Jeremy White
Editor-in-Chief
Pizza Today
[email protected]
Sometimes, the most random musings pop into my brain. Here’s a sample of the mostly pizza-related thoughts I’ve had lately. No rhyme or reason, no context, no explanation, no ragretz.
• I like Las Vegas in March better than I like it in August.
• Should I put money on Kentucky to win the NCAA Tournament? As objectively as I can be as a fan … they are So.Darn.Good this year. But this tournament is so wide open.
• Pretty sure the Pan Division is my new/current fav division of the International Pizza Challenge. I just see so much creativity and skill there right now.
• I wonder if pizzerias will start tossing dough again en masse for the showmanship, or if high-hydration doughs that require gentle handling are here to stay forever?
• Why doesn’t America use the metric system? Every time I have to convert grams to ounces I’m hopelessly lost.
• I need to ride my bike more again.
• After all these years, pepperoni, jalapeño, bacon and pineapple is still my go-to topping combination. I’ll take a spicy soppressata in place of the pep when I can get it, but either way I’m good.
• We’re planning a new season of the Hot Slice podcast. I really want to get some guests on to interview that I’ve NEVER previously spoken to or met. That’s always fun. Pizzeria owners, hit me up! (Holla at me or Denise).
• I wonder how many oversized NY slices I could have eaten in one sitting when I was 16? Watching my 16-year-old and 12-year-old make groceries disappear in minutes is impressive.
• I realize its function, but I’ve never been in love with cornmeal on the bottom of a pizza crust.
• I still get hella angry when I hear someone say pizza is fast food.
• St. Louis, raise your hand. I need you to explain this love of provel. I just don’t understand. No judgment.
• Years ago, I wrote a column — view it as my “strongly worded letter to the manager” — in which I took the stance that a cheeseburger doesn’t belong on a pizzeria menu. I heard from several who disagreed. Well … no matter how good that burger happens to be, I just want y’all to know I said what I said, and I still stand by that statement.
• Will the Cubs ever win another World Series? I sure am grateful for 2016!
• Pizza Today legit, straight-up produced a Swimsuit Issue back in 1987. Seriously. I don’t know why; I don’t know how. I was 12. But someone thought it was a good idea.
• I’ve had many great pizzas over the past two decades. I have my own private “Hall of Fame” of sorts in my head. I’m not saying it’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, but the first truly great pizza I ever had was at Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn Bridge. It changed my life.
• Frozen pizza is a thing in Italy. It doesn’t feel like it should be, BUT it is. That disappoints me, to be honest.
• I wish tourists to Chicago knew how great the city’s thin-crust pies are as well.
• I generally don’t do “collabs.” But I made a pizza in the PT test kitchen one day with Katie Wilson (our design lead at PT). We put peaches on it. And balsamic. I still dream about that pizza.
• No, I don’t care if my pizza is cut into squares or triangles or if it’s even cut at all.
• The best pizza T-shirt I’ve ever owned came from Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis. I see some pretty siiiiiiick ones in Vegas every year at Pizza Expo. You’d think someone could drop one in the mail to me occasionally, right?
