A Look Back: I Dream Of Pizza Highlights From 2010

It's time to look back on the year in pizza!

On a personal note, it's been a very rewarding year. In March, I was featured in The New York Times and in September I appeared in The Wall Street Journal -- two publications that I've always considered to be the most important news sources in our country. Other press that's trickled in throughout the year included New Jersey Star-Ledger, AOL News, and Time Out New York.

I never started this blog to see my name in print elsewhere... and I certainly don't measure my success by the number of press clippings I accumulate. But it means a lot to me that site is taken seriously enough to be mentioned in so many wonderful articles. Plus, I feel like I'm doing my small part to promote pizza and the strong community that surrounds my favorite food.

I had the pleasure of reviewing 33 pizza places on the site this year -- 15 of which were located in New York City (there were a total of 201 postings on the site). Perhaps my highlight of the year, however, wasn't the pizza itself... but the people with whom I got to enjoy it. Among the moments that stand out were taking my girlfriend to Paulie Gee's and Di Fara for the first time, attempting to eat pizza cones with my friend Charles, hitting up seven pizza places on a road trip across the Midwest with my friends Vanessa and Melissa, dinning at spots like Roberta's and Arturo's with Pizza Club, spending a day eating at four classic New Jersey spots with my friends Jason, Raf, Vanessa, and Ben, learning how to make pizza at Pizza A Casa, celebrating pizza month with Sean, and participating in tomato tastings with Adam, Scott, Brooks, and Nick. That's just scratching the surface...

I try to focus most I Dream Of Pizza content on the food itself, rather than who I ate it with. But I wouldn't have had such a wonderful time eating pizza over the past year if it wasn't for the people with whom I was able to enjoy it. So to anyone who downed a few slices (or pies) with me in 2010... thanks!

I couldn't conclude any wrap up of the year without mentioning The NYC Pizza Run. Although I conceived the idea a couple of years ago, it wasn't until 2010 that I was able to make it happen. With some help from my friends Terry and Chris on the back end... and some delicious pies from Pizza By Cer Té... the event (which sold out in one week!) took place in Tompkins Square Park on September 19th. It went better than I could have ever imagined and I look forward to making it an annual happening.

And finally... if you'd told me last year at this time that I'd be churning out homemade pizzas by the end of 2010, I would have told you that you were crazy. I'd never attempted to make a pie and knew nothing about home pizza-making. But somehow making pies at home became significant trend in 2010 -- a definitive movement that will continue to transform the way that pizza is consumed in the coming years. My first step towards pizza self sufficiency began at a Pizza A Casa class in February. Since purchasing my first pizza stone over the summer, I've frequently made pizza in my apartment. Occasionally, it's been documented on this site (see here, here, and here).

Thanks to everyone who visited I Dream Of Pizza in 2010. Whether you came to the site via The New York Times, Google, my Facebook News Feed, Slice, or the dozens of other sites that have been so kind to link up to IDOP over the past year. Have a great holiday weekend... and I'll be back next week with more pizza content to kick off 2011!

New Year's Eve: 2 For 1 Pies At Upper East Side's Golosi

From 11AM until midnight on New Year's Eve, Upper East Side pizza place Golosi (1304 Second Avenue) will be having a "buy one get one free" special on all of their pies. What better way to ring in the new year than with some pizza?

The Year In Pizza: 2010 Photo Recap

By my estimate, I ate pizza at about 100 different places this past year -- many for the first time. Thirty three lucky spots were reviewed on the site. Below is a notable pie (or in one case, a cone) that I ate at each of those places. 

My photography skills aren't great (personally, I blame it on the camera), but I hope that the photos on I Dream Of Pizza over the past year have captured the pizza I ate as well as possible. And if you're not hungry right now, hopefully you will be after scrolling through these pics. Enjoy!

Aglio Olio Pie
(olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, parsley, and parmesan)

HaPizza (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Pizza Wrap

(zatar, olive oil, tomato, basil, onion, and mozzarella) 

Yeminite Food Bar (Safed, Israel) 

Pesto Slice

Tito Bravo (Jerusalem, Israel) 

Margherita Pie

Toby's Public House (Brooklyn, NY)

Pizza Alla Modena Pie 

(tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, 

mozzarella, oregano, parmigiano)

Da Franco (Queens, NY)

Fresh Mozzeralla Pie 

Arturo's (New York, NY) 

Margherita Pie
57 Napoli Pizza e Vino (New York, NY)



Roasted Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Pie
Colicchio & Sons (New York, NY)



Tomato and Mozzeralla Cone 

K! Pizzacone (New York, NY)

Marinara Pie 

(tomato, garlic, oregano) 

Pulino's (New York, NY) 

 Moby Grape Pie 

(fior di latte, grape tomatoes, 

coarse sea salt, fresh garlic, basil)

Paulie Gee's (Brooklyn, NY) 

