Boston / NYC ...pizza?

10/14/2009 Josh W. says:

Pizza isn't particularly impressive here, who told you it was good?

10/14/2009 Tracey "I'm cold, and there are wolves after me" G. says:

What Josh said--a better battle would be between New York and Chicago.

10/14/2009 Josh W. says:

I'd like to judge that battle,  mmmmmmmmmm

10/14/2009 MCslimJ "not worthy to untie Jonathan Gold's sandal strap" B. says:

There isn't really a Boston style. The NY style that most folks get nostalgic about is typically a fairly thin-crust Neapolitan style, often from a coal-fired oven, cut into huge slices. When it's good, it's really good, but what New Yorkers don't mention is that there's just as much crappy pizza in New York on average. Like here, only 5% of all pizza joints are worth talking about. As New York is 13 times Boston's size, they have more excellent ones by volume.

Boston pizzas tend to fall into two styles: oily Greek pan pizza and medium-crust Italian-American. A handful of old places have been doing a more traditional thin-crust style forever, most famously the original North End Pizzeria Regina, which has a coal oven, and Santarpio's (whose pizza I find less interesting than their kebabs). We have some actual thin-crust wood-oven pizzerias that are great, much closer to the Italian ideal, like Gran Gusto and Picco. A small handful of joints do Sicilian style, the very thick-crust pan pizza, like Umberto, Pinocchio's, and Romano's (Rozzie).

I tend to doze off when pizza arguments start. Most people crave what they grew up on, and New Yorkers never seem to get tired about talking about the place they moved away from.

10/14/2009 Jeffrey "Boycott Lobstah" H. says:

What's with all these competitive threads on who or what is better than who the fuck cares...is there some sort of prize for being the BEST that I don't know about?

http://www.yelp.com/to...

10/14/2009 Roll'n J. says:

I grew up on Christo's pizza in Brockton, so I have a very soft spot for the oily, crunchy crusted greek style pizza. Love it, especially if there's some cornmeal in the crust. I don't shun other forms of pizza though, I can very easily devour a flop and fold slice, or a deep dish pie.

10/14/2009 Jason "exploded view" B. says:

rampant trollery

10/14/2009 Roll'n J. says:

Those are fighting words.

10/14/2009 Dawn "Delicate Flower" E. says:

I miss The European.  I may have said that in a thread before...   anyone remember that place?  We used to have pizza there every time we were in New England.  And, I mean, we'd be visit my aunt in New Hampshire and we'd still drive down to Boston for pizza.  Then I moved here and it was gone.    ::sigh::

10/14/2009 Mary "City Mouse, Country Mouse" M. says:

What Jeffrey H said.  Thread full of dumb.

10/14/2009 Alexis B. says:

Boston pizza= soggy, orange with grease, crap crust, canned sugary sauce, and fake/hgue amounts of mixed cheese (cheddar, mozzarella). All Boston pizza is like pub pizzas that taste good at 3am when your wasted but make you feel terrible after one slice.

NY pizza= crispy, fresh sauce, usually ONE kind of cheese(MOZZARELLA), crunchy crust, chewy bottom.

NY ALWAYS WINS. But honestly being a NY transplant the ONLY pizza I'll eat in Boston is Upper Crust. It's a big pricey for pizza, but it's better than those other ones.

10/14/2009 Josh W. says:

Chicago has the better pizza, and the upper crust....not particularly impressive.

10/14/2009 MCslimJ "not worthy to untie Jonathan Gold's sandal strap" B. says:

Alexis' opinion is exactly what I was talking about: typically ignorant regional chauvinism, talking as if there's only one kind of pizza in Boston, and as if all New York pizza is amazing. Ridiculous.

10/14/2009 Jason "exploded view" B. says:

"ignorant regional chauvinism" is the name of my indie rock band.

10/14/2009 Orly "Hot Mess Express" M. says:

IRC is totes my fave band!!!  I heard them at P.E.N.I.S and havent been able to get them out of my head ever since!

10/14/2009 Jason "exploded view" B. says:

I heard P.E.N.I.S. has the hottest cocktail waitress around.

