Thin crust pizza knife and fork, or fold and eat??

[Addie]

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood, we had pizza before it became popular across the country. Every pizzeria made their own sauce with Roma tomatoes, and some of the old timers from Italy bought imported Mozzarella Cheese. Going around the corner to Jimmy's for a night of pizza for supper was not a special treat, it was everyone in my neighborhood's thing to do on Saturday night. The kids fed nickels into the jukebox and the grownups caught up on all the gossip.

We had a POW camp in Eastie for Italian POWs. The Italian women would make big pizzas and bring them to Wood Island where the camp was. The soldiers would let them in to give them to the soldiers. Some of the women even had relatives there. Every week it was like old home week. If a woman came from Naples, she would give her pizzas only to those from Naples.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The first thing I ever ate that was called pizza was in the school cafeteria. It was made on a sheet pan and was about as similar to an Italian pizza as chow mien is to real Chinese food. It was a thick bread-like crust, with a barely flavored tomato sauce and canned grated Parmesan on top.

There was one pizza restaurant in the town I grew up in in Minnesota, but we never ate there. The first time I had pizzeria pizza was after we moved to Great Falls, Montana in 1964. The name was Sharief's Pizza and they cut it square too. Even today, Domino's cuts their thin crust pizzas square, but the regular crust is cut traditionally.

It was probably at Pizza Hut many years ago that I first had triangle cut pizza.

We had a similar pizza in the school cafeteria, but it had chunks of ground beef on top, and mozzarella cheese. I liked it. But then again, up until I had Square Pan pizza, in San Diego, Ca. Sadly, the place no longer exists.

I loved Chef Boyardee pizza kits. I used to make them with my dad, and then with teenage friends. I tried one a couple weeks back, just for old-times sake, and was appalled at both the flavor and texture.I believe that what we grew up with plays a huge part in what we like and dislike as an adult. Me, I've always been an adventurist eater, always yearning for something new. But there are still some things, like a thick, yeasty crust that I prefer.

RP, Minnesota, Michigan, we probably ate very similar foods.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Aunt Bea]

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood, we had pizza before it became popular across the country. Every pizzeria made their own sauce with Roma tomatoes, and some of the old timers from Italy bought imported Mozzarella Cheese. Going around the corner to Jimmy's for a night of pizza for supper was not a special treat, it was everyone in my neighborhood's thing to do on Saturday night. The kids fed nickels into the jukebox and the grownups caught up on all the gossip.

We had a POW camp in Eastie for Italian POWs. The Italian women would make big pizzas and bring them to Wood Island where the camp was. The soldiers would let them in to give them to the soldiers. Some of the women even had relatives there. Every week it was like old home week. If a woman came from Naples, she would give her pizzas only to those from Naples.

In this area we had Tomato Pie and it is still popular with many people. The Italian moms made it on bread baking days and the local bakeries always had a tray of it that was sold by the square.

What is Utica Style Tomato Pie

As far as the original question, I never met a pizza I didn't like.

Thick, thin, square, round, hot, cold, folded, knife and fork, plate or napkin doesn't matter it's all good and once in a while it's great!

 

[taxlady]

No folding, no knife and fork for me. I will hold up the point with my other hand if necessary, until it's eaten. The rest isn't floppy enough to need folding. I don't think I have ever seen anyone fold a piece of pizza.

 

[Andy M.]

It looks like this...

 

[roadfix]

I don't think I have ever seen anyone fold a piece of pizza.

Me neither, except on TV and on YouTube.

 

[Silversage]

Andy, be still me heart!

In Florida I can at get that, but I sure miss it!

 

[Dawgluver]

Cue the BeeGees and John Travolta.

 

[taxlady]

It looks like this...

Thanks Andy. That's not quite what I was visualizing. I don't think our pizza is that wide at the wide end.

 

[RPCookin]

We had a similar pizza in the school cafeteria, but it had chunks of ground beef on top, and mozzarella cheese. I liked it. But then again, up until I had Square Pan pizza, in San Diego, Ca. Sadly, the place no longer exists.

