects, as well.

Their pizza is really good but after the sixth bad experience with the place I kind of gave up on them.

Gino's East is really good too.

Dammit I want a pizza!

 

[ddrueding]

Merc,

Considering the conversations we've been having elsewhere, I suggest you be decisive on something you know you want. Do whatever it takes; leave work, take a taxi, and get a f-ing pizza. For me, moments where I know exactly what I want are rare, and not to be missed.

 

[Mercutio]

There's no good pizza nearby.

 

[ddrueding]

Why is that stopping you? What else do you want to do right now? Screw it; if you have to fly somewhere to get a pizza, do it. Rent a limo...who cares?

 

[timwhit]

DD, not everyone is as rich as you. Or if not rich, then stupid.

Damnit Merc, I bet the Aurelio's in Homewood is less than 50 miles away, just go for it. If you don't like it, then you can blame me completely.