10/14/2009 Sherman "Murder Clean" T. says:

Def not looking for a BATTLE of pizzas...  merely interested in the subtle differences of bth...

MCSlimJ thanks for the detailed analysis of pizzerias in Boston.  I'll be adding those to my list of must-eats.

"is there some sort of prize for being the BEST that I don't know about?"  -- a license to kill and a $50 gift ceritifcate at Dave & Busters (non-transferable at most T.G.I.Friday's locations)

10/14/2009 A P. says:

The main difference I've seen between NY pizza and Boston pizza is that NY pizza places actually try to make a good basic  pizza, since good pizza is a New York thing. Not all of them succeed, but they put in the effort. Boston, meanwhile, has this overall view that pizza is either a low-quality food consumed primarily while drunk, so it's all cheap dough, cheap cheese, and cheap sauce, at cheap prices in dirty restaurants, or a high-end delicacy meant to be refined with fancy doughs, exotic cheeses, unusual toppings, and absurd prices in trendy restaurants.

10/14/2009 Bilbo B. says:

they both suck go to napoli

10/14/2009 MCslimJ "not worthy to untie Jonathan Gold's sandal strap" B. says:

"Good pizza is a New York thing." I call shenanigans.

Scaled for size, New York has just as much bad, thoughtless, crap-ingredient pizza as Boston, just as many purveyors of bad drunk-food pizza. I'd also say: just as many places charging absurd prices for preciously-conceived gourmet pizza, but in fact New York has totally lapped Boston on the effete, over-the-top, absurdly-priced pizza thing.

Have you been to Zero Otto Nove, Kesté or Lucali yet? What, never paid $40 for a 10" pizza? Compared to New York, Boston is waaay behind in the idiots-will-pay-any-price-for- pizza-if-you-market-it-cleverl y-enough sweepstakes. So you've got that to brag about.

10/14/2009 Nik B. says:

Chicago pizza dominates all.

and no, not Uno's. that stuff is crap.

10/14/2009 Jason "exploded view" B. says:

There's plenty of bad Boston pizza. There's also plenty of bad New York pizza. Add in the factors of personal preference, local traditions, ingredients, dough-making, oven temperatures, and cooking media, and you got a perfect storm of shut the fuck up with this stupid debate already. If you're in Boston and you can't find a place that makes pizza you like, then you're not even trying.  

I've eaten pizza in both cities. I've found places I love. I've found places I hate. Nobody can say "All X are Y".  If you do, you're totally full of crap.

10/14/2009 MCslimJ "not worthy to untie Jonathan Gold's sandal strap" B. says:

You'll notice I'm not advocating for the superiority of Boston pizza over anyone's. I am saying that many New Yorkers, including a couple here, make their argument for the superiority of New York pizza over the rest of the world's with a lot of idiotic chest-thumping and baseless generalizations. It's tiresome.

10/14/2009 Richard D. says:

Hey, I'm plenty happy eating the pizza here. Plenty of great spots. Whoever complains, hasn't been around enough. I've been to Chicago and NYC... sure, good pizza there too.

10/14/2009 Tyler C. says:

ugh lucali's $40/pie now?  I should have bought lucali pizza futures back in the day, lol....

10/14/2009 MCslimJ "not worthy to untie Jonathan Gold's sandal strap" B. says:

Actually, a pie at Lucali with a few toppings is more like $30, but it's hardly the worst offender in New York on that score. I'm not saying those are bad pies, either, but the notion that Boston somehow has an edge on New York in charging big bucks for pizza is clearly disconnected from the facts.

10/15/2009 Roll'n J. says:

Ignorant Regional Chauvinism and The Online is Science are rumored to be touring together!! UYE?

10/15/2009 james "black from the waist down" b. says:

does anybody remember that pizza place in harvard square that was set a bit below the street that was directly across from where the hard rock is?  if anyone knows what i am talking about please let me know i would love to hear if they moved or what.  this place was there like 10 + years ago

10/15/2009 Jason "exploded view" B. says:

Roll - yes, it's the Misuse of Hydroelectric Power Tour 2009-2010.

MC - I wasn't addressing your comments, which were thoughtful and insightful. Rather I was sort of half-drunk and resentfully banging away at the keyboard.