White and Green Pie

(mozzarella, arugula, parmesan, lemon, sea salt)

Roberta's (Brooklyn, NY)

Margherita Slices 

South Brooklyn Pizza (New York, NY) 

 

Pesto Pie

(pesto, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, cherry tomatoes)
Red Rocks (Washington, DC)

Marghertia Pie 

Grimaldi's (Brooklyn, NY)

Cheese Pie 

(half mushrooms)

Ledo Pizza (Rockville, MD) 

Bar Pie 

Eddie's Pizza Truck (New York, NY) 

Plain Pie 

Totonno's (Brooklyn, NY)

Bianco Slice

(ricotta, truffle oil, arugula, fresh pepper)

Pizza By Cer Te (New York, NY) 

1964 Style 16" Pie
(olive oil, parmesan, mozzarella)
Santillo's (Elizabeth, NJ)



Cheese Pie
Star Tavern (Orange, NJ)



Pear and Gorganzola Pie
(gorganzola dolce, sliced pear, walnuts,
parmiggiano reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, basil)
 A Mano (Ridgewood, NJ) 



Pizze Di Montclair
 (truffle oil, porcini mushrooms, pecorino saldo, parmigiano reggiano,
cherry tomatoes, wood fired mushrooms, basil, extra virgin olive oil)
Ah' Pizz (Montclair, NJ)



Forest Shroomin Slice
(wild forest mushrooms, truffles, mozz, fresh thyme)
We, The Pizza (Washington, DC)



Cheese Pie
Pizza Oven (Canton, OH)



"Lou" Pie

(fresh spinach, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes,

mozzarella, romano, cheddar cheese)

Lou Malnati's (Chicago, IL) 

Zucchini Pie

(zucchini, mona aged cheese and black pepper)

Greak Lake (Chicago, IL)

Diavolo Pie

(mozzarella di bufala, spicy salami, red pepper flakes, basil)

Spacca Napoli (Chicago, Illinois)

Mama's Old Fashion Pie

(hand cut fresh mozzarella, virgin olive oil, 

basil, crushed San Marzano tomatoes)

Sac's (Queens, New York)

Plain Slice

A Piece Of The Strip (Pittsburgh, PA)

Tartufo Pie

(black truffle, fontina, egg, parmesan)

Pizzeria Stella (Philadelphia, PA)

Capricciosa Pie

(tomato, mozzarella, artichokes, 

special mushrooms, basil, olive oil)

Pizzeria Orso (Falls Church, VA)

Regular Pie

Federici's (Freehold, NJ)

Virginia's Pizzeria Orso: Sub-Par Pizza & Sub-Par Service

When a beverage is the highlight of your dinner at a pizza place, that typically means either one of two things: (a) their pizza wasn't that great or (b) they had really amazing drinks! At Pizzeria Orso (400 S. Maple Ave) in Falls Church, Virginia... it was a little of both.

 

So what was this magical cocktail in question? The passionfruit sangria ($9.00) which was fruity and sweet -- and perhaps the only thing we ordered that arrived in a timely fashion. 

It's rare that I write about restaurant service on this site. I don't have high expectations when it comes to service. I'll gladly wait two hours for a Di Fara pie and many of my favorite pizza places are no frills, let-me-give-you-attitude joints. So what's the big deal?

At Pizzeria Orso, I felt that the service was so bad that it became difficult to enjoy the meal. When we arrived at the 117-seat restaurant around 7:30PM on a Saturday evening, we were told it would be about a 35 minute wait for a four top. While that estimate ended up being pretty accurate, we could have actually been seated a lot quicker. Empty tables were often disregarded for more than 5 minutes before they were cleaned by a busboy and one customer complained that he'd had his eye on an empty table for 30 minutes. It's important that customers don't feel rushed, but after they're gone, the table should be cleared immediately and reset for the next party.

 

Once we were seated around 8:05PM, it took more than 10 minutes for anyone to notice we were there (our table, by the way, was in the middle of the crowded restaurant). We finally had to ask someone for water and a waitress came over soon after. Our drinks and appetizers arrived promptly (although the waitress forgot about my father's soda), but it wasn't until 9:00PM that our pies arrived, nearly an hour after we'd been seated. Mind you the pies take 90 seconds to cook.

As there were two vegetarians in our party, we ordered one pie (Capricciosa) without ham. This request was disregarded. Because there isn't a lot of ham in this pie anyway, it wasn't until you took a bite that it was really possible to notice the small pieces of ham. A ham-less pie was promptly made. In addition, no pies at Pizzeria Orso come sliced unless requested. This seems odd to me. Isn't pizza meant to be shared? Even personal Neapolitan pies? We requested that the pies be sliced, but when they arrived they were not sliced. Another fail.

Had there only been an issue or two, I feel like it would have been possible to overlook them. But the restaurant didn't seem to get anything right on this particular night. Although certainly not expected, I would have thought that at least the pie they initially served us with ham would be comped when we received the check. That was not the case.

