Pizza

[Larry]

One surprise on my first trip to FSU was finding a good pizza in a small city in Belarus.  But upon taking additional trips to FSU I discovered that there are pizza places all over.

Another surprise was restaurants that specialized in sushi and pizza, a pairing that I would not have thought of.  An example is the chain of Mafia restaurants in Kiev:

http://mafia.ua/kiev

mhr7 mentioned that in Georgia one sees mayonnaise on pizza. 

There are Pizza Huts in Russia. I think you can get their Supreme Pizza for 449 Rubles.

Does anyone else have any observations about pizza in FSU?

The original Italian pizza has a thin crust.  Here, New York City style pizza is thin crust.  But they love thick crust pizza in Chicago. It's so thick that you pretty well need to eat it with a knife and fork.

Do you prefer thin crust or thick crust?

Which ingredients to you prefer?  A simple Margherita Pizza, with only tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil?  Loaded with toppings? Something in between?  Anchovies?
I like anchovies in a Caesar salad. So last year I ordered a pizza with anchovies. I discovered that I prefer anchovies in very small doses. Otherwise I stick to the common pizza toppings, such as Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, and peppers.

I just noticed that a US chain is introducing a pizza with strips of bacon around its crust:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mathewguiver/little-caesars-introduced-a-bacon-wrapped-pizza-crust-and-pe#.cyZ4rz3er

[NS1]

Pizza's  were quite different in Ukraine compared to Canada.
ButI liked the different styles. I also noticed they will put pretty
much anything on a pizza, with many varieties of sauce.
I noticed most were thin crust. Here its more standard.
I like both thin and thick, depending on toppings.

[Volshe]

mhr7 mentioned that in Georgia one sees mayonnaise on pizza. 

 

Does anyone else have any observations about pizza in FSU?

In Moscow they are mostly overpriced and taste nothing like Italian pizza ... It's better to order "Osetinskiye pirogi" instead : http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/3496353/post332127620/
(that's something like pitta bread with filling, it's delicious)

The original Italian pizza has a thin crust.

Yep and that's the one we are used to.

Here, New York City style pizza is thin crust.  But they love thick crust pizza in Chicago. It's so thick that you pretty well need to eat it with a knife and fork.

Actually the very first thing i ate in Chicago was that - pizza; it was tasty, but it's not what Italians usually call pizza, to our view, it's more of a cheese pie. (Too much dressing too, just too much of everything.)
To the defense of inhabitants of Chicago, here in Monte we adopted & altered to our own liking Pan di Spagna  which is probably a blasphemy to the original sponge cake, but we love it and won't have it any other way 

I just noticed that a US chain is introducing a pizza with strips of bacon around its crust:

They make that one here too. The weirdest one i had in London, i think it was called "exotic", with layers of ananas... Oh, and in Bulgaria, with hot dogs and ketchup 

[NS1]

I used to own a Pizza restaurant, ( chain style)
Long story but was interesting, when bored and hungry
we could come up with some quite different combinations.

Also pizza dough makes an excellent cinnamon bun, treat.
Best I have even had, but no good the next day, had to make and pretty much eat on the spot.

[Volshe]

I used to own a Pizza restaurant, ( chain style)
Long story but was interesting, when bored and hungry
we could come up with some quite different combinations.

Also pizza dough makes an excellent cinnamon bun, treat.
Best I have even had, but no good the next day, had to make and pretty much eat on the spot.

I think that if someone comes up with a recipe for a low carb crust that would taste anything like the real thing - they should get the Nobel Prize immediately! 

[Larry]

Actually the very first thing i ate in Chicago was that - pizza; it was tasty, but it's not what Italians usually call pizza, to our view, it's more of a cheese pie. (Too much dressing too, just too much of everything.)

That's my view on Chicago deep dish pizza; it's too much, especially too much crust.

Oh, and in Bulgaria, with hot dogs and ketchup 

That doesn't sound at all appetizing.

A story popped into my head.  After the US entry into the second world war my father finished the year at university and enlisted in the army. There were no pizza places where he grew up. His first experience eating pizza was after he went into the army. In those days in some places here it was called "piazza", but was typically pronounced without the first "a", just as we say "pizza". He went to a restaurant with a sign outside saying Piazza. He was feeling like a big guy in his uniform.  The waitress came up to him and said, "What'll you have, sonny?"  That deflated his ego a bit, but he answered, "I'll have piazza (pronouncing it with the "a").  She said, "That's pizza, sonny", which further deflated his ego.  So when she asked him what size he wanted he answered that he wanted a large.  The waitress pointed to another table and said, "See those five guys over there? They're splitting a large".  So he ordered a small, finished it, and left.

[Volshe]

That doesn't sound at all appetizing.

It's definitely not, unless you are 20 yo, spent  the whole night parting and are starving...  When i was a student in Sofia, there was that very upbeat to our then understanding place downtown which opened at 5am and sold exclusively those "pizzas" to that very crowd (the crust was more of a bread too) 

A story popped into my head.  After the US entry into the second world war my father finished the year at university and enlisted in the army. There were no pizza places where he grew up. His first experience eating pizza was after he went into the army. In those days in some places here it was called "piazza", but was typically pronounced without the first "a", just as we say "pizza". He went to a restaurant with a sign outside saying Piazza. He was feeling like a big guy in his uniform.  The waitress came up to him and said, "What'll you have, sonny?"  That deflated his ego a bit, but he answered, "I'll have piazza (pronouncing it with the "a").  She said, "That's pizza, sonny", which further deflated his ego.  So when she asked him what size he wanted he answered that he wanted a large.  The waitress pointed to another table and said, "See those five guys over there? They're splitting a large".  So he ordered a small, finished it, and left.