I loved Chef Boyardee pizza kits. I used to make them with my dad, and then with teenage friends. I tried one a couple weeks back, just for old-times sake, and was appalled at both the flavor and texture.I believe that what we grew up with plays a huge part in what we like and dislike as an adult. Me, I've always been an adventurist eater, always yearning for something new. But there are still some things, like a thick, yeasty crust that I prefer.

RP, Minnesota, Michigan, we probably ate very similar foods.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

My mom used the Geno's kits, but added pepperoni, green pepper mushrooms, and mozzarella along with the Parmesan that came in the kit. I think that's where si learned to like thin crust pizza. Feeding 5 (with two growing boys) on a single kit meant stretching the crust thin and piling on more toppings.

 

[CraigC]

I don't know how common this is elsewhere, here in the Midwest thin crust pizzeria pizzas are frequently cut in small squares. Growing up, this is the only pizza we knew. Pizza was not served with school lunch, so there was no danger learning there was another way to slice pizza. The first time I ever encountered triangle cut pizza was the first time I visited in NYC (many years ago.) I bought pizza slices from street vendors. Quite wide slices IIRC. You learn to Fold pretty quickly. Very cheap lunch/ snacks too. They did not offer knives and forks LOL. Now that I remember this, I wonder how vendor carts Made the pizzas, or kept them hot and fresh. Those were large single slices.

(I think Chicago deep dish pizza might qualify as a knife and fork food. )

Pizza is always eaten by hand.

I was always used to the sliced pie until junior year of high school ('73-'74). A new place opened called Sir Pizza (don't know if it was a chain). They cut round, thin crust pizza as you describe and they also cut the pepperoni in 1/4" dice. Don't know whether the pepperoni was a special brand or the way they diced it, but it was the best I've ever had. The pepperoni pizza is how I judge a pizza place. If it isn't good, they don't get any more of my business.

 

[Rocklobster]

When I was living in Italy, many moons ago, it was common practice to order a slab of square cut pizza, usually just cheese and tomato, or shredded potato, and then buy a few slices of prosciutto or some other cold meat, and fold that in, eating the whole thing like a sandwich...

 

[Maelinde]

We had a similar pizza in the school cafeteria, but it had chunks of ground beef on top, and mozzarella cheese. I liked it. But then again, up until I had Square Pan pizza, in San Diego, Ca. Sadly, the place no longer exists.


Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I have fond memories of Square Pan Pizza in San Diego! My hubby used to work at the one near SDSU back in the 80's.

We could get 2 square slices of pepperoni, a salad, and a soda for $1.99. Great times. It was sad that they disappeared. I heard the final one that was inside the SDSU cafeteria closed back in the early 2000's.

We both were born and raised in good old San Diego and still have some family there.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have fond memories of Square Pan Pizza in San Diego! My hubby used to work at the one near SDSU back in the 80's.

We could get 2 square slices of pepperoni, a salad, and a soda for $1.99. Great times. It was sad that they disappeared. I heard the final one that was inside the SDSU cafeteria closed back in the early 2000's.

We both were born and raised in good old San Diego and still have some family there.

Wish I had their crust recipe.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Kayelle]

I don't think I ever had a pizza before I was a teen with a drivers license and could get to the one and only little pizza stand that was new to town near the beach. It was just a little hut with an oven inside and picnic benches outside. It was my first experience with the best pizza I've ever had in my life, even after all these years. Then again maybe the clear memory of the perfect pizza has been exaggerated along with all those "happy days" .

Anyway, these days I make a pretty mean pizza and right out of the oven it's too hot to pick up, so we start with a knife and fork till it cools enough to shove in our mouth.

 

[Cheryl J]

Kay, funny you should mention that - I was thinking about pizzas the other day and remembering back to when I had my first one. I'm pretty sure I was 10, and I grew up in SoCal, too. It just wasn't something that we had when I was a kid. I remember it because my dad had gone to play pool with 'the boys' on a Friday night - something he never did, and I think it was only that one time. After he left, Mama went out and got a pizza for us and we played board games. My brother and I loved it and ate until we couldn't eat any more. Memorable night!

