The pizza purist
OK, I admit I'm a pizza purist. (Please, God, why did you invent the barbecued chicken and pineapple pizza?) I used to turn up my nose at pizzas topped with too many non-pizza vegetables.
Vegetables, in case you're wondering, fall into two categories:
1) Pizza vegetables: Tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, mushrooms, peppers.
2) Non-pizza vegetables: Asparagus, arugula, spinach, artichoke hearts, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, squash blossoms, broccoli. If God had meant broccoli to be on pizza, he would have made it flat.
Over the years, of course, I gradually got used to a few of them on a pizza as long as they didn't dominate the other ingredients. But then one day I had a slice of vegetable pizza -- piled high with non-pizza vegetables -- from Bossa Nova, a West Coast chain, and I was sold.
The closest I've found around here is the verdura fresca I had last night at Iggies, with roasted vegetables and a balsamic reduction. (That's what got me thinking about this.)
The vegetable pizza is a version that can go terribly wrong, but when it's done right, it's one of my favorites. There must be other great ones in Baltimore; I just don't know about them.
(AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Comments
The pizzas at Birches on S.Montford St. in Canton are amazing. Brick oven style thin crust. They are only served Sunday through Thursday, though!
Posted by: Mike Saulo | August 8, 2007 10:52 AM
As a minor language purist I must point out that tomatoes, onions, peppers, and mushrooms aren't flat either. :-)
That said, I agree with the sentiment.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 8, 2007 1:38 PM
I don't know, Elizabeth ... last fall I visited some relatives in Italy, just north of Naples. The one time they ordered takeout from a restaurant, it was pizza -- some pies topped with eel! It's considered a delicacy over there. I tried to say no, but you can't say no to them when it comes to food. So I ate it, eel and all.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | August 9, 2007 8:17 AM
When I visit Brooklyn, NY, I eat salad pizza - its sauce/cheese topped with a layer of shredded lettuce with diced tomatoes on top of that. I turned my nose up at first, but the pizza really is delicious! I only wish I could get it in baltimore.
Posted by: amie | August 9, 2007 7:39 PM