All of these mishaps aside, the pizza was decent. I wouldn't put it in the top tier of Neapolitan pizzas I've had, but it's worth noting that I was in Falls Church, Virginia. The suburban town outside of Washington, DC isn't known as a pizza hub. For locals, it very well might be the best pizza around. The place provides a lively atmosphere. Children could be seen posing with a wood bear (shown above) at the entrance, and there are even arcade games to keep you occupied while you wait. Adults down drinks by the bar (beers on tap included Anderson Valley Winter Solstice and Left Hand Milk Stout, each $6.00 per pint). They even have specials on pies during Redskins games.

But back to the pizza. We ordered three pies:
 

Margherita D.O.C ($13)

tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil

Orso Bianco ($15)

ricotta, mozzarella, grana, fontina, pecorino, garlic

 

Capricciosa ($16.00)

tomato, mozzarella, artichokes, 

special mushrooms, basil, olive oil

The best pie was the Margherita D.O.C. although the cheese to sauce ratio very much favored the latter. Our white pie was pretty standard and the toppings on the Capriccisoa were uninspiring. I've been on an artichoke kick lately, but it would have been nice if they were cut into smaller pieces. Our pie contained a couple of artichoke chunks. It appeared that the ingredients were carelessly thrown onto the pie, resulting in bites that might contain a lot of one topping, like mushrooms, and none of another.

Pie prices range from $12.00 - $18.00. Considering that pies at Manhattan spots like Motorino start at $9.00, I'd say Pizzeria Orso was a little pricey. But if they can fill up their restaurant with prices like that... why not? I'm not sure I'd ever return to Pizzeria Orso with so many other high quality pizza places setting up shop in the DC area. But if you live around the corner, it sure beats Domino's and Papa John's.

Eater Looks Back On Pizza In 2010

It was another crazy year for pizza in New York City. From pizza cones to food trucks, Eater looks back at some 2010 highs and lows. Notably missing from their recap? The proliferation of 99 cent slice joints, one of the most significant trends of this past year. And also... the 2010 NYC Pizza Run!

The Year in Pizza Innovation, 2010

photo collage via eater.

Slice "Pizza Obessives" Feature

It's been a long time coming... but today Slice published an in depth interview with me in their weekly feature: Pizza Obsessives.

If you've ever had a pizza related question that you've been dying to ask me... well, I think we cover just about everything in the article -- from the inception of Pizza Club and The NYC Pizza Run to my favorite pizzerias and topping combinations.

Big thanks to Adam and the Slice team for the generous piece. 

Pizza Obsessives: Jason Feirman of 'I Dream of Pizza'

Classic Thin Crust Pies At Federici's In Freehold, NJ

I spent the first part of Thanksgiving weekend in Marlboro, New Jersey. And after having such a great experience eating pizza in Jersey over the summer (A Mano in Ridgewood, Ah' Pizz in Montclair, Star Tavern in Orange, and Santillo's in Elizabeth), I was excited to try a legendary pizza place just a short ride from where I was spending the holiday: Federici's (14 East Main Street) in Freehold.

From the moment you enter the pizzeria (there's a back entrance by the parking lot and a front entrance off the town's main road), you can tell it's been around for a while. The carpet looks like it's decades old and the vintage booths make you feel like you're at a dining hall in the Catskills circa 1960. Nothing, however, appears rundown. It's not only a classic New Jersey staple... but a classy New Jersey staple. I imagine it was the type of place where men wore suits and women donned fancy dresses around the time that Harry Truman was president.

Part of the excitement of dining at Federici's is using your imagination to think about how the establishment has transformed during it's 85 year existence. Although a helpful timeline on their website takes away some of the mystery, it's amazing to fathom that a family run business which started in the early 1900s is still serving pizza today. Once you take that first oily bite of their thin crust pies, however, it's clear why they've been around for so long.

Pies come in three sizes: individual ($6.95), small ($9.95), and large ($12.95). Since I knew the crust was thin, my girlfriend and I decided to order two small pies -- one "plain" and one with mushrooms and onions. They were more filling than anticipated. In fact, unless you're really hungry, it's tough to finish a small pie on your own.

The plain pie was better than the one with toppings. Each pie was evenly cooked all around (as you'll notice, thin bar pies don't have much crust around the outside) and held together well. The pies weren't quite as tasty as those at Star Tavern - an hour drive north of Federici's - but definitely in the same league. I noticed that the bottom of the crust had properties I'm not sure I've seen before. It appears as if the dough was holey when placed in the oven which resulted in an interesting consistency. There were no signs of flour or cornmeal being used either.

As new high quality pizza places open throughout the state, it's important that establishments like Federici's remain open and busy. With every bite, diners are tasting a slice of history. I hope that the children sitting at the table next to us will one day bring their own children to Federici's for some classic thin crust bar pies at one of New Jersey's most legendary pizza places.