 

[Kayelle]

Yep Cheryl, we grew up with taco's instead of pizza in these parts. To this day when I hear "Pizza Hut" I think of our one and only little Tony's Pizza Hut on the beach back then.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood, we had pizza before it became popular across the country....

I don't know about the rest of the country, but we were regulars at a place whose name I can't recall somewhere around 1956. I knew it was a GOOD place because we lived on the east side of Cleveland and Dad would drive ALL the way to the west side to get our pizza. We'd have that treat every couple of months.

Here is an interesting history of pizza: A Slice of Heaven: A History of Pizza in America | Serious Eats
1905: First sold in a New York City grocery store (Gennaro Lombardi)
1912: Trenton, NJ (Joes' Tomato Pies)
1924: Coney Island (Totonno's)
1925: New Haven, CT (Frank Pepe's)
1929: Greenwich Village (John's Pizza)
1933: Boston (Santarpio's)
1934: San Francisco (Tommaso's) and Perth Amboy NJ (Sciortino's)
1936: Boonton, NJ (Reservoir Tavern)
1943: Chicago (Uno's)
1958: The first of the chains, Pizza Hut, debuted and neighborhood pizza shops started to compete with them, and sometimes lost out.

Let's not forget those box mix pizza kits our Moms could buy. The first mix on the market debuted in in 1948, "Roman Pizza Mix" by a Worcester, MA businessman, Frank A. Fiorello. (Pizza, History and Legends of Pizza, Whats Cooking America) The most enduring of the mixes was by Chef Boyardee, a Cleveland restaurateur.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but we were regulars at a place whose name I can't recall somewhere around 1956. I knew it was a GOOD place because we lived on the east side of Cleveland and Dad would drive ALL the way to the west side to get our pizza. We'd have that treat every couple of months.

Here is an interesting history of pizza: A Slice of Heaven: A History of Pizza in America | Serious Eats
1905: First sold in a New York City grocery store (Gennaro Lombardi)
1912: Trenton, NJ (Joes' Tomato Pies)
1924: Coney Island (Totonno's)
1925: New Haven, CT (Frank Pepe's)
1929: Greenwich Village (John's Pizza)
1933: Boston (Santarpio's)
1934: San Francisco (Tommaso's) and Perth Amboy NJ (Sciortino's)
1936: Boonton, NJ (Reservoir Tavern)
1943: Chicago (Uno's)
1958: The first of the chains, Pizza Hut, debuted and neighborhood pizza shops started to compete with them, and sometimes lost out.

Let's not forget those box mix pizza kits our Moms could buy. The first mix on the market debuted in in 1948, "Roman Pizza Mix" by a Worcester, MA businessman, Frank A. Fiorello. (Pizza, History and Legends of Pizza, Whats Cooking America) The most enduring of the mixes was by Chef Boyardee, a Cleveland restaurateur.

My first pizza was probably Chef Boyardee, followed by Appian Way pizza kits. But then, once in a great while, my Dad would take me to a pizza place whose name I can't remember. I do remember it was thin, crispy crust, with pepperoni, sausage, onions, green peppers, sauce, and black olives, and I loved it. As a teen, with a car, we all went to Rossini's, another thin crust pizza, as with the other place. There were no pizza chains in Sault Ste. Marie, probably until the late 1970's. Now we have no mom & pop pizza places anymore. We do have five pizza chain restaurants now, Dominoes, Little Caesar's, Pizza Hut, Guidoes, & Jet. Oh, wait, there is one pizza joint that isn't in a chain, Upper Crust, and they make superb pizza. How things have changed.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Ah, I remember the name of the other pizza place besides Rossini's, it was Fornachelly's, though I'm probably spelling it wrong. And then came King's pizza, with their famous pizza pastie. That was a game changer back in the early 1970's.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North