Most of the peeps here speak some Italian, sort of pidgin, we also pronounce the words on our own manner and have deep contempt for in/definite articles and declinations too

[Dogsoldier]

I went to our local Asda store ( Walmart in UK) to get some pizza from the deli where one can make your own pizza.
Amongst the offerings was a hot dog crust pizza.
After eating our pizza most of us had dicky tummies that night........

I like thin crust. The French style pizzas are also very yummy, washed down with a biere d'impression.

[Zachris]

On my last visit to Tashkent I took the family to the pizza place that was supposed to serve "American style" pizza. I do not remember the name of the place, but it was close to the train station.

The decor of a restaurant was close enough to an American style that I would give it a pass. Certainly Pizza Hut-esque.

However, the pizza was a rather pale imitation of Pizza as I have grown to expect it. The main problem was the absence of Mozzarella cheese, which I am told is hard to come by in Uzbekistan. While I know that there are pizzas that make use of several types of cheese,  if mozzarella is not one of them then it cannot be a good "American Style" pizza -- in my humble opinion. Plus the crust was crispy. I know some people prefer that style, but a crispy crust is not Brooklyn style pizza, which is what it was called on the menu. (Although kudos to them for knowing that there is something known as Brooklyn style -- too bad they couldn't do it).

Regardless of your opinion on the relationship of pizza and mozzarella cheese and Brooklyn vs. Chicago style, I do not recommend the place. Way too expensive. Expensive for pizza from an American perspective, which means that it is exorbitantly expensive for most people in Tashkent.

[Larry]

I think that if someone comes up with a recipe for a low carb crust that would taste anything like the real thing - they should get the Nobel Prize immediately! 

That's what holds me back. If a tasty low-carb pizza crust existed I'd probably eat pizza three times a week. 

In only a few hours we've read reports about pizzas in four FSU countries and four Western countries.

[Dogsoldier]

I think that if someone comes up with a recipe for a low carb crust that would taste anything like the real thing - they should get the Nobel Prize immediately! 

That's what holds me back. If a tasty low-carb pizza crust existed I'd probably eat pizza three times a week. 

In only a few hours we've read reports about pizzas in four FSU countries and four Western countries.

Unfortunately, my experiences with eating pizza have not been too good. On another occasion, some years ago, I was a few hours away from catching a night flight to London from Mumbai and ordered a take out pizza. I have never been so ill in my life as a result of food poisoning. How I caught my flight I do not know but my overriding desire was to get back to the UK at the time.

[Volshe]

In only a few hours we've read reports about pizzas in four FSU countries and four Western countries.

RUA intelligence agency at work 

[NS1]

I had pizza in Cuba once also ( add to the country list) 

It was thin on sauce, chewy and heavy on cheese, almost gobs.
Not much variety in topping, but was tasty for lunch with Pivo:)

[Dogsoldier]

This came up in chat. Anybody experienced this?

[Larry]

This came up in chat. Anybody experienced this?

I've been to Argentine and Brazilian Churrasco (beef) restaurants here.  The beef is wonderful.

[Olga_Mouse]

Is this pizza-thread a special RUA way to celebrate Maslenitsa? 

[Steamer]

My only experience with Moscow pizza was at a pizzaria near Avtozavodskaya station. It was quite good although a bit pricey. Thin crust, quality toppings and just the right amount of sauce.

Mayonnaise instead of sauce was popular in the Detroit area about 20 years ago. It was called a BLT pizza, like the sandwich. It was a novelty and tasted ok but I don't see it much anymore.

For my money nothing beats a regular crust, Italian sausage and onion.

[sashathecat]

This came up in chat. Anybody experienced this?

I have a little experience in this having lived in Buenos Aires for several years as well as Uruguay where it is the same. There are several things that make beef from Argentina, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil better than any other place on the planet. First is the breed of cow. The correct breed will make a huge difference in the quality of beef. In Central America they raise mainly Brahman cows which are resilient to jungle diseases and pests, but the quality of beef is not great. Argentina is further south so they are able to raise better breeds more conducive to quality beef. In fact they are obsessed with breeding and have numerous very unusual breeds down there like the horses which are no taller than chickens. The US is north so we are able to raise similar breeds in our climate. Another reason Argentine beef is superior (and not sure if still the case but most likely) is the cattle are free ranged.

Now the real reason the beef is so damn good down there is mostly unknown. My grandfather was a rancher his entire life. He free ranged 400 head of cattle on organic alfalfa, rotated fields, had the best breeds, etc. His beef should have been as good as the beef in Argentina you would think. Well, the key difference is that they butcher the beef differently in Argentina (Uruguay, Southern Brazil). They have entirely different cuts which cook better than ours. It is similar to the way the French or Chinese cut their vegetables at angles so the cook more efficiently. We tend to cube our cuts of beef instead.

[Donhollio]

On my last visit to Tashkent I took the family to the pizza place that was supposed to serve "American style" pizza. I do not remember the name of the place, but it was close to the train station.
~The decor of a restaurant was close enough to an American style that I would give it a pass. Certainly Pizza Hut-esque.

 The best pizza I have ate in the FSU was in Tashkent at, Pizzeria Bella Napoli. It has a nice selection of food, and is nicely furnished. Another place I went to regularly was Pan Pizza in Odessa. The pizza was semi good, nothing to make one question WTF are they doing, it was priced right, and served right.

[Bruce Lee]

This came up in chat. Anybody experienced this?

This had made it all the way to Nikolayevsk-on-Amur - we decided to cook something different during our stay there for the family - MIL came back from the shop with a packet of Argentina beef - I did think it strange at the time - it made one hell of journey to get there

Tasted pretty good if I remember correctly!