Totale Pizza: Is There Such A Thing as Budget Artisanal Pizza?
[Photographs: Robyn Lee]
Totale Pizza
36 St. Mark's Place, New York, NY 10003 (b/n Second and Third Aves; map); 212-254-0180; totalepizza.com
Service: Hard to say. There was no one else in there when we went
Setting: 20-seat dining room with a classic pizzeria look
Must-Haves: Asparagus and ricotta cheese appetizer, "Totale" pizza
Cost: Pizzas top out at $13
Grade: Incomplete: the pizza we had was an A-, but it's hard to predict what you might encounter
If there's one thing that's been hammered into every serious eater's brain, it's that good food is made with good ingredients—and that since good ingredients invariably cost more money, the resulting food will be expensive. Or, at the very least, more expensive than an everyday version of that same food.
Exhibit A? Pizza. The pizza I regard as paradigmatic comes out of the ovens of Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix), Motorino (Manhattan and Brooklyn), and the dearly departed Una Pizza Napoletana (come back soon, Anthony). The pizza that comes out of these ovens is phenomenal, but, we won't deny, a lot more expensive than chain pizza, or even run-of-the-mill independent pizzerias.
So when I read that Una Pizza Napoletana alumnus Gregory Ryzhkov was opening a wood-burning oven pizzeria on St. Mark's Place with Eli Halali (co-owner of the dollar pizza joint 2 Bros. right down the street), I was fascinated by the very idea of what Grub Street accurately called Totale's "mongrel lineage." After all, it was the ultimate clash of pizza cultures—generic, cheap pizza by the slice colliding with the individual handmade artisanal pizza culture personified by Bianco, Motorino's Palombino, and UPN's Mangieri.
And when I read that Ryzhkov was selling a 12-inch Neapolitan-style pie for as little as $7, I knew I had to hightail it to the East Village to see which partner was going to set the pizza agenda at Totale.
How to Grill Pizza Indoors
[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
If you've got a backyard or deck and a grill, grilling pizzas is a natural in the summer. After lighting up the grill, hot, crispy-chewy, perfectly blistered crust is just a few minutes away.
But what if you, like me, recently moved from a decked-out Brooklyn apartment to a Manhattan high-rise with no outdoor space? Sure, I can always fire up the oven and preheat my stone at full blast for an hour and get some excellent, better-than-most-pizzeria results, but only if I'm willing to let the ambient temperature of my apartment to climb into the upper 80's, even with the A/C on full blast. I can't handle that kind of heat. You're listening to someone whose honeymoon in a hot, muggy, Vietnam last July was simultaneously the best and most sweat-covered, miserable experience of my life. So what's a pizza-loving, cold-blooded New Englander to do?
The answer seems obvious: Grill the pizza indoors on a grill pan.
My (Budding) Pizza Oven: David S. with Another Brooklyn Backyard Oven
Last week, I got an email from David S. with the subject line "Another pizza oven grows in Brooklyn." David was referring to Mark Wilkie's backyard Brooklyn pizza oven, which you may remember from August of last year. Building a pizza oven in a Brooklyn backyard is sort of a feat, since A) space is at a premium and B) it's often pretty damn difficult to get items into the backyard because there's often no access other than what you've got going through the living space itself. Anyway, David promises to keep us updated throughout the process. (Between his first email and now, he's already sent in more pics, which you can see after the jump. —The Mgmt.
[Photographs: David S.]
Like a proud papa about to have a kid, I wanted share a sneak peak of the oven I am building in the backyard of my house. With friends' help and my wife's understanding, I am aiming to complete the dome in the next two weeks and be cooking pizza in a month. We are really into the homestretch now and I can't wait! (finishing the outside plus landscaping is another matter, however).
When finished and cooking, I would be thrilled to see it featured in a My Pizza Oven piece and maybe a bit premature, would be humbled to have the Slice team over for a pizza cookout (must love dogs).
Thanks,
David (6/23/2010)
Pizza Obsessives: Craig Agranoff (aka 'Lapp') of 'Worst Pizza'
Name: Craig Agranoff
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
Occupation: Web app developer
Website: worstpizza.com
You're the main man behind Worst Pizza. I know the story behind the title, but why not school the rest of the folks reading this. Why would I want to come to your site to find the WORST pizza?!?
Although the name clearly implies that we are looking to expose the worst pizza out there, we are actually trying to help find the best. By weeding through the pizza that sucks we help ensure that our readers never have to eat a bad slice again. Originally I started the site due to the poor pizza down in Florida. After moving from Long Island, New York, I couldn't believe what passed for pizza here. So when forming the site, it was my intention to complain about the bad pizza I had. As the site progressed, and our SEO got better, it seemed more beneficial to go on a quest to find the best slice.
You also run a pizza-marketing company called Pizza Experts. What's that all about?
Many of the restaurants/pizza joints would ask me how they could generate more business. So I started Pizza Experts to help them with their viral marketing and social media campaigns. So far the places we work with have seen triple digit results from our campaigns. I am really happy and passionate with helping pizza owners think outside the pizza box!
I hate this question myself (I sort of feel the answer is obvious), so it's fun to subject someone else to it: Why pizza?
Ever since I was, like, 5, I remember complaining about some cheap pizza my dad brought home. There is just something about biting into a perfectly cooked, crisp slice with cheese that almost melts in your mouth. So, since I usually eat pizza more than anything else, I decided to focus on what I know. Although other food critics give reviews on hundreds of different culinary experiences, it seems our readers listen to us since that is all we care about and all we know.
My Pie Monday: Philly Diner's Super-Fresh Pizza
[Photographs: Philly Diner]
Slice'r Philly Diner sent in an extremely appetizing My Pie Monday submission featuring great-looking pies made with premium ingredients:
Here's my first submission to My Pie Monday!
These are the first pizzas I made using my new DIY stone! I used a double layer of unglazed ceramic tiles preheated to 550 for 45 minutes in my sorority house oven, and it's been working like a charm. I made Peter Reinhart's recipe for both doughs. The first is a margarita with strained crushed tomatoes, local fresh mozzarella, and basil from my plant! The second is a delicious version of the CPK barbeque chicken pizza, with spicy barbeque sauce from The Pig on Beale in Memphis, smoked gouda, chicken breast, thinly sliced red onion, and fresh cilantro. Super delicious, way better than the original. I got great crispiness and char after about 4 minutes in the oven, with nice airy hole structure. I'm going to be working on making my pizzas rounder next!
Nice going, PD! I love the color on the crust and the fresh take on a beloved mass-market pie. Truly a slice of heaven.
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