I'd like to take up for poor, old, unfashionable gluten.

Gluten-free everything has become so popular that a friend recently had trouble finding ordinary wheat flour amidst all the gluten-free varieties on the Annapolis Whole Foods shelves.

Gluten-free menus are said to be one of the hottest restaurant trends for 2010. As EL noted on this blog this month, an article on gluten-free Tastykakes was the most read story on The Sun's Web site -- amid two mega-blizzards and a Super Bowl.

All great news for people who can't tolerate gluten. 

But for non-allergic home bakers, especially those of us bent on using whole wheat flour where it doesn't belong, I have a suggestion: More gluten, not less.

Continue reading "In defense of gluten" »

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (175)
Categories: Pizza
        

OK, this freaked me out. Thanksgiving Eve is one of the three biggest days for pizza delivery, along with Halloween and Super Bowl Sunday, according to Pizza Marketplace.

It's hard for me to believe that's true.

I mean, it makes sense. Mom doesn't want to cook. She needs to serve something that doesn't take much clean up. But it's never occurred to me or to anyone I've ever talked to about what they do for holiday dinners to have pizza on Thanksgiving Eve. ...

Continue reading "Thanksgiving Eve is big for delivery pizza" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Pizza, Thanksgiving
        

Last night my family wanted pizza delivered while the game was going on. A friend had told me that he had gotten a good pizza delivered from Joe Squared, which I'd never tried, so Gailor put the game on pause and gave them a call.

First of all, she was stumped by the pricing: $10 for a 10-inch, $12 for a 12-inch, $15 for a 14-inch and $18 for a 16-inch.

I'm sure there's some rationale behind it, but I kind of agreed with her. Doesn't the large economy size usually cost less per unit? Or is it one of those math things involving numbers squared again? ...

Continue reading "Delivery pizza on game night" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)
Categories: Pizza
        

That looks pretty good, doesn't it? I must be hungry. It's a photo of Joe Squared Pizza's new coal-fired pizza oven, which owner Joe Edwardsen says cooks a pizza in three and a half minutes. I want someone to go RIGHT NOW (I can't), have a pizza, and tell me if a pizza cooked in three and a half minutes really tastes as good as he makes it sound. Here's his e-mail, which I'll just copy so I don't get any of the technical details wrong: ...

Continue reading "The three-and-a-half-minute gourmet pizza" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Pizza
        

Midnight Sun Sam, always the gourmand, has posted a blog entry on Jumbo Slice, the pizza concept in Adams Morgan in DC. I had never heard of it, but then Sam stays up later and parties harder than I do.

I was hoping I would find a link to a particular Web site, but instead I'm going to link you here because these are some of the finest comments I've ever read on another food blog. Such as: ...

Continue reading "Jumbo Slice: pizza heaven?" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Pizza
        

I keep hoping one of you is going to enter one of these contests and do us proud. I'll keep posting them until you do.

This one is from Bolla Wines of Italy, which calls itself "the Official Wine of Pizza." (Is that good?) The competition is its Taste of Your Town Pizza Battle. The recipes, according to the rules, must use locally produced products or represent something unique to Maryland.

The prizes are pretty good: The winner attends the 2009 World Pizza Championships in Europe and visits Bolla's winery in Verona, Italy. ...

Continue reading "Pizza and wine: a prize-winning pairing perhaps" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Pizza
        

Don't miss Midnight Sun Sam's story on pizza places beyond the usual suspects that appears in the Taste section today. It came about as a direct result of the 10,000 posts about pizzerias on this blog.

Where would The Sun be without us? First foie gras protests, and now this.

If you're a fan of any of these places (several of which I had never heard of), tell us if you agree -- or disagree -- with Sam's assessment before we venture out to try them. 

Also, you diner fans, Sam reported yesterday that the Gold Depot bar at Fort Avenue and S. Light Street is going to become a 24-hour diner. Here's the link. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)
Categories: Pizza
        

Judging from the number of comments I get any time I post anything about pizza (note that I haven't worked up the nerve to do a Top Ten Pizza yet), I'm guessing many of you have plenty more to say on the subject.

Here's your chance.

Send an e-mail to food@baltsun.com describing your favorite pizza at your favorite pizzeria (or pizzerias) -- heck, it can be your favorite bistro that has great pizza if you want. The best of the e-mails will be published the week before the Super Bowl at BaltimoreSun.com. 

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Pizza
        

I found the following e-mail in my inbox when I got to work this morning. Hope springs eternal in the breast of those who love pizza, and when Phat Pug pizzeria in Perry Hall first opened people seemed to really like the coal-fired version. Then things started to go awry: ...

Continue reading "The latest on Phat Pug, part deux" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Pizza
        

Phat Pug Coal Fired Pizza in Perry Hall opened this fall with a great deal of promise and some good early reviews. The owner had ambitious plans to open two more pizzerias downtown in Federal Hill and Fells Point.

But day before yesterday I got this e-mail from LIVE reviewer Karen Nitkin: ...

Continue reading "The latest on Phat Pug" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Pizza
        

Midnight Sun Sam passed along a great tip to me. One of the owners of Matthew's Pizza, Chris Maler, is going to open a pizza place -- completely separate from Matthew's -- with a new partner, Lando Orsino, where Truman's bar was at 1230 Fort Ave. in Locust Point.

The only picture I could find of Maler -- you'll thank me for this, Chris -- is 11 years old.

This will happen in December at the earliest. (And we all know what that means.) Both partners have sons named Luca, so it's understandable why their new place will be named Luca's Cafe.

Note that it's not Luca's Pizzeria. There will be sandwiches, salads, appetizers and entrees as well as pizzas. The pizzas will be...

(Sun archives)

Continue reading "More pizza coming to Locust Point" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Pizza
        

Matt Teri posted this comment under an earlier pizza post. I'm repeating it here because I've been meaning to do an entry on Phat Pug. It's gotten a lot of attention on Chowhound.com.

I recently tried a pizza from Phat Pug, in Perry Hall -- their claim to fame (or their schtick, depending) is that they use an actual coal-fired oven.  I was pretty darned impressed with the pizza -- thin and crispy, with some tasty burned spots and a really excellent (sweet-ish) sauce.    Anyone else been up there yet?

Here's the info courtesy of the Chowhound board. (Phat Pug doesn't have its Web site up yet.):

The Phat Pug Coal Fired Pizzeria
8814A Bel Air Road
Perry Hall, MD 21236
410 256 5700

If you want to know more about the process, here's an article from Pizza Today.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Pizza
        

I'm amazed that no one has leapt to the defense of Matthew's pizza after Curious4Food's comment under my previous entry Matthew's and Iggies. I thought Matthew's had achieved iconic status around here. It was my first visit, and I'm saving my thoughts about its pizza for the dining guide.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Pizza
        

I just got back from having pizza at Matthew's, after a visit to Iggies last week. I can't think of a better contrast of old and new Baltimore, at least restaurant-wise. (If you can, feel free to post below.) They are such different experiences I refuse to decide which is better.

I fear for Matthew's, though. In the blink of an eye some developer could buy up that block and build Patterson Park Prospect, luxury townhomes from the mid-$400s.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Pizza
        

 One last thought about my meal at Iggies the other night. I noticed on the carryout menu they advised taking the "raw" pizza home and baking it. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of takeout pizza? (Which for me is not to turn on my oven or even one burner.)

Has anyone actually ever done this? Does it work? Isn't the fact that it's not quite hot when you get it home offset by the fact that it's been baked in a real pizza oven?

(Steve Ruark/ Special to the Sun)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Pizza
        

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)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Pizza
        

Continue reading "Mystic pizza" »

